Thursday, November 2nd, 2:00-3:30 PM EST / 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM PST
Attend this Informative Free Online Seminar to Learn...
How to create more detailed PCB documentation faster and with higher quality, thereby lowering your
company’s overall cost of new product development.
Register Online or call 508-970-0623
How Does BluePrint Compare to Traditional PCB Documentation Tools?
Current tools and methodologies for PCB Documentation are essentially workarounds that,
rather than automating, in fact create obstacles to quickly producing detailed and accurate
PCB documentation. What is needed is a new approach to PCB documentation – a standalone PCB
document authoring tool, developed in the style of Microsoft Office, which quickly creates
electronic drawings to drive the PCB fabrication and assembly processes; a tool that “knows”
it is creating a PCB document and leverages the PCB CAD data to automatically create and
intelligently link PCB Views, details, document notes, external documents, URLs and multi-media
content. The result should be an electronic document which better articulates the instructions
for PCB manufacturing, which can be changed instantly, and will lead to faster and more accurate
new product introduction. A new product from DownStream Technologies – BluePrint for Printed
Circuit Boards – is just such a product.
PCB CAD: BluePrint provides more flexibility than PCB CAD solutions while still retaining
all the intelligence that PCB CAD provides. PCB CAD allows only one view of the PCB at any one
time. All data must be contained around this PCB view. PCB requires the use of layers to display
a “picture” of a document on the screen; however the document never actually exists in the database.
BluePrint uses a drawing/sheet based approach and allows the user to create actual PCB documents
(drill drawing, assembly drawing, parts list, etc) and stores them in in an electronic release
package.
BluePrint uses the CAD data to automatically create unlimited views, details, and charts of the
PCB and can revise the documentation to reflect new PCB changes in seconds. BluePrint also support
far better tools for 2d Drafting and dimensioning, text editing, and drawing formatting than found
in PCB CAD.
Mechanical CAD: BluePrint provides a robust set of drafting and dimension tools that rivals
mechanical CAD for PCB documentation. However, mechanical CAD requires numerous translations of
data from the PCB CAD system to the mechanical system requiring excessive time for translation
and resulting in drastic loss of data that can be used to automatically create PCB drawings.
For example, to move 4 layers of data between a PCB CAD system and mechanical CAD system requires
4 separate export functions from PCB CAD, 4 separate conversions of data from PCB to mechanical
CAD, and 4 separate importations to bring the data into a mechanical system. All before the
documentation process can even begin.
BluePrint requires one single load of the entire PCB CAD database to start the documentation
process and uses all the CAD intelligence to help create the documentation. ECO changes are easily
incorporated by “refreshing” the source CAD data. BluePrint “ripples” the new PCB data throughout
the documentation package, updating every instance of a PCB View, detail, and chart.
How is BluePrint Unique?
BluePrint allows for far easier navigation of documentation through the use of “active”
documents. BluePrint creates live, interactive documentation that can also use multi-media
(audio, video, and digital images), and hyperlinks to better articulate how a PCB is to be built
and delivers information instantaneously to the document user. BluePrint documents can be viewed
without a BluePrint application, or via the web. A stand-alone viewer is also available.
What are the Benefits of BluePrint-PCB?
BluePrint creates documentation in 60%-80% (more with ECOs) less time than current
methods, allows the creation of more detailed documentation and frees PCB designers
up earlier to move onto the next PCB design project. BluePrint creates better instructions
for faster product assimilation into manufacturing with fewer questions, manufacturing change
orders, and product deviations approvals.
Who Should Attend?
- Anyone who has responsibility for, or whom is involved in, documenting PCB designs.
- Project Engineers responsible for the finished product
- Engineering and CAD managers who are evaluating ways to improve their process to meet time-to-volume and quality production goals
- Anyone who wants to learn about new developments in design automation tools aimed at the manufacturing and fabrication phases of new product development.
To learn more, DownStream Technologies cordially invites you to
attend a FREE Web Seminar. Access is limited for each session, so please register today to
reserve your place...
Register Online or call 508-970-0623
