The printed circuit board (PCB) forms the core of electronic products, and the performance, longevity, and reliability of the final product depend on the electrical system it supports. Properly designed circuits lead to products with lower on-site failure and return rates. Consequently, this results in reduced production costs and higher profits. To produce high-quality PCBs on time, without extending design periods or incurring costly rework, it is crucial to identify design and circuit integrity issues as early as possible in the design phase.
To bring products to market quickly and reliably, utilizing design tools to automate the process is essential. However, how can we ensure the design’s success? To maximize design efficiency and product quality, what details should be addressed? Design tools should be intuitive, easy to use, and powerful enough to tackle complex design challenges. But what additional considerations are important? Four key steps can ensure a successful PCB design.
**Step 1—Don’t stop at basic schematic input**
Schematic input is critical for the logical connectivity of the design. It must be accurate, user-friendly, and integrated with the layout to ensure design success. Simply entering the schematic and transferring it to the layout is not sufficient. To create a high-quality design that meets expectations, it is necessary to use the best components and perform simulation analysis to ensure the design functions correctly during manufacturing.
**Step 2—Don’t overlook library management**
Library management is a crucial part of the design process. To quickly select and place the best components in the design, effective creation and management of the device library are essential.
1. PADS allows you to maintain all design tasks in a library and update it in real time for ease of use, ensuring design and development accuracy. You can access all component information through a single spreadsheet without worrying about data redundancy, multiple libraries, or time-consuming, labor-intensive tool overhead.
2. Step Three—Effective Management of Design Constraint Rules
Today’s high-speed designs are extremely complex. Without effective management of constraint rules, the design, constraint, and management of routing, topology, and signal delay become highly challenging. To build a successful product in the first iteration, constraint rules must be established early in the design process to achieve the required goals. Good management of constraint rules prevents the use of costly or unavailable components and ultimately ensures that the circuit board meets performance and manufacturing requirements.
3. Step Four—Ensure You Have the Required Layout Capabilities
In recent years, the complexity of PCB layout design has significantly increased. To manufacture smaller and more portable electronic devices, design density must be higher. Additionally, increased operating frequencies require designers to evaluate electrical characteristics previously overlooked to ensure usability. To keep pace with growing complexity, designers must possess a broader range of capabilities to define advanced rule sets, create unique RF shapes, and implement correction structures to enhance overall design performance.
4. During the layout process, smart layout tools help create efficient layout and routing strategies. Precise layout reduces violations in later design stages, enabling you to complete the project faster with fewer mistakes.
5. Although manual wiring is commonly used to achieve the real design intent, combining interactive and automatic wiring effectively helps meet market deadlines and improve design quality. Automatic routing can also address complex tasks such as differential pair routing, network adjustment, manufacturing optimization, micro vias, and build-up technology. If planned in advance, automatic wiring efficiency is greatly improved.
6. Another challenge is that modern PCBs must manage thousands of networks, which can complicate routing in critical areas. The best approach is to group network cables to create an effective routing strategy. Once the planning group is established, network groups can be marked and filtered to highlight the key networks that need to be routed.
To bring products to market quickly and reliably, utilizing design tools to automate the process is essential. However, how can we ensure the design’s success? To maximize design efficiency and product quality, what details should be addressed? Design tools should be intuitive, easy to use, and powerful enough to tackle complex design challenges. But what additional considerations are important? Four key steps can ensure a successful PCB design.
**Step 1—Don’t stop at basic schematic input**
Schematic input is critical for the logical connectivity of the design. It must be accurate, user-friendly, and integrated with the layout to ensure design success. Simply entering the schematic and transferring it to the layout is not sufficient. To create a high-quality design that meets expectations, it is necessary to use the best components and perform simulation analysis to ensure the design functions correctly during manufacturing.
**Step 2—Don’t overlook library management**
Library management is a crucial part of the design process. To quickly select and place the best components in the design, effective creation and management of the device library are essential.
1. PADS allows you to maintain all design tasks in a library and update it in real time for ease of use, ensuring design and development accuracy. You can access all component information through a single spreadsheet without worrying about data redundancy, multiple libraries, or time-consuming, labor-intensive tool overhead.
2. Step Three—Effective Management of Design Constraint Rules
Today’s high-speed designs are extremely complex. Without effective management of constraint rules, the design, constraint, and management of routing, topology, and signal delay become highly challenging. To build a successful product in the first iteration, constraint rules must be established early in the design process to achieve the required goals. Good management of constraint rules prevents the use of costly or unavailable components and ultimately ensures that the circuit board meets performance and manufacturing requirements.
3. Step Four—Ensure You Have the Required Layout Capabilities
In recent years, the complexity of PCB layout design has significantly increased. To manufacture smaller and more portable electronic devices, design density must be higher. Additionally, increased operating frequencies require designers to evaluate electrical characteristics previously overlooked to ensure usability. To keep pace with growing complexity, designers must possess a broader range of capabilities to define advanced rule sets, create unique RF shapes, and implement correction structures to enhance overall design performance.
4. During the layout process, smart layout tools help create efficient layout and routing strategies. Precise layout reduces violations in later design stages, enabling you to complete the project faster with fewer mistakes.
5. Although manual wiring is commonly used to achieve the real design intent, combining interactive and automatic wiring effectively helps meet market deadlines and improve design quality. Automatic routing can also address complex tasks such as differential pair routing, network adjustment, manufacturing optimization, micro vias, and build-up technology. If planned in advance, automatic wiring efficiency is greatly improved.
6. Another challenge is that modern PCBs must manage thousands of networks, which can complicate routing in critical areas. The best approach is to group network cables to create an effective routing strategy. Once the planning group is established, network groups can be marked and filtered to highlight the key networks that need to be routed.
