When MJS Designs designs printed circuit boards (PCBs), efficiency and accuracy are paramount. One often-overlooked but crucial aspect of PCB design is the creation and maintenance of a comprehensive PCB library of footprints and schematic symbols. Let’s delve into the significant benefits that MJS Designs establishes and maintains for a well-organized PCB library and how it can streamline your design process, reduce errors, save time, and enhance the overall quality of your PCB projects.
Have a well-organized PCB Library
One of the primary advantages of having a well-organized PCB library is the ability to maintain consistency and standardization across your designs. MJS Designs has a standardized process for creating PCB footprints and schematic symbols to ensure that features are placed consistently for assembly and manufacturing optimization.
PCB footprint library management; many of the aspects that MJS Designs considers are: naming convention, landing pads, solder mask, silkscreen, paste mask, assembly outline, height, polarity, keepout restriction, courtyard boundary, and 3D body.
Schematic symbol library management; the various items considered by MJS are: naming convention, pin type, pin naming, pin numbering, polarity, grouping, length, grid, colors, proportion, and outlines.
Time and Effort Savings
Building a PCB library may seem like a significant investment of time upfront, but the long-term time and effort savings are substantial. Instead of recreating PCB footprints and schematic symbols for each new project, you can simply draw from your library. MJS Designs has developed a comprehensive PCB library over the years in various tools that include: Allegro PCB, Xpedition Layout, PADS Layout, Altium Designer, and Valor NPI. For schematic library management, MJS Designs has an extensive library for: Allegro HDL (Concept), Allegro CIS (OrCAD), Xpedition Designer, PADS Designer, PADS Logic, and Altium Designer. MJS Designs’ in-depth experience with these tools allows for time saved from not having to create a library for every design for an efficiency boost. This allows MJS Designs to focus on the unique aspects of each design, ultimately speeding up the development cycle.
Mistakes in PCB design can lead to costly rework and delays so the risk of errors must be reduced. A well-maintained library minimizes the risk of errors by providing PCB footprints and schematic symbols that are reliable, validated, and verified. When MJS Designs utilizes our vast library, you can trust that they have been thoroughly vetted and optimized for manufacturing through Valor NPI and our DFM CAD Specialist.
How Teams Can Benefit
If you work in a team, a library becomes an invaluable tool for collaboration. Team members can access the same set of standardized PCB footprints and schematic symbols, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. This promotes efficient communication and reduces the chances of misunderstandings or discrepancies in the design process. MJS Designs maintains a library that is accessible by all our team members. We also have the flexibility to maintain a customer’s proprietary library apart from the MJS Designs library.
Cost Savings in Library Management
Efficiency gains achieved through a vetted library directly translate into cost savings. By reducing design time, minimizing errors, and optimizing manufacturability, you can lower the overall cost of your PCB projects, making them more competitive and cost-effective. MJS Designs has experience and knowledge on the aspects of library management that affect cost.
Creating and maintaining a PCB footprint and schematic symbol library is essential for efficient PCB design. The benefits of consistency, standardization, time savings, error reduction, collaboration, and cost savings are clear advantages that cannot be ignored.
Let’s Take Your Project to the Next Level
By partnering with MJS Designs, you can take your PCB design to the next level. Our expertise, commitment to quality, and comprehensive design and manufacturing services make us a valuable ally in your quest for efficient PCB design and production. MJS Designs’ expertise in library management helps to ensure that your PCB projects are executed with precision and efficiency, delivering high-quality results on time. Visit our design page here.