What it takes To Design a Complex PCB in Less Time

Electronic components are becoming complex and smaller. Same is the case with the printed circuit board. They are becoming complex, with more components placed on a smaller area. Various industrial studies suggest that during the last five years there are no changes in the layer counts, but the area has decreased by almost one third. With this, it is pretty much clear that PCB designs will no more be simpler as before. There are certain things to be kept in mind, while designing such PCBs. This post discusses those factors of consideration.

Things to Consider While Designing Complex PCBs?

Having explained the problem, let us have a look at how to solve it. The following points will help you in designing complex PCBs in less time:

1． Advanced Layouts: With complex designs, the designers are employing advanced PCB layout methods. This means that classic layout designers need to be capable of having the right skills to assess different variables in terms of modern board design.

2． Virtual Prototyping: As far as the design process is concerned, virtual prototyping will help earlier support, validation, and decision-makers of a company to improve trade-off analysis, thus making the process more effective and efficient. With everything crowded onto the same board, one has to create proper shielding patterns, on the same board, as well as across boards, and erect walls between circuits.

3． Advanced Tools: To address the needs of users, a wide range of tools are developed, ranging from enterprise level, typified by large global teams with signal integrity, mechanical, and thermal management specialists, to the maker community. Talking theoretically, the bigger the team, the lesser the time required to do design. However, too many people working on the same design can create problems. Thus, tools are employed that support enhanced collaborations across the enterprise. One can make use of the tools that help in bringing together the package design, IC design, and PCB layout.

4． xAdvanced packaging techniques such as multichip modules, Through-silicon via (TSV), and very high device pin counts have created disruptive technologies. However, data transfer between different design domains, which is traditionally done with spreadsheets, has started to break down.

By taking into consideration, the steps explained above, one can design a complex PCB in less time. The only way to overcome the complexity of PCB design is by staying updated with the latest techniques.