Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Will the CM accept orders without requiring that its own design for manufacturab-
ility (DFM) engineering be applied to the design, especially if that engineering ser-
vice comes at an additional cost?
Can the CM support your materials and process requirements (i.e., solder and flux
type, Restriction of Hazardous Substances [RoHS] or conflict-free compliance,
100% testing of each solder joint)?
Is the CM accepting of both infrequent and unpredictable orders with potentially
varied unit quantities in each order?
Which CAD file formats does the factory use?
Is the factory responsive to your requests?
SparkFun's Core Design for Manufacturability Standards
Scrub the design and bill of materials (BOM). There are dozens of design tradeoffs
to consider:
Performance of the part versus requirements of the design.
Can you swap plated through hole (PTH) parts for surface-mount device (SMD)
parts for ease of manufacturing?
Consider size, cost, availability, minimum order quantity (MOQ), and other
factors.
Do you have a vendor for the new parts? (It can take weeks or months to set up
new vendors.)
Are there long lead times?
Are there shortages?
What is the minimum order quantity?
Do you have a plan for end-of-life (EOL) components?
Can the footprints of parts on the printed circuit board be modified to better fit
the manufacturing process?
PCB board
Does a pin 1 indicator need to be added?
Do polarity indicators need to be added?
Does the cream layer need to be reduced?
Can you reduce the size of the PCB?
