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Facts About PCB Documentation Today
In an industry wide survey we conducted, nearly every PCB Designer cited that current PCB documentation methods are
time-consuming, make it difficult to implement any design revisions, and prevent them from moving on to the next project.
In a response to this industry-wide dilemma and concern, we developed BluePrint for Printed Circuit Boards.
Importance of Complete Documentation
PCB documentation creates the manufacturing specification for an electronic product. Comprehensive
documentation records the engineering “intent” of a design specifying the form, fit and function of the PCB. Documentation
drives the procurement process, aids manufacturing engineering and is used in final inspection to verify the product was built
to engineering’s specification. It also gets archived to ensure later production runs can be repeated with the same level of
consistent quality. PCB documentation must capture all of the information necessary to not only build the product today, but also
any repeat builds in the future - eliminating any guesswork.
- To specify form, fit, and finish, as well as drive procurement and scheduling
- To build and inspect finished good to the original engineering specifications
- To archive intellectual property, retaining instructions to ensure consistent quality
- To produce release milestones for manufacturing
Purpose of Documentation
- Cost and Schedule Estimation
- Building Specification
- Inspection Detailing
Problem with PCB Documentation Today
Current methods present PCB Engineering groups with two undesirable choices for producing PCB documentation.
First, have highly-compensated and skilled PCB Designers — using tools not specifically designed for the task — create the
documentation and increase the design cycle by 20% - 40%*, or second, provide very cursory, paper-based documentation and increase
the risk of manufacturing mistakes or shipment delays.
- Tools today are NOT designed for PCB documentation
- Tool constraints create documentation constraints
- Tools used require extensive translation of data
- Documentation process is long, as high as 40% of design cycle
- ECOs, even small, require same documentation time
- Process is unintelligent and manual, prone to error
- Solutions and output vary from company to company
- Critical link in the design chain is made of paper
BluePrint's Value
Product success requires solid execution. Documentation provides zero end product value, but requires skilled PCB Designers to produce it.
Poor documentation increases manufacturing complexity.
- Minimize time spent on low-value task
- Move onto the next design sooner
- Increase documentation quality eliminates manufacturing guesswork
- Lower risk of shipment delay owning to deviations and MCO approvals
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