The Top 10 PCBA Design Mistakes to Avoid: Here are 10 common mistakes and how to easily avoid them.
It is recommended that you involve your EMS partners as soon as possible, ideally as soon as your first draft of your PCB layout is available. Allow yourself plenty of time for prototyping and preproduction.
Despite all the checks you do on paper or using a PC, there may be some “features” that show up only when you produce the first batch of products. Before ordering all the components for your first planned production build and submitting the design for CE certification, etc., you need to flush out these components.
The ideal panel size will depend on the PCB and the process the components will go through. If it’s too big or too small, it may not fit in the production line. Extremely thin PCBs (e.g., 0.8mm) may need to be in smaller panels to avoid bending. The lack of scrap strips can make disposal difficult during production and testing. Breaking in the wrong places can mean that the component is not rigid enough or difficult to break without damaging the component. Lack of reference points can cause alignment problems. Best practice advice is to allow your EMS partner to work with their PCB supplier to optimize panel design.
Having SMTs on both sides of the component will cost more, often twice as much, so don’t do it unless you really need to. This also applies to through-hole components. Spending more time on PCB design early on can help reduce the time spent in the assembly phase, thus reducing costs.
Carefully check that the components specified on the bill of materials (BOM) actually apply to pads designed on the PCB. Also, consider whether the body of the component is appropriate. Components are often placed too close together, or too close to the edges of the PCB, which can cause them to be damaged during disconnection or handling.
It is tempting to use tiny components when space is tight, but if you place them next to larger components that require more solder paste, the process becomes trickier and may require more expensive stepped forms.
HASL that conforms to RoHS standards is generally designated as standard surface treatment, but it is not applicable to fine-pitch components. Silver finishes have a shorter shelf life than most – perhaps ENIG is enough? Consider whether the surface originally listed is really the most suitable and how changing to another can save time and cost during the assembly phase.
Consider whether you really need those test points or programming heads when you go beyond prototyping. Removing them will reduce ongoing costs.
It may be easy for components to share pads or to leave flux blocking between pads on finely spaced devices. Try to consider where the solder is going – and the failure and rework costs in the event of an unwanted short circuit.
When it comes to electronic components, there are a lot of variables and therefore a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. Avoid these top 10 PCBA design errors.
It is recommended that you involve your EMS partners as soon as possible, ideally as soon as your first draft of your PCB layout is available. Allow yourself plenty of time for prototyping and preproduction.
Despite all the checks you do on paper or using a PC, there may be some “features” that show up only when you produce the first batch of products. Before ordering all the components for your first planned production build and submitting the design for CE certification, etc., you need to flush out these components.
The ideal panel size will depend on the PCB and the process the components will go through. If it’s too big or too small, it may not fit in the production line. Extremely thin PCBs (e.g., 0.8mm) may need to be in smaller panels to avoid bending. The lack of scrap strips can make disposal difficult during production and testing. Breaking in the wrong places can mean that the component is not rigid enough or difficult to break without damaging the component. Lack of reference points can cause alignment problems. Best practice advice is to allow your EMS partner to work with their PCB supplier to optimize panel design.
Having SMTs on both sides of the component will cost more, often twice as much, so don’t do it unless you really need to. This also applies to through-hole components. Spending more time on PCB design early on can help reduce the time spent in the assembly phase, thus reducing costs.
Carefully check that the components specified on the bill of materials (BOM) actually apply to pads designed on the PCB. Also, consider whether the body of the component is appropriate. Components are often placed too close together, or too close to the edges of the PCB, which can cause them to be damaged during disconnection or handling.
It is tempting to use tiny components when space is tight, but if you place them next to larger components that require more solder paste, the process becomes trickier and may require more expensive stepped forms.
HASL that conforms to RoHS standards is generally designated as standard surface treatment, but it is not applicable to fine-pitch components. Silver finishes have a shorter shelf life than most – perhaps ENIG is enough? Consider whether the surface originally listed is really the most suitable and how changing to another can save time and cost during the assembly phase.
Consider whether you really need those test points or programming heads when you go beyond prototyping. Removing them will reduce ongoing costs.
It may be easy for components to share pads or to leave flux blocking between pads on finely spaced devices. Try to consider where the solder is going – and the failure and rework costs in the event of an unwanted short circuit.
When it comes to electronic components, there are a lot of variables and therefore a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. Avoid these top 10 PCBA design errors.
