Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/691539
76 The PCB Design Magazine • June 2016 Brown: The problem is there's a lack of com- munication and in a lot of cases, multiple spins of your product can occur; which in turn costs more because you typically don't have your pwb layout designer collaborating up front with your primary engineering team. The layout de- signer really needs to understand the product from the beginning. They need to understand the design intent and what the end goal of the product is. By having them involved in the be- ginning up front at the functional spec level and then at the detail spec level, they can help make conscious decisions that ultimately will affect the overall cost, time line and schedule of the product. Matties: So we talked a bit about DFM, but one of the things I'd like to talk about is DFP, or design for profitability. I think profit in any project begins with design. Brown: It does. It comes down to choice of materials and component selection. Let's just talk about at the bareboard level, for example. Let's just say if I have an RF board that has a lot of high-speed digital on it, am I going to make the entire board out of Rogers? No, it wouldn't make sense. If I did, next thing you know it's going to be a very costly board, be - cause the bareboard material has a cost driver built in that's more expensive from the begin- ning. Then there's also the issue of processing. Processing a 16-layer board that's all Rogers is much costlier than just a Rogers end cap with a multi-layer board that's HR 370. You can marry those materials together just fine, but you just have to take into account some processing in the beginning. Matties: Because over materialization is an ex- tremely expensive proposition in your end game, isn't it? Brown: Right. It depends on what your design intent is. If I'm designing just a power control module for a thermostat, there's really not a whole lot to that. Why would I pick a materi- al as exotic as Megtron 7, that has really tight weaved fiber and is a much more costly alter- native than say a simple FR-4, when it doesn't need it? Matties: How does a designer get this education? Brown: It's through magazine articles, like those at iConnect007, trade publications, mentor- ship and working directly with the engineer- ing teams. Usually that's just something that's gained over time through experience with the various customers and OEMs. Matties: The other thing I see in the design com- munity is a bunch of older guys. There are not a lot of young guys coming in. Brown: You know this is the third time I've had that conversation today alone. I'm also seeing a trend where the baby boomer genera- tion are retiring, so now there's going to be a big void in the whole industry. I've been in the industry going on 27 years. I do see a lack of mentorship from the older generations and a lack of incoming designers. When they go to engineering school they start as an electronic technician. There is no career path to be a PCB designer—it doesn't exist. They're either going to be an electrical engineer, a mechanical engi- neer, a systems engineer or what the hot topic is today, an application engineer. When they start to learn design, they don't necessarily want to go into PCB design. If you ask any PCB designer that's been around, I guarantee you'll never get the same answer twice on how they became a PCB designer. THE IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN FOR PROFIT (DFP) " The layout designer really needs to understand the product from the beginning. They need to understand the design intent and what the end goal of the product is. "