PCB Design Goes 3D

More than ever before then, a product’s packaging must take into account the physical aspects of the internal electronics while, in turn, the electronics assembly –the PCB design – must allow for the physical style and functionality of the package design.

This increased interdependency of design processes is in line with the overall trend in electronic product development, where previously isolated stages in the design flow must now efficiently interact. From design capture through to manufacturing, maintaining a competitive edge in the market requires tools and processes that support collaboration at all levels of development.

Efficiently bridging the gap between the mechanical and electronic design processes is therefore becoming crucial for collaborative and successful product development.

However, rather than simply passing raw dimensioning and positional data from the ECAD to MCAD environment, what is needed is design tools that allow a bi-directional flow of comprehensive 3D data between those domains.

In the ECAD world this means an ability to import and seamlessly integrate 3D component data from an MCAD environment, then pass a full and accurate 3D representation of the board assembly back to the MCAD domain.

This higher-level process also offers the opportunity of passing comprehensive, component-inclusive board data to the mechanical design environment earlier in the product development cycle, allowing ECAD-MCAD co-design.

What is more, the gain in design-flow efficiency is enhanced by the reduced need for a prototype board assembly to be on hand during MCAD design stage. With comprehensive 3D data exchange, the mechanical designer can have full dimensional information.

To harness this potential, while preparing your design system for the ongoing convergence in the MCAD and ECAD worlds, the minimum requirement is an electronics design system that supports 3D modelling at the component level. This ability plus facilities to export accurate 3D design data supports the necessary interaction between the mechanical and electrical environments while delivering the productivity benefits of collaborative MCAD-ECAD co-design.

Electro-mechanical design flow
As electronic products shrink in size, production deadlines shorten and the industry moves towards ‘soft’ electronic design, the ability to efficiently share information across all design processes is becoming crucial.

For those accustomed to working in the traditional 2D space of design capture and board design, it is now important to consider the benefits of embracing the 3D design space and its relationship to the entire production chain.

The ability to display, exchange and work with 3D rendered objects in your electronic design system is not just a nice add-on feature set and is certainly not a gimmick.

As design disciplines converge and collaborate at a higher level, it has now become an inherent and essential part of the electronic product development process that will play an increasingly important role into the future.

Electronics Weekly, a sister publication of EM Asia