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PCB Tech Talk Podcast: The Foundation for Every PCB

By John McMillan

Ask any PCB designer what the foundation or building blocks are for printed circuit board designs and you’ll get the same answer – “the component land patterns.”  No matter what you call them – land patterns, footprints, decals, package symbols, etc. – what really matters is that they are accurate.

If land patterns are wrong, your PCB gets fabricated, and then a placement problem is discovered during assembly, you’ve most likely just wasted a lot of time and money.

“The catalyst for some of the best design processes come out of learning from mistakes.” 

So, why does it happen? Are there ever errors in the datasheet? Do people make mistakes?  Yes! And, yes!

Is there a process or procedure missing that could have prevented it?  Let’s talk about it!

In this podcast I discuss some different ways that you can ensure that these foundational building blocks for your PCB designs are strong including:

  • The QA process
  • Tools used specifically for creating quality land patterns
  • Some reliable resources and tools that can ensure designs are correct-by-construction

Let’s ensure that dreaded calls from the PCB assembly house are avoided!

Listen to the second episode and subscribe to the podcast by clicking on http://pcbtechtalk.libsyn.com/rss from your mobile device or manually adding the podcast within your mobile podcast app using that same link. Or, if you prefer, you may listen through the player below.

Future episodes will be announced here on the blog and will show up in your podcast app of choice if you subscribe. If you missed the first episode, check it out here.

Have questions or topics of interest? Add them in the comments below or send them to pcb_techtalk@mentor.com so that we can feature them in future episodes.

For more on this topic, check out these white papers:

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This article first appeared on the Siemens Digital Industries Software blog at https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/electronic-systems-design/2015/08/17/pcb-tech-talk-podcast-the-foundation-for-every-pcb/