Ask any PCB designer what the foundation or building blocks are for printed circuit board designs and you'll get the same answer - "the component land patterns."  No matter what you call them – land patterns, footprints, decals, package symbols, etc. – what really matters is that they are accurate.

If land patterns are wrong, your PCB gets fabricated, and then a placement problem is discovered during assembly, you’ve most likely just wasted a lot of time and money.

“The catalyst for some of the best design processes come out of learning from mistakes.” 

So, why does it happen? Are there ever errors in the datasheet? Do people make mistakes?  Yes! And, yes!

Is there a process or procedure missing that could have prevented it?  Let’s talk about it! 

In this podcast I discuss some different ways that you can ensure that these foundational building blocks for your PCB designs are strong including:

·        The QA process

·        Tools used specifically for creating quality land patterns

·        Some reliable resources and tools that can ensure designs are correct-by-construction

Let’s ensure that dreaded calls from the PCB assembly house are avoided!

For more on this topic, check out these white papers:

·       Six Things You Want to Have in Your Desktop PCB Design Library

·       The Game Changer: Pre-Qualified PCB Libraries You’ll Use Today

Have questions or topics of interest? Add them in the comments below or send them to [email protected] so that we can feature them in future episodes.