Assembly Documentation

Which of the following guidelines is not included in Design for Excellence?

Materials, cost of production, and part assembly need to be considered throughout the design to create a successful printed circuit board.

Is it recommended to turn off the schematic grid?

Setting up a template saves time for future designs and maintains a level of consistency among schematic pages and projects.

Creating a block diagram helps plan out a schematic, saving time in the long run.

Communicate your design intent and reduce ambiguity in the block diagram by implementing which of the following:

When creating the schematic, the power circuit should be the last section captured.

Which part of the PCB assembly should electrical tests be performed on first?

For best readability, how should inputs and outputs be placed on the schematic?

For thorough testing, how many test points should be included in the design?

The microprocessor is often the intelligent decision maker on a hardware project.

The organization and alignment of objects in the schematic have no effect on the readability.

What is the most important way fiducial markers help the manufacturer?

According to IPC Standards, the solder mask expansion should be a minimum of ___________ the pad diameter

If you are assigning reference designators manually, how do you decide which letter to assign to schematic symbols?

Incorporating the name of the signal you’re testing into the testpoint reference designator can aid in both testing and inspection

Place no connects to communicate pins have been intentionally left unconnected.

For best readability, text should be clear and easy to understand. What issues should you check for when completing the schematic?

Why should you use net aliases in your design?

What naming convention should be used to define differential pairs on the schematic?

Overlapping and intersecting wires can cause confusion in the schematic.

What techniques can you use in the schematic to clearly communicate your design intent?

What are the benefits of grouping components by defining rooms?

Which aspects of the schematic should you manually check to ensure electrical design intent?

It’s ok to ignore DRC errors since they may not apply to the circuit.

What notes can be included in the schematic to communicate design intent?

Including important design information as notes in the schematic can reduce costs, improve PCB layout, and streamline manufacturing.

Which changes should be noted in the revision block?

Tracking revisions can save time and prevent certification re-tests.

What will the Bill of Materials be used for in the design process?

How do you determine the required fields for the Bill of Materials?

Intelligent PDFs contain connectivity and detailed schematic information making it ideal for schematic design reviews, testing, and more.

There is no difference between a regular PDF and intelligent PDF when printing for a paper.

Why should you color code specific nets in the design?

Setting up the PCB environment can be time consuming but this only needs to be completed once as you can export a template of your colors and settings for future designs.

Using a custom PCB outline instead of a rectangle can increase manufacturing costs.

Which areas of the PCB require collaboration with the mechanical engineer?

When creating the PCB stackup, you should consult with your manufacturing for which of the following?

The PCB stackup only affects the electrical performance of the design.

The minimum trace width a supplier can manufacture may result in additional costs due to tighter tolerances and advanced machinery required for production.

If incorporating thermal reliefs in the design, what rules should you activate to ensure the correct stoke and air gap?

Designing for fabrication considers the manufacturing process and tolerances throughout the PCB creation.

When designing the PCB, placement of surface-mount and through-hole components will not affect how the PCB will be soldered.

Why should you leave adequate spacing (preferably 100 mils) for test points?

How do you determine the trace width for power signals?

For best manufacturability, select a via diameter that yields an 8:1 aspect ratio.

Every manufacturer has specific tolerances and minimum values they can produce. These will determine the DFM rules used in your PCB design.

Designing for Manufacturing considers the fabrication, assembly, and testing processes throughout the PCB design.

Utilizing templates and customizing your work environment will increase efficiency and save time throughout your design process.

Which is NOT a benefit of using rooms:

How should you initially place components in the PCB Design?

What is the benefit of using Design Sync throughout the design process?

When the designer makes an intentional change in the schematic and pushes that to the PCB, it’s known as a(n):

What components should be placed first during the PCB Layout?

If possible, avoid placing components on the secondary side of the board as this will add steps to the manufacturing process and increase costs.

Why should you implement package-to-package spacing rules in your design?

In order for components to be grouped appropriately, package-to-package spacing rules should be completed after initial component placement.

Which components need to be fixed during the PCB layout to prevent errors in the assembly?

What items should be considered to optimize the PCB layout?

3D visualization can be used to identify and correct problems with component spacing.

Rotation and orientation of components has no effect on manufacturing, inspection, or testing.

According to IPC standards, what is the ideal distance between test points?

What factors need to be considered when placing test points in your design?

A ground plane is the ideal option for providing all signals on the PCB with a high-impedance return path.

When utilizing copper planes and pours, keep the manufacturing process in mind when determining the outline-to-shape spacing.

Excluding ground, power should be routed first since it is critical for your board to function properly.

Crossing a split in an underlying plane will not have an effect on signal quality.

What signals are considered critical and should be routed early in the design?

What should be considered when routing to improve signal performance of critical nets?

To reduce coupling, traces on adjacent layers should be routed:

For initial routing, focus on simply making the connections. Traces can always be improved.

When adjusting traces, be mindful to:

DFM checks are essential to ensure you meet the manufacturer’s specifications and should be performed during the Design Rule Check.

When adjusting the silkscreen on the PCB, what items need to be considered?

The purpose of silkscreen is to assist the pick and place machine in assembly.

To accurately communicate your design requirements for manufacturing and inspection, the fabrication drawing should include which of the following?

The fabrication drawing will be used by both manufacturing and inspection.

Gerber files contain intelligent data, net names, and connectivity information.

Which two files are used to ensure the artwork matches the electrical design intent, verifying design continuity?

Which 3D export is the most versatile format, allowing project stakeholders to review the PCB assembly regardless of mechanical software?

Which file format should be submitted to your manufacturer for review?

Utilizing DFM rules and checks within your PCB tool significantly reduces the amount of rework required by your PCB supplier to successfully create a manufacturable board.

Providing a complete assembly data package will help manufacturer’s complete which of the following?

Which output should NOT be included in the assembly data package?

A test point location file should be supplied to the manufacturer to build the test fixture and program automated machinery.

Which output format is required for testing the PCB?