What To Look For In PCB Design Companies

The design of a printed circuit board (PCB) is certainly one of the most complex operations that the designer has to face, being at the same time an art and a science. It requires careful consideration of available space on the board and the restrictions imposed by the circuit and components. Creating reliable, functional and cost-effective PCB designs is a challenge, especially today when the need is to create compact, lightweight and sometimes even flexible boards.

The printed circuit design flow always starts from the schematic, followed by positioning the components, defining the layers and strokes, and ending with the generation of Gerber files. The process of defining traces, also known as routing, can be performed in different ways: manual, automatic or interactive (a combination of the two above).

The more complex the card applications, the more appropriate the manual routing technique will be. Companies have experience in various types of projects such as:

• RF boards, which may require transmission lines (microstrip, stripline or others) and where the impedance value must be strictly controlled to avoid power losses and ensure signal integrity;
• Power supplies. Here safety and efficiency are most critical parameters. From insulation to thermal management, everything must be taken into consideration. Additionally, power supplies tend to have physical constraints imposed by the case and heat sinks that need to be considered for the manual routing technique to be commonly used.

Manual routing is one that offers creative job satisfaction but takes time and patience. It consists of manually positioning the traces that connect the components, defining technical characteristics such as thickness, width, distance and angle of curvature. The designer is certainly helped by the software tool, which is capable of reporting any violations of the routing rules, but the designer’s skill and competence are paramount.

Fully automatic routing, on the other hand, works completely autonomously — once routing rules are established, the project is automatically processed by the system and the result can be manually reviewed, making any necessary changes or improvements. While autorouting is a time-saving technique, it’s not necessarily the one that gives the best results. Like all automated processing systems, autorouting has its limitations and, despite advances in software tools, it is considered by some to be difficult to configure to obtain optimal results, and the designer may have to correct the automatically created routing, correcting common errors. like strokes going around the edges of the PCB instead of going through the layers. Therefore,

Lastly, there is interactive routing. This technique combines the precision and control of manual routing while the speed and automation is typical of what we see in autorouting.

Regardless of the techniquie applied, routing presents a complexity. This complexity goes on increasing with the number of components that are present on the board. It remains particularly critical in the applications that have high frequency signal.

In the field of broadcast transmitters, the PCB features that make our designers prefer the manual routing technique are:

• Shortened length traces: if the distance between the pins to be connected is very small, manual routing is the technique that produces the most reliable and accurate results; besides being satisfactory, it can be performed almost mechanically;
• The angle of the strokes: 90° angles should be avoided, as during manufacturing, the engraving process can create dangerous short circuits; Acute angles should also be avoided. Working manually, the designer can shape the stroke by applying the appropriate degree of curvature;
• Circuits of high complexity: where the density of components and numerous interconnections require special attention. In such cases, the experienced designer can often create a superior design over an automatic tool.

Qualities that good PCB Layout Design Companies must have:

• Great attention to detail: When the job involves finding solutions with minimal adjustment changes, or when working with microscopic materials, attention to detail is essential;
• Ability to constantly update: in a constantly evolving sector such as technology, and with the emergence of new, more efficient and intelligent software, not updating means running the risk of being left behind;
• Ability to learn new design techniques: It may seem obvious, but after years of work it’s easy to become habitual, always resorting to the same tried and true layout techniques. Although this in turn can encourage repeated errors or amount to new ones as layouts go on becoming more complex;
• Ability to work for long periods of time: Experience is key, deadline pressures must be resisted to ensure consistent quality.
• Problem Solving and Mediation Skills: The PCB design company process involves many partners and often the PCB design ends up being a tug of war between engineering and manufacturing. It is the job of the designer here to find a solution that meets the demands of both sides.