3D visualization and documentation of manufacturing data helps to minimize manufacturing defects and delays in production. DFMStream® is a comprehensive, yet easy-to-use tool suite designed to help engineers and designers analyze, verify and optimize a PCB design for successful manufacturing. It checks design and manufacturing rules on PCB design databases, Gerber and NC data any time during the PCB design cycle. DFMStream also fosters collaboration between engineer/designer and fabricator.
PCB designs that pass standard design rule verification within the PCB CAD system, may unknowingly contain critical flaws that derail an expedient transition to manufacturing and assembly. Commonly, the flaws are discovered prior to production when design data is being processed for PCB manufacturing or assembly. In many cases, these flaws result in costly time to market delays as designs are updated and reprocessed to address issues detected in pre-production.
DFMStream will import your CAD database or you can choose to import Gerber files. It will then verify that the electrical characteristics match the design intent. Errors can occur in translation such as accidental inclusion of non electrical items in Gerber output or problems with manual separation of voltages on a plane layer. CAM350 will graphically match up original design files with Gerbers to ensure accuracy by locating any disparities.
DFMStream also offers Design Rule Checks (DRC) to verify the Gerber layers match the design rules in your CAD system and the capabilities of your fabricator as well. DFMStream’s Design for Fabrication (DFF) tools insure the board not only matches manufacturing capabilities, but also searches out design flaws that may affect yields resulting in missed deliveries and delayed product release.
DFMStream’s Design for Fabrication (DFF) Analysis pulls fabrication rules into the PCB design domain and presents them in a way that is understood by the PCB designer. DFF Analysis verifies the PCB database to find issues that may cause problems when entering into the fabrication process.
- Directly import your design data for true WYSIWYG representation
- Analyze, identify, and fix manufacturing flaws that may cause delay
- Inspect for etching, soldermask, thermal, and spacing violations
- Verify and maintain design integrity and intent
- Easy to learn, use and implement
While manufacturers are fully capable of addressing minor issues, their resolutions are rarely fed back into the source CAD data resulting in additional rounds of modifications on design respins. In worse case scenarios, design intent may unknowingly be sacrificed when the manufacturer alters your source design files prior to production.
DFMStream can be implemented for a fraction of the annual software maintenance contract typically assessed for more expensive DFM solutions. This enables engineering organizations to outfit entire design teams with DFMStream ultimately reducing engineering costs, staffing and bottlenecks when assimilating design data into manufacturing.
DFMStream analysis will identify design content with the potential to result in low manufacturing or assembly yields, or costly scrap. Use DFMStream’s analysis tools to identify:
Less than minimal spacing between design objects including pads, tracks, copper, drills, vias of all types including:
- Blind, buried, laser and back drilled.
- Less than minimal annular rings of pad, copper, or mask.
- Less than minimal spacing between SMD or Through hole pads or parts.
- Copper and mask slivers and pin holes.
- Acid traps, solder bridge potential, isolated or starved thermal reliefs or trace antennas.
- Minimal mask spacing, Missing paste, missing solder mask, extra mask areas, or poor mask to pad ratios.
- Overlapping, coincidental or redundant drills, mill path errors and poor drill to board thickness ratio.
- And many other error types.