DfF/DfM/DfA/DfT
Today’s SMT and PTH assembly processes are driven by component packaging technology and functional design requirements. These requirements are driving manufacturing/test toward “build right” and increased reliability requirements.
With this transition, DfM needs to migrate away from general assembly design guidelines primarily driven by general assembly equipment/process capability toward component/printed board specific driven assembly understanding the requirements and tolerances of each solder connection on a single device location on the assembly. Manufacturing now has to be able to report design issues not only from assembly level effects/process customization but also to be able to communicate with designers on potential functional design mitigation strategies and/or cost impacts.
Manufacturing by design is now required to match the assembly/test processes to the functional requirements of the design and address when traditional material limitations, industry standards and assembly tolerances are not adequately addressed with traditional DFM reviews.
For more training, register NOW for PCB EAST 2025 -- coming to the Boston suburbs April 29-May 2, 2025.
With an estimated 80,000 SMTP lines in use standards are a lifeline for line operators and equipment and software developers worldwide. SEMI is developing a suite of standards for SMT and PCBA assembly lines. The new SMT Equipment Link Standards (SEMI SMT-ELS) or SEMI A1, A1.1 and A2 address Horizontal Communication (HC) between different equipment on the line and Vertical Communication (VC) between equipment and higher-tier hosts, including, for example, a line controller/equipment host or a factory automation host. SEMI is well-known for its SECS/GEM/EDA standards, which are almost universally adopted in the front-end processing fabs where frequent job changes and recipe changes are common. The SMT-ELS suite adjusts to the specific needs of SMT lines, including more operator interaction, minimal data collection requirements, material metadata handoffs between equipment, and minimal queuing. This presentation goes into detail on the design and features of SMT-ELS, including set up time and configurations.
