Design for Manufacture Analysis

The entry level Design for Manufacture Analyses (DFMA) configuration includes the most common analyses related to fabrication and assembly. DFM Analysis is best implemented to verify a design in an incremental manner leading to a final DFM verification that incorporates manufacturing optimization into the PCB design process.

Catching DFM issues at the design stage is critical because at each successive stage of the production process, the cost of rectifying a problem increases significantly over the previous stage. Design for Manufacture Analyses works seamlessly with your EDA system to take you to the location of the manufacturing issue within your design tool.

DFM Analysis provides limited functionality that is sufficient for most customers. It differs from the full-function analysis solution in these respects:

  • DFMA is a single user system. It does not require user logins and it benefits from a simple, straightforward installation.

  • DFMA does not require sophisticated customization tools. It does not support scripting, user-defined attributes, or attribute assignment tools.

  • DFMA does not require access to VPL, and does not include the BOM Manager.

  • DFMA comes with a predefined set of checklists and ERF models. Complex features like ERF sub-models are not supported.

  • DFMA benefits from streamlined checklist management. An easy to use checklist editor is sufficient.

  • DFMA has a simplified result review process. By default only critical results of critical severity are reported. The Management Risk Assessment (MRA) result viewer is replaced by a simpler Result Viewer. The number of results is smaller, because only the most common DFM checks are performed. See “DFMA Result Viewer”.

Fabrication Analysis actions locate potential product model problems during bare board fabrication. Each action covers a specific aspect of board fabrication. This includes copper layers (signal, power and ground), support layers (solder mask and silk screen) and drill layers.

Assembly Analysis analyses locate potential manufacturability problems during board assembly and testability issues.

These are the benefits of performing thorough DFM analysis:

  • Estimation of cost can be derived from the results of the analysis.

  • Manufacturing defects can be identified and corrected prior to tool creation.

  • Design parameters can be extracted to provide input for planning, down to which machines should be used for production.

  • Rework considerations can be plugged into the design early on in the process.