The recent down slide in the economy has been particularly difficult for electronics manufacturers. Now, more than ever, manufacturers need to streamline their processes and ensure a larger return on their investment. How did the successful manufacturers become successful?

One reason for their success is their understanding that a product must not only be functional but also manufacturable. The best product can be relegated to obscurity unless it can be manufactured in a cost effective manner and brought to market ahead of the competition. Design for manufacturability is more than just a catch-phrase used by every design group in the industry. It means fully understanding how a design impacts a manufacturing processes involved. When a product is designed with manufacturing in mind, cost effectiveness of the product increases as a direct result of decreased manufacturing costs and reduced time to market. In the ever-changing technology marketplace, "time to market" is critical to success. In keeping with our commitment to offer the very best and most effective training possible, the EMPF has developed a curriculum specifically targeted to design engineers of all modalities. The Design for Manufacturability course will provide an understanding of the current manufacturing processes and demonstrate to the student how decisions they make during the design phase will impact the manufacturing processes employed during production.

The Design for Manufacturability course begins with an overview of the current technology used in modern assembly processes. Each process step is analyzed to determine the impact to the process imposed by the design. Particular attention is paid to process equipment limitations and how these limitations can be compensated for in the product design stage of development. Once the student understands the overall assembly processes, requirements and limitations, they will be better prepared for the remainder of the design function.

With the knowledge gained from understanding the assembly processes, the student can now pay particular attention to the design of the PWB. Industry guidelines for land and trace geometries, via design and fiducial design are presented along with explanations of the possible risks involved when violations of these guidelines occur. Design guidelines for laminations as well are presented, focusing on issues relative to panelization and board stack-up.

Although the design is somewhat limited to the components required for functionality, the proper selection of those components can have a great impact on the overall manufacturability and cost effectiveness of the design. Throughout the Design for Manufacturability curriculum, guidelines for component selection play an integral role in providing the student with "real world" issues relative to component cost, availability and obsolescence. The student will be tasked with the challenge of selecting components based on these issues as well as taking into consideration such factors as equipment limitations, the use of embedded components and the use of advanced technologies such as flip chip, area arrays and "chip on board" packages.

Finally, as part of the overall design function, the curriculum presents options available to the designer relative to the selection of laminate materials, alternate PWB plating finishes and process chemistries such as alloys, fluxes, cleaning agents, epoxies and underfills. Not only are the options presented to the student, the impact of these choices on the manufacturability and cost effectiveness of the design is discussed at length.

As a manufacturer, consider the possibilities of having your design team in sync with your assembly team. Your design engineers will know the requirements and limitations of your assembly processes and be able to compensate at the design stage, not at the production stage. Designing for manufacturability to your specific processes should be the rule and not the exception. The EMPF can help you achieve this goal through our Design for Manufacturability course. For further information on this and other industry related courses offered at the EMPF please call 610-362-1320 for scheduling and pricing information.