Marlborough, MA -- Software simulation company Flomerics has released a survey highlighting the conflict that often occurs between meeting thermal, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and signal integrity (SI) design requirements in new PCB designs. 59% of respondents agreed that thermal and EMC requirements are usually in conflict in PCB design (23% disagreed). 60% agreed that thermal and SI requirements are usually in conflict in PCB design (23% disagreed). 
 
However, the survey reveals positive communication and collaboration between electronic and mechanical design engineers at most companies. 64% of respondents described communication as “good” or “very good”, 31% as “needs to improve” and just 4% as “very poor”.  56% of respondents stated that “better software interfaces between electronic and mechanical software would greatly improve collaboration between electronic design engineers and mechanical design engineers”, while 28% said “software is not the issue - good management, human interaction, etc. are more important”.
 
Respondents were also asked to identify the percentage of new designs that overran time and cost budgets, and the most common causes of such overruns. Most respondents (50%) said that 10 to 30% of new PCB designs overran time and cost budgets, while 4% said projects went over time/budget more than half the time. The most common causes of time and budget overruns were: design requirement changes (59%); circuit design (39%); thermal problems (34%); EMC problems (32%); SI problems (30%); physical layout problems (22%); and routing problems (19%). Respondents were allowed to specify more than one cause.
 
The survey also provides insights into typical PCB design flows and processes. The average design cycle time for a new PCB design from concept to final testing and manufacturing signoff was specified at 6 to12 weeks by 50% of respondents, more than 12 weeks by 29% and less than 6 weeks by 21%. When asked what generates the greatest pressure on the PCB design function, 54% said “functionality and performance”, 30% said “time to market” and 14% said “cost”.
 
For a copy of the survey, visit www.flomerics.com/contact.