Revolutionizing PCB design: unlocking efficiency with PLM systems
Ever wondered how to banish version confusion, streamline collaboration, and ensure compliance with your PCB design workflow? In a world where product complexity is constantly increasing, managing design data effectively is more crucial than ever.
In a recent episode of The Printed Circuit Podcast, host Steph Chavez sits down with Scott Claes, Senior Technical Marketing Engineer at Siemens, for an insightful discussion on how Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems are transforming PCB design. With nearly two decades of experience integrating ECAD data with PLM, Scott shares invaluable insights into how PLM elevates design control, fosters seamless collaboration, and boosts efficiency across global teams.
Tackling real-world PCB design challenges
The discussion dives deep into the everyday hurdles PCB designers face, from the headache of managing countless versions to the complexities of design reuse. Claes expertly unpacks how a well-implemented PLM system provides elegant solutions to these challenges. Whether you’re navigating stringent compliance needs like ITAR and HIPAA or bridging the gap between ECAD and MCAD, this episode offers a clear roadmap for integrating PLM into your design ecosystem.
What exactly does a PLM system do?
Claes begins by demystifying PLM from a PCB designer’s perspective, acknowledging that the topic can sometimes feel “complicated and confusing.” He highlights the foundational concept of the “digital twin,” where a product is digitally represented within a system. But PLM is far more than just data management; it’s about storing information in a way that ensures easy access and “enhanced capabilities to use that data.”
At its heart, PLM proves a “single source of truth for all of the information” through its data management layer. This includes advanced version control, which builds traditional methods by adding a critical control mechanism: “when something is released, it becomes locked, and no one can touch it or change it.” Claes emphasizes that this immutability is the most vital benefit of a PLM system, ensuring that, “once something’s locked, it’s stored there forever, it’s not going away.” If a change is needed, the item must be formally revised, unlocked, and marked as a work-in-progress, keeping a clear audit trail. Furthermore, PLM offers robust capabilities for automation and management that significantly improve workflows, such as “assigning tasks to different folks within the organization.” These systems can be seamlessly integrated with design tools, manufacturing systems, supply chain interfaces, and quality management, making all these benefits much more readily available once design data is in an organized, accessible system. Consistency is also key, as the standardized approach ensures everyone in the organization knows how data is used and managed.
Enhancing design freedom, not restricting it
A common concern among designers is that PLM integration might disrupt their creative process or add to their workload. Chavez aptly frames this by noting that while PLM offers “the ability to control your data,” many designers worry it might restrict their freedom. Claes addresses this directly, acknowledging that “bringing on additional pieces of data management such as this will increase” first workloads. However, he quickly clarifies that the true benefit lies in making design data accessible much earlier in the process to a wider audience, including manufacturing, buying, and even colleagues for design reviews. This timely access allows for parallel evaluations and feedback, freeing designers to continue their creative work without interruption. For example, a designer can check their data into PLM, notify colleagues, and allow them to conduct online or offline design reviews, thereby streamlining the overall process and fostering greater collaboration without hindering individual design efforts.
The power of control and design reuse
Chavez highlights that the ability to control and reuse data is a significant advantage, especially when thinking about design reuse. Claes explains how PLM simplifies this: design data from an existing, released (or even work-in-progress) design can be pulled from PLM, reassigned to new part numbers or objects, and then used to create a modern design. This “make from” approach allows designers to start from a known good point, branching off or creating new products that use tried and tested elements.
This starkly contrasts relying on servers and spreadsheets, which Chavez points out can “open up Pandora’s box” with version confusion and unauthorized changes. He recounts a personal experience where a team fabricated the wrong board version because an engineer bypassed the PLM system. Claes reinforces that PLM’s control over an object’s “state” (or status) is key. A released item is immutable; it cannot be changed without formally revising it within PLM. This ensures that buying, for instance, always uses the correct, released version, preventing costly mistakes. While training is involved, Claes notes that many companies are adopting this understanding, and PLM can even be configured to restrict access to unreleased items for certain departments. This orchestration ensures efficient data handling and prevents the errors Chavez described.
Collaborative design across disciplines
PLM integration significantly boosts collaboration across different disciplines, such as electrical (ECAD) and mechanical (MCAD), which is especially crucial for complex designs like flex and rigid-flex PCBs. Claes notes that while this area is a focus for Siemens EDA, the PLM system serves as the central repository for the latest information. It requires structured libraries, best practices for library control, and a deep understanding of how two authoring tools work on the same design. Soon, Claes predicts tools that will provide even tighter integration, notifying users of changes, and dropping the need for manual data transfer via shared drives. The ultimate goal, Chavez emphasizes, is to support the highest data integrity.
Mastering the PLM ecosystem: learning curve and workflow
For PCB designers and other engineers, understanding the learning curve for PLM is essential. While the “picks and clicks” can initially be confusing, hands-on experience is key. Claes notes that the electrical space, with its complex assemblies, requires specific attention in training. However, once proficient, a good PLM connector can automate many processes. Siemens offers solutions that allow for pushing design data into PLM in a uniform way, with first setup taking 10-15 minutes, and later check-ins being very quick. As Chavez wisely puts it, “you’ve got to learn to master your ecosystem. And a PLM system is part of your ecosystem.”
The behind-the-scenes flow of design data
For the technically minded, Claes explains how a good integration automates several tasks. It creates a standard, consistent data model for new PLM items, allowing separate management and version control of design, assembly, and PCB data. All output files are stored in their respective PLM items – for example, zipped design information or EDX files on the design item, fabrication data (like Gerbers or ODB++) on the PCB item, and assembly data on the PCA item. PLM metadata can also be pushed back into design tools, populating title blocks with relevant information.
The Bill of Materials (BOM) is a major part, presented to the designer for approval before being pushed to PLM, serving as a crucial checkpoint. Once in PLM, systems allow for comparing BOMs, even unreleased ones, against earlier iterations or released versions, highlighting differences for design qualification and buying. This cuts manual spreadsheets, allowing supply chain teams to parse data for strategic buys and understand the ripple effects of part shortages.
The nuances of PLM library integration
The complexity of ECAD libraries, with symbols, footprints, and pad stacks, does not always need to be pushed into PLM. Claes explains that low-level ECAD data management is often best handled by a comprehensive library management system, such as Siemens Xpedition EDM. The primary requirement for a BOM in PLM is the existence of a presentation of the part (resistor, capacitor, board) within the PLM system, along with reference designators and other proper attributes.
However, for new part introduction, information often flows through a workflow from the PLM side, involving approval points and notifications. The integration tool should be able to search for part numbers in both the ECAD library and PLM, compare them, and ease the creation of new parts in PLM. PLM provides the part number, which is then pushed to the ECAD library, along with critical attributes like tolerance and ROHS state. PLM also supplies the state of library parts, showing if they are reviewed, released, and approved for purchase.
Security and global collaboration: ITAR and HIPAA compliance
Chavez highlights a critical benefit often overlooked: PLM’s ability to manage access strategically, especially for global teams and compliance needs like ITAR and HIPAA. Claes confirms that PLM systems can restrict access to specific products or designs to only authorized team members. While libraries are often shared, product access can be tightly controlled. This is a task typically managed by an admin team, setting up permissions to ensure that, for example, librarians can view and edit, but other users can only view. This capability is invaluable for keeping security and good standards of practice.
Advice for PLM implementation and future outlook
Claes’s advice to engineers whose companies are implementing PLM is to be proactive: “Don’t gloss over waiting to take training classes and learn the PLM system.” He suggests learning alongside MCAD colleagues and raising concerns if the ECAD space is not adequately addressed. Becoming proficient in PLM can be a significant career enhancement.
Looking ahead, Claes believes exciting developments include the ECAD to PLM flow and library synchronization with supplier information, coupled with the implementation of 3D models. He expects to pass “feature rich data” between ECAD and MCAD, rather than just metadata. Chavez concludes by reiterating the importance of mastering the PLM ecosystem as another vital part of the design process.
The power of control
Claes leaves us with a powerful final thought: by integrating with PLM, “You’re providing your downstream customers, your colleagues in fact, earlier access to your design information. This enhances parallel design activities and helps your company be more successful.”
