-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Growing Industry
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we talk with leading economic experts, advocacy specialists in Washington, D.C., and PCB company leadership to get a well-rounded picture of what’s happening in the industry today. Don’t miss it.
The Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
TTM’s Approach to Stackup Design: Train the Customer
January 12, 2021 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
In this interview with the I-Connect007 Editorial Team, TTM’s Julie Ellis and Richard Dang drill down into stackup design, detailing some of the common stackup challenges that their customers face when designing for both prototype and volume levels, and offering advice to designers or engineers who are struggling with stackup issues. They also discuss why having too many different prepregs in a stackup can be asking for trouble, and how proper stackup design can optimize both the fabrication and assembly processes.
Andy Shaughnessy: Julie, why don’t you start by explaining why proper stackup design is so critical.
Julie Ellis: A stackup not only has to meet all of the customer requirements and industry standards, such as IPC-6012, but it also should be designed for best cost for fabrication using the least number of processes and available material that we can buy in time to meet the delivery, and be planned for special requirements, such as laser microvias or thick copper for high current. For products destined for volume manufacturing, stackups and minimum design guidelines should be verified with the final fabrication site capabilities in mind. We also take into account long-term reliability issues when we create our stackups for very high voltage devices (>500V) that are being driven by the electric vehicle and energy markets.
So, there’s a lot that goes into a stackup, and it’s not only 2D in the vertical cross-section view (Z-axis), where we’re trying to figure out the copper layers and the dielectric thicknesses. We need to achieve designs that accommodate registration process limitations in lamination, drilling, plating, and etching, which drive the minimum design guidelines. Depending on the design and the components that the customer is using, we determine the minimum trace, space, pad and via geometries on the horizontal X–Y plane. But it can be kind of difficult for customers to accept minimum design rules that are slightly larger than they planned when they don’t understand all the trade-offs and tolerances that we have to consider in our fabrication processes.
Shaughnessy: It’s where the rubber meets the road.
Ellis: It’s totally where the rubber meets the road. It’s better to plan carefully before you start putting the rubber to the road.
Shaughnessy: That’s one of the things that we hear: Some designers are doing stackups as they go.
Ellis: Yes, and if they don’t have all the fabricator’s input, which they would not necessarily know from their experience and point of view, they can accidentally start a design with extreme features and end up with a finished product that can be manufactured in small prototype quantities, but not in production volumes.
Shaughnessy: I’ve heard some designers say that if they can get the stackup right, that’s 80% of the design, basically.
Ellis: It could be, especially if their fabricator also provides all the minimum design guidelines, before they start routing their circuits.
Shaughnessy: Give us a quick overview of how you work with a customer who has a potential problem with the stackup.
Ellis: With my regular customers, if they have a new product and it’s got special requirements, they call me before they even start routing their boards. For rigid designs, we begin by discussing project requirements to determine the subgroup, which establishes which fab sites should be considered, by the complexity of the stackup.
To read this entire interview, which appeared in the January 2021 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Designer’s Notebook: What Designers Need to Know About Manufacturing, Part 2
04/24/2024 | Vern Solberg -- Column: Designer's NotebookThe printed circuit board (PCB) is the primary base element for providing the interconnect platform for mounting and electrically joining electronic components. When assessing PCB design complexity, first consider the component area and board area ratio. If the surface area for the component interface is restricted, it may justify adopting multilayer or multilayer sequential buildup (SBU) PCB fabrication to enable a more efficient sub-surface circuit interconnect.
Insulectro’s 'Storekeepers' Extend Their Welcome to Technology Village at IPC APEX EXPO
04/03/2024 | InsulectroInsulectro, the largest distributor of materials for use in the manufacture of PCBs and printed electronics, welcomes attendees to its TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE during this year’s IPC APEX EXPO at the Anaheim Convention Center, April 9-11, 2024.
ENNOVI Introduces a New Flexible Circuit Production Process for Low Voltage Connectivity in EV Battery Cell Contacting Systems
04/03/2024 | PRNewswireENNOVI, a mobility electrification solutions partner, introduces a more advanced and sustainable way of producing flexible circuits for low voltage signals in electric vehicle (EV) battery cell contacting systems.
Heavy Copper PCBs: Bridging the Gap Between Design and Fabrication, Part 1
04/01/2024 | Yash Sutariya, Saturn Electronics ServicesThey call me Sparky. This is due to my talent for getting shocked by a variety of voltages and because I cannot seem to keep my hands out of power control cabinets. While I do not have the time to throw the knife switch to the off position, that doesn’t stop me from sticking screwdrivers into the fuse boxes. In all honesty, I’m lucky to be alive. Fortunately, I also have a talent for building high-voltage heavy copper circuit boards. Since this is where I spend most of my time, I can guide you through some potential design for manufacturability (DFM) hazards you may encounter with heavy copper design.
Trouble in Your Tank: Supporting IC Substrates and Advanced Packaging, Part 5
03/19/2024 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankDirect metallization systems based on conductive graphite or carbon dispersion are quickly gaining acceptance worldwide. Indeed, the environmental and productivity gains one can achieve with these processes are outstanding. In today’s highly competitive and litigious environment, direct metallization reduces costs associated with compliance, waste treatment, and legal issues related to chemical exposure. What makes these processes leaders in the direct metallization space?