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July 2017 • The PCB Design Magazine 39 celeration to be applied to the design to calcu- late von-Mises stress, deformation, and safety factors, all of which could later be translated to pass/fail values for components. Once the failed parts have been identified, a post-processor interface with full animation should be available to help determine the exact variables and factors causing the part failure. A simplified post-processor view should highlight problematic parts allowing users to detect and correct potential component failures (Figure 4). This would allow an engineer or designer with no product reliability expertise to easily deci- pher fatigue and vibration issues within their design. An advanced view mode should provide the ability to dig deeper and identify the direct cause of the product failure. The advanced view should plot relative stress intensity distribution in the component pins, balls, or leads, result- ing from the simultaneous six axes of random vibration during vibration or linear static accel- eration stress analysis. Reliability Equals Managed risk There are many challenges that today's products must face and overcome in rugged environments. With vibration and accelera- tion simulation included in the product devel- opment process, a design team will be able to identify critical issues before the product goes into production. Furthermore, by adding virtu- al vibration and acceleration simulation during layout the design team will realize: • Reduced design iterations • Reduced time-to-market • A less expensive product • The ability to simulate all designs as opposed to just high-risk designs • Increased reliability managing the risk of potential failures Think of any recent product field failure that has been in the news. The warranty claims, loss of business, and potential loss of market share can devastate even the largest of corporations. The ability to run virtual simulation on every board while in the layout domain enables engi- neers and designers to detect issues early in the product development process before the board is sent to the manufacturer, thus improving the de- sign quality, decreasing the time-to-market and managing the risk for the product. PCBDESIGN Craig Armenti is a PCB marketing engineer for the Board Systems Division of Mentor Graphics. Armenti has more than 25 years of experience in the EDA industry. USING VIBRATION AND ACCELERATION ANALYSIS TO IMPROVE RELIABILITY Figure 4: Simulation results should be available in a post-processor for each simulation.