One of the biggest challenges facing PCB designers today, is not understanding the cost drivers in the
PCB manufacturing process. Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is the practice of designing printed circuit
boards that meet not only the requirements of the project, capabilities of the assembly manufacturing
process, but also the capabilities of the board fabrication process at the lowest possible cost. While not
a substitute to early design engagement with the PCB fabricator, this presentation will discuss these cost
drivers (from the PCB manufacturer’s perspective) and the design decisions that will impact product
reliability and help companies “Design for success”.
We will explore some of the common places where cost will be added in the PCB manufacturing process
that may or may not truly be needed in your design. By having things such as material requirements,
required circuit density as well as assembly requirements in mind ahead of the design can definitely go a
long way to keeping PCB costs in check with the project budget.
