Know How To Validate Your PCB Design With OrCAD X

The most crucial step in Printed Circuit Board or PCB is to validate its design to ensure that the final product is as expected and is error-free which can be expensive during the production process. The OrCAD X PCB Editor is a comprehensive suite of PCB design tools which helps in validating the PCB design process by addressing the various concerns like electrical, manufacturing, and reliability. Hence, this blog from Sunstream helps to know how to validate your PCB design with OrCAD X.

The Steps For Efficient Validation Steps:

Design Rule Check For PCB:

This is the first step in the PCB design validation where the designer needs to ensure their product outcome adheres to the design rule preventing the manufacturing errors. 

DFM Manufacturing Capability:

The next validation step is to optimize the PCB design outcome as per the manufacturability as per the routing and component placement.

Validation Of Component Functionality & Source:

In this step it is essential to verify the authenticity of the components in terms of sustainability, availability, and point of source.

Signal Integrity, Thermal Analysis, & Mechanical Fit

This step helps in ensuring that the PCB design is mechanically fit, has signal integrity, networking, and appropriate rate of heat dissipation.

Review Of Gerber & Drill File:

This step helps in ensuring the PCB design has the accurate representation of the features and layers for efficient manufacturing.

Assembly Defects Check

Identify and correct defects like bridging, voids, and tombstoning.

Check On Assembly Defect:

It is essential to validate the assembly defects by identifying and correcting the bridging, tombstoning, solder balls, and voids.

Automation Testing (Flying & ICT Probe)

In this step, the designers use automated systems for the validation of the PCB designs functionality and connections. 

How OrCAD X Helps In Validating The PCB’s?

DRC Check By OrCAD X:

The OrCAD X, a comprehensive suite of PCB design tools, offers a Constraint Manager feature which allows to set up the spacing, electrical, and physical constraints. These tools help the designer by automatically signaling the risks causing the violation during the designing process. The application also includes DR-C-related features as per the real-time and help in assisting the routing modes, which allows the user to highlight the spacing concerns and adjust the traces to avoid the violations.

DFM Check By OrCAD X:

Also, the OrCAD X also helps in assisting the Design For Manufacturing or DFM through its DFM checks. These DFM checks are integrated with the regulations of testing, fabrication, and assembly to ensure that the PCB design is both reliable and manufacturable.

Assembly Validation By OrCAD X:

The OrCAD X also offers advanced features allowing the designers to define right spacing rules on the PCB design where the components have to be spaced appropriately for an automated assembly process. In addition, this feature also allows categorizing the components on the PCB layout such as connectors, ICs, and chip parts for tailored spacing rules, increasing the efficiency of assembly. 

Component Source Validation By OrCAD X:

The component source validation in the PCB design allows the user to be assured of the authenticity, availability, and reduces the risk of counterfeit components. The OrCAD X’s  Live BOM features are integrated with the real-time data from the supplier database, allowing the business designers to ensure the source availability, pricing, and more, minimizing the issues with the supply chain and outdated components. 

PCB Assembly & Fabrication Validation By OrCAD X:

The OrCAD X offers DFF (Design for Fabrication) and DFA (Design for Assembly) constraints for efficient validation. The DFF constraint within the OrCAD X ensures that layers within the PCB meet the standards of fabrication, reducing the concerns like solder bridging or shorts. Also, the DFA constraints ensure the design addresses the assembly factors like spacing and component placement reducing the errors like solder voids and tombstoning. 

Hence, with efficient validation in PCB design ensures that you meet all your required needs right from conception of design till assembly. The OrCAD X offers the advanced features which helps the designers to achieve the efficient results for the designers. To learn more, reach out to  Sunstream PCB design services group for designing and validating your PCBs with the advanced tools and techniques like OrCAD X for efficient production.