DFM - Design for Manufacture

These are a series of articles describing some of the elements of design for manufacture. This information is the cumulation of the efforts of our staff, clients and professionals throughout the industry and has been augmented with information from the magazines Printed Circuit Design, PC Fabrication, Circuit Assembly and Computer Design.

Readers are invited to submit any helpful hints or ideas that they would like to share with others.

• DFM - An introduction
  A short introduction to the philosophy of Design For Manufacture.
  
  
• DFM Responsibilities
  A breakdown of the perceived responsibilities of DFM.
  
  
• DFM Tips & Tricks Part I
  A collection of tips and tricks to make the transition from CAD to product a little easier.
  
  
• DFM Tips & Tricks Part II
  More DFM tips & tricks.
  
  
• DFM for Multilayer
  Things to keep in mind when designing a multilayer board.
  
  
• Conductor Spacings
  Standards for conductor spacings.
  
  
• Analog to DSP
  An article concerning analog to digital signal processing issues.
  
  
• Membrane Switches Pt I
  The first article dealing with membrane switches.
  
  
• Membrane Switches Pt II
  The second article dealing with membrane switches.
  
  
• Blind Vias
  An article discussing blind vias.
  
  
• Autorouting Artwork
  An article discussing PCB autorouting.
  
  
• White Tin
  A brief review of Omni's latest capability, immersion white tin.
  
  
• White Tin - Another Look
  An expanded explanation of white tin, and a comparison with other finish alternatives.
  
  
• Partnering Relationships
  Some discussions concerning the need to work with your board shop.
  
  
• V-Scoring Explained
  V-scoring and its DFM considerations explained.

Above Board Articles

• Above Board Archive I
  The first set of above board articles, written by Nandor Kerec.
  
  
• Above Board Archive II
  The second set of above board articles, written by the designers at Ultracad Design.
  
  
• Parallelism & Crosstalk Pt I
  A fine article covering another design issue, also written by the folks at UltraCAD.
  
  
• Parallelism & Crosstalk Pt II
  Part II of UltraCAD's discussions about P & C.
  
  
• Trace Routing
  Some discussions on the subject of good and bad trace routing technique.
  
  
• Right Angle Corners
  Some discussions concerning why right angle corners should not appear on a circuit board.
  
  
• Controlling Impedance
  Some discussions concerning how to control the impedence of a board with tight specs.
  
  
• Controlling Signal Timing
  Some discussions concerning how to control the signal timing of a board with tight specs.
  
  
• Maintaining Clean Power
  Some discussions concerning noise problem in PBC design.
  
  
• Distributed Capacitance Planes
  An article on an interesting new technology