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Current IssueShowing Some Constraint
A strong design constraint strategy carefully balances a wide range of electrical and manufacturing trade-offs. This month, we explore the key requirements, common challenges, and best practices behind building an effective constraint strategy.
All About That Route
Most designers favor manual routing, but today's interactive autorouters may be changing designers' minds by allowing users more direct control. In this issue, our expert contributors discuss a variety of manual and autorouting strategies.
Creating the Ideal Data Package
Why is it so difficult to create the ideal data package? Many of these simple errors can be alleviated by paying attention to detail—and knowing what issues to look out for. So, this month, our experts weigh in on the best practices for creating the ideal design data package for your design.
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The Key to First-pass Success in PCB Design
April 10, 2025 | Gerry Partida, Summit InterconnectEstimated reading time: 1 minute

In the dynamic world of PCB manufacturing, achieving first-pass success hinges on more than just cutting-edge equipment and skilled teams. At Summit Interconnect, we have seen countless successful launches of advanced HDI designs that can be traced directly to engagement between designers and fabricators early in the design phase.
Unfortunately, collaboration in the PCB industry often begins only after problems arise—such as field failures, assembly fallout, or low fabrication yields. This reactive approach is the wrong starting point for collaboration.
When issues surface late in the design cycle or during production, the costs of fixing them escalate exponentially. Redesigns, delays, and rework add unnecessary complexity and expense, while product reliability and time-to-market suffer. To avoid these challenges, collaboration needs to occur earlier in the design cycle, where issues can be proactively addressed.
Bridging the Knowledge Gap
PCB designers often focus on functionality, performance, and compliance with end-use requirements. Meanwhile, fabricators look at manufacturability, process efficiency, and cost optimization. Proactive collaboration between the OEM and the manufacturer ensures that requirements and capabilities are aligned from the outset, minimizing potential conflicts between design intent and fabrication results.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the March 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
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Target Condition: The 5 Ws of PCB Design Constraints
07/29/2025 | Kelly Dack -- Column: Target ConditionHave you ever sat down to define PCB design constraints and found yourself staring at a settings window with more checkboxes than a tax form? You’re not alone. For many designers—especially those newer to the layout world—the task of setting up design constraints can feel like trying to write a novel in a language you just started learning.
Zuken to Showcase Defence & Security-Focused Electronic Systems Design Solutions at DSEI 2025
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Creating a Design Constraint Strategy
07/24/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamMost designers learn how to set their design constraints through trial and error. EDA vendors’ guidelines explain how to use their particular tools’ constraints, and IPC standards offer a roadmap, but PCB designers usually develop their own unique styles for setting constraints. Is there a set of best practices for setting constraints? That’s what I asked Global Electronics Association design instructor Kris Moyer, who covers design constraints in his classes.
Elementary Mr. Watson: Closing the Gap Between Design and Manufacturing
07/23/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonModern PCB designers are not merely engineers or technicians. I believe that PCB design, at its core, is an art form, and modern PCB designers should be considered artists. Beyond the technical calculations and engineering rules lies a creative process that involves vision, balance, and a passion for what we do. Like any artist who works with brush and canvas or chisel and stone, a PCB designer shapes invisible pathways that bring ideas to life. Each trace, layer, and component placement reflects thoughtful decisions that blend form, fit, and function.