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Thorne Lietz Moves from LPKF to LaserMicronics

There are really just a few actions between the head workplace of LPKF Laser & Electronics AG and that of LaserMicronics. When Thorne Lietz leaves the PCB prototyping market group to take charge of PCB laser companies at LaserMicronics, he will certainly take this brief course in future.

Thorne Lietz has an outstanding expertise of the electronic devices market, which he has actually functioned in since 1985.He had previously responsibility for allocation of high-quality PCB prototyping systems.In this character he got the comprehensive knowledge of materials machining with lasers from working on consumer items.After signing up with LaserMicronics on April 1, he is currently the right people for structuring services with lasers as well as the distribution of the cutting.

He can see terrific market capacity for laser cutting procedures: “Our UV laser cutting systems devices sensitive substratums without mechanical stress and also with marginal thermal effect. Interesting applications are for instance the reworking of fast PCBs, pcb’s cutting as well as drilling of flexible substratums, metal layers on porcelains or the pattern of LTCC substratums.”

Thorne Lietz has the responsibility for laser cutting and also structuring service at LaserMicronics.

About iFasPCB

iFastPCB is a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturer providing a one-stop solution to all the electronic assembly and low-volume orders. Our high-end services include fast PCB Prototyping, PCB fabrication, PCB manufacturing, as well as assembly. We will bring you fast turnaround,best price, and excellent service.Under our quick turnaround services, For the single and 2-layer PCB, you will receive a quick delivery of 48 hours. For the multilayer PCBs, the turnaround will depend on the quantity and layer counts.1-2 layers,length & width <= 100mm,10pcs prototypes start from 12$.
Once you opt for our services, you will recognize how our PCB manufacturing services can accelerate your R&D process.

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All Flex PCB Manufacturing Expert Glenn Menear

All Flex, producer of flexible printed circuits as well as flexible heaters, has actually emplyed Glenn Menear to sign up with the applications engineering sales group. Menear has actually stayed in the flexible PCB industry for almost 40 years and also is an acknowledged specialist with a wide range of technical knowledge . As a program supervisor he will certainly promote All Flex capacities and also supply design applications support within the experienced group of developers in the sales division.

Menear has stayed important positions at many fabricating firms.Before signing up with All Flex he was the Senior Technology Manager at Samtec accountable for identifying the devices and also manufacturing facility impact for their flexible circuit ability.Because of the charactar ,Menear likewise offered PCB skill as well as sales support to large-scale of consumers in medical and army marketing.Menear also had and administer a consulting company suggesting in the filed of flexible circuit processing engineering,usual PCB manufacturing, as well as procedures.He also has been rich in impedance controlled pcb ,new business chances,and also has a wonderful technical sell background.

V.P. of Sales and also Marketing Dave Becker is quite delighted to invite Glenn to the All Flex technological group. His flexible pcb enterprise is more than 35 year and he is acknowledged as a conductor in our company.As we proceed to expand our company, including tactical ability assists company consumers with an extensive variety of applications engineering talent while all at once broadening our technological impact.All flex will certainly profit by his knowledge and operations.

Glenn began with the firm May 2nd and also is functioning from the Northfield, Minnesota head office center.

About iFastPCB
iFastPCB is a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturer providing a one-stop solution to all the electronic assembly and low-volume orders. Our high-end services include fast PCB Prototyping, PCB fabrication, PCB manufacturing, as well as assembly. We will bring you fast turnaround,best price, and excellent service.Under our quick turnaround services, For the single and 2-layer PCB, you will receive a quick delivery of 48 hours. For the multilayer PCBs, the turnaround will depend on the quantity and layer counts.1-2 layers,length & width <= 100mm,10pcs prototypes start from 12$.
Once you opt for our services, you will recognize how our PCB manufacturing services can accelerate your R&D process.

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Smart Watches- How Do They Function

Opposite to popular belief,it is not hard to know how smart watches function.The backend, or “mind” of the watches are powered by Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT), a modern technology presented by Microsoft in 2002. Like TV and radio,the information is spead by FM broadcasting.By integrating these 2 innovations, wise watch proprietors can gain access to information, weather condition, sporting activities, horoscopes, Microsoft Outlook, MSN Instant Messenger, as well as various other functions on these wise watches.

The content easily accessible by these watches is sent over the Microsoft DirectBand Network which is a rented radio range constructed by Microsoft in collaboration with Infinity Broadcasting and also ClearChannel to relay information over a broad location. This content could be gotten in 100 cities in the United States and also 5 significant cities in Canada and is relocated over 200 channels of info to wise watches and also various other SPOT-enabled objects.

Smart watch proprietors could make use of MSN Direct to get, turn on as well as manager their wise watches. An individual merely requires to develop an account utilizing a free.NET account to turn on a wise watch.Once the account is made,they are able to select the channesl which will be sent to their watch.

Presently 4 firms make SPOT-enabled watches. They are Fossil, Suunto, Swatch, and Tissot..All have the very same fundamental elements although they come in numerous various dimensions as well as designs.These fundamental elements are as below.

* The PCB (Printed Circuit Board): This is a multi-layered fiberglass board with small ingrained circuitry to direct electricity to the numerous elements in the watch.In order to make sure the quality,it is important to make better prototype pcb.

* The piezoelectric ceramic crystal: This element functions as a tiny audio speaker motorist, making it possible for the wise watch to develop voice.

* ARM 7 TDMI: This is the watch’s central processing unit, essentially developing the minds of the wise watch.

* The DirectBand radio receiver chip: A crucial trick to the feature of the wise watch, this is just what permits MSN Direct to get in touch with the watch.

Like any type of computer system, the wise watch requires memory as well as therefore uses 384 KB of RAM and also 512 KB of ROM. The wise watch is powered by a rechargeable battery that will certainly differ in life expectancy according to the design of wise watch as well as the quantity of task it sees.

Charging the battery is completed via an inductive charge coil connected to the contact surface area on the back of the watch. This enables the wise watch battery to be charged with induction whenever the surface area enters contact with the charging plate on watch stand.
Expected to become a part of our everyday lives in coming years, SPOT technology is being developed to create new smart objects.

Anticipated to come to be a component of our daily lives in years to coming, SPOT modern technology is being created to develop brand-new wise things.

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Increase Profits by Minimizing Inspection of PCB manufacturing

” We strive to decide our own fate. We act with self-reliance, trusting in our own abilities. We accept accountability for our supervision and for maintaining and improving the skills that help us to produce added value.”- Excerpt from Toyota Motor Corporation’s internal document, “The Toyota Way”

Wrong-Headed Thinking

The opening quote catches the values and ideals of Taiichi Ohno, one of the inventors of the Toyota Way pushed with converting Toyota into the world-class manufacturing company
that it is today. Some of my columns may sound like a broken record to my readers regarding best practices/Lean as a “be-all, end all” to every problem a company can have. It may surprise you that I firmly disagree with that; Lean certainly has limitations and does not play particularly well in high-mix, low-volume
( HMLV) proceedings like PCB manufacturing. That being said, what I do believe is that there are very few problems that can not be helped with a thoughtful, selective application of best practice tools appropriate to the situation. Unfortunately, one of the first reactions to a process problem with many companies, especially in a very complicated operation like PCB manufacturing, is to throw more inspectors at it. This knee-jerk reaction has a triple impact on profits:
1. Inspection by definition is a non value- add reactive process.
2. Inspection doesn’t address the root cause of the issue and assures it will certainly resurface at some point.
3. Inspection is not effective.

Inspection Is Evil

An intelligent man once shared, “Inspection is evil.” Actually it was me, and I didn’t say it just once, I say it every chance I get. Inspection is a non value-add activity and companies tend to use it to hide many sins. Typically, leaders of American industry have had a one-size-fits-all solution to just about any manufacturing issue they encounter: they throw more inspectors at it. Client returns grow and/or internal yields reduce: “Let’s hire more inspectors to make sure our customers do not receive the results of our inefficient process.” Whether you find bad parts internally or ship them, the client is paying for your process inefficiencies either by flaws, or the cost of your inspection, repair and rework. I am here to tell you that this approach simply does not work, and I will verify it to you shortly.
From a functional standpoint, there are three kinds of inspection:
1. Judgment/standard inspection
2. Informative inspection
3. Point of origin inspection
The first two are widely used and regarded traditional methods of quality control. Pointof-origin inspection is the only way that actually eliminates defects by putting the responsibility
for quality back at the manufacturing source, which is quality guarantee.
Believe me now? So is inspection a great approach of assuring quality and profit? I think not. Regarding the multiple negative impact of excessive inspection, I would argue that inspection is one of the more hidden destroyers of revenues in any business. Inspection is evil.

What is the Solution ?

That is easy: applying the appropriate best technique tools explained in detail in my previous columns to drive to true root cause to completely get rid of profit-sucking process issues from your operation.
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North American PCB Market continued to grow in April

IPC– Association Connecting Electronics Industries ® revealed today the April 2016 searchings from its regular monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales as well as orders in April both surpassed last year’s degrees and also the book-to-bill proportion stands at 1.02.

Overall North American PCB deliveries in April 2016 were5.6% over the same month last year, creating year-to-date development to stay at 5.5% for the initial four months of the year. Compared with the previous month, April deliveries were down 16.8%.

PCB reservations in April boosted 6.4% year-on-year, increasing year-to-date reservations development for the initial quarter to 5.0%. PCB purchase orders in April2016 were down 19.3% from the preceding month.

{” April was one more excellent month for the North American PCB manufacturing market, with strong year-on-year growth in both orders as well as sales.” claimed Bob, “Reservations surpassed deliveries for the 6th successive month, however just} by a little margin in April. This brought the book-to-bill proportion down although it stays favorable,” she included. “Growth rates as well as book-to-bill proportions for the initial quarter altered a little from formerly released files, because of a re-tabulation required by a adjustment in the study example this month. The modified proportions are 1.05 in January, 1.04 in February as well as 1.05 in March. April’s 1.02 book-to-bill proceeds a favorable trend showing continuous sales growth in the 2nd as well as 3rd quarters.”

Thorough Data Available

The following version of IPC’s North American PCB Market Report,including comprehensive April information from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will certainly be offered by the end of following week.The monthly report provides comprehensive searchings on hard PCB as well as flexible PCB orders and sales, consisting of separate hard and flex book-to-bill proportions, army as well as medical market growth, need for models, and also other prompt information. This file is availalbe cost-free to existing individuals in IPC’s PCB Statistical Program and by registration to others.

Analyzing the Data

The book-to-bill proportions are computed by separating the worth of orders reserved over the previous 3 months by the value of sales billed throughout the same duration from firms in IPC’s study example. A proportion of more than 1.00 recommends that present need is ahead of supply, which is a favorable indication for sales growth over the following 3 to 6 months. A proportion of less than 1.00 shows the opposite.

Year-to-date as well as year-on-year growth growth offer the most significant sight of market growth. Month-to-month contrasts need to be made with care because they show seasonal impacts as well as temporary volatility. Since reservations have the tendency to be much more unstable than deliveries,adjustmetn in the book-to-bill proportions from month to month may not be considerable unless a trend of more than three successive months is obvious.It is likewise essential to think about modifications in both deliveries and reservations to recognize what is driving modifications in th book-bo-bill proportion.

IPC’s regular monthly PCB Manufacturing industry data are based upon information} supplied by a depictive example} of both hard pcb as well as flexible circuit makers offering in the USA as well as Canada.IPC releases the PCB book-to-bill proportion at the end of every month. Statistics for the present month are usually available in the last week of the following month.

Regarding IPC

IPC is a worldwide industry organization based in Bannockburn, Ill., committed to the competitive excellence as well as financial success of its 3,700 firms which stand for all aspects of the electronics industry, consisting of layout}, printed board production, electronics assembly as well as test. As a member-driven association as well as leading resource for industry requirements,training,market study and also public policy advocacy,IPC sustains programs to satisfy the demands of an approximated $2 trillion worldwide electronics industry.IPC keeps extra workplaces in Taos, N.M.; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Stockholm, Sweden; Brussels, Belgium; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore and New Delhi, India; Bangkok, Thailand; and Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing, China.

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PCB Manufacturing in Brazil: Are you kidding me?

Let ´ s face truths: Who would certainly ever think of listening to a viewpoint about the PCB sector coming from someone in Brazil?

In 2011, when I first came to the U.S. for a proper training session at an electrical test company, I heard things like: “Brazil is bigger than Texas? WOW!” and “Brazil is almost the same size as the U.S.?” and even this: “Are there cockroaches the size of my hand in Brazil?” People were also very curious about the specific location of places like Rio de Janeiro and the Amazon rainforest.

It wasn’t any much better when I went to a PCB manufacturing show in Suzhou, China, two years ago. The Chinese people I talked with said they had never heard of Brazil.

Brazilian Economy: Instruction
Brazil is the fifth biggest country and the fifth most-populated nation in the world, with roughly 205 million inhabitants. The country ranks among the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world, but its future is not so clear. Brazil is heading toward one of its hardest recessions in the recent history, mainly due to political instability.

Abinee, the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association, estimate a drop of 10% in real income (RS) in 2015 compared to 2014, and 6% in 2016, compared to last year. This industry is responsible for approximately 2.5% of the national GDP and it is divided into eight major segments as shown in Table 2.

The bad news is that there are tremendous obstacles Brazil must conquer to stay alive in this arena. The good news is we are ready for battle. What ´ s the point of following this column?

Although Brazilian PCB manufacturers’ revenue represents a small share of the country ´ s GDP, and consequently has no big influence worldwide, we deal with some of the biggest players in the international electronics sector.

Quick-turn PCB manufacturing, small- and medium-size batches, high-tech PCBs, severe environmental laws, lack of a skilled work force and tons of customer demands, are just some of the issues we need to handle with in our everyday lives.

My targets for this new post– Made in Brazil– are to present Brazil in a different way from the one I was presented to when I was abroad, and to share the know-how I have acquired in the PCB manufacturing market throughout the last, almost 10 years I have been element of the Circuibras team, working and leading people in different zones– electrical test, drilling, routing, lamination, process engineering, dry film, AOI and visual inspection.

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How to improve Profiting from Advice on PCB manufacturing

We all want to improve profits– even in our everyday private lives? Who wouldn’t you like to increase his personal profit?
Often, especially in today’s world, profit is considered a dirty word. How dare a company make a profit while paying me beans, or while charging me an outrageous sum? Or so the thinking goes. Of course, profitability is crucial to just about any business; without it, a private company wouldn’t be in business very long. But in this tough, highly competitive industry of ours, how do you make that happen? PCB Material costs squeeze from one side and your customers squeeze from the other. Are there strategies you haven’t tried or don’t know about? Yes, I believe there are.
Naturally, we first wanted to hear your thoughts, so we conducted a survey. One of the first questions was, “What is your target percentage of profit?” I must say, I was a bit surprised to see that some people were expecting a profit of more than 30% (well, maybe not in manufacturing). Most were targeting 11– 15%, which seems a bit more realistic.
We asked another question: “What part of your process and business has the greatest impact on your profit?” We offered a few choices and left room for comments. The results were not surprising– raw materials and labor were the biggest costs of PCB manufacturing business. We had some interesting responses in the “Other” column.
A slightly different method put forth by Mike Jennings and Patrick Riechel of ESI has to do with optimizing laser processing for greatest efficiency to minimize cost of ownership. They touch on a number of issues including automation, utilization and extending system longevity. To satisfy the hardcore techies out there, we have a great article by Dr. Rita Mohanty, et al., of MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions. It covers a new direct metallization process specifically designed for flex PCB and rigid-flex PCB.
Steve Williams of The Right Approach Inc. leads us off with a case for reducing inspection as a means to profitability. Next, systems expert Dave Dibble furthers the cause for systems-based thinking and acting by recounting the true story of a company he worked with, and its remarkable double turnaround, from loss to profit, back to loss and then back again to profit. Dave Becker of All Flex Flexible Circuits chimes in with the case for Lean manufacturing and NPIP to reduce waste, thereby enhancing profitability.
Karl Dietz gives us a very thorough overview of the green legislation around the world that affects our industry, explaining each in clear language. He then details the impact these have had on the electronic materials and equipment used in the PCB manufacturing and assembly fields.
And we’re introducing a new columnist this month from Brazil! Renato Peres, with Circuibras, gives us a quick overview of the electronics industry in Brazil, and promises a column on process engineering for April’s issue. We’ll bring you Renato’s Brazilian perspective every month. Time to see what the rest of the world is up to.
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Cost Saving Tips for PCB Production

Money is the most typical concern in any type of business organization, and lots of American enterprises are looking for means to reduce costs, however still make sure they turn a profit. They as well want to guarantee the quality of what they make stays the same, or goes beyond existing quality, and in the electronics field that is important for remaining in business. Cutting costs while guaranteeing quality can be particularly involving.
One of the largest problems many electronic companies face is that technical advances are occurring on a regular basis, with nothing ever staying the same for any length of time. To satisfy consumer demands, electronics are becoming progressively more complicated, forcing organizations to look for newer techniques to meet that need. The following tips can enable you save dollars and still maintain the high quality of your product high.

Better Layout Design

You can scale back your investing by design boards more strategically, and choosing fewer components and other parts. This will help your company to lower the cost of every PCB projects, thus raising the cost savings realized. This can be accomplished by incorporating your PCB manufacturing supplier right from the design phase for raw material availability, offering ease of manufacturing with supposed or better yields.

Supplier Relationships

Find one or two parts suppliers that you can rely on, and develop a good working relationship with them. If you are thinking about going offshore in hopes of saving money, don’t. You can also end up paying hefty fines if the parts used are not genuine or fail to comply with U.S. standards.

There are lots of methods for you to save money on the PCB manufacturing process with no compromising the stability of your product. Master how to cut your own costs without compromising quality.
The suggestions mentioned here are only a few means for you to cut your costs without giving up your earnings margin. Work with associates of your business to fall up with other tactics to proficiently lower costs, while at the same time and manufacturing PCB that satisfies common requirements and need.

Work with a Contract Manufacturer

Although this might seem like an extra cost, working with a team of professionals might be saving you a lot of dollars over time. These experts have easy access to machine and resources which you might not possess, and they could now work for you without having to  pay them a wage for their knowledge! Alternatively, you might accumulate unwanted costs for increased workforce.

There are lots of means for you to save cost on the PCB manufacturing processes without sacrificing the integrity of your product. Study how to cut costs without compromising quality.
    The tips listed here are only a few approaches for you to cut your costs without reducing your earning margin. Work with associatives of your company to come up with other strategies to effectively reduce costs, while at the same time developing and manufacturing PCB that meets public expectations and need.
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The Importance of Choosing PCB manufacturing Equipments Suppliers and Investing in the Future

As an OEM supplier of PCB manufacturing laminating machines, our target is to provide real value-added equipment to our customers so that when they are using Burkle laminating presses, even if our price is a little higher than the competition, they are achieving the very best in product quality. Our customers world-wide, and especially here in China, see this as a great benefit.

Burkle Process Technologies, a long-time PCB manufacturing equipment supplier to high-end PCB manufacturers in the world, is seeing their business continuing to grow despite the perceived slowdown in the industry in China. They ensure this by working closely with customers, making premium products to understand the future technology needs, and offering the highest quality in PCB laminating machines and technical support. In Shanghai at CPCA recently, I had a chance to speak with Jianming Wu, general manager of Burkle China, who helped me understand Burkle’s strategy for success.

Pete Starkey: Mr. Wu, thank you very much for agreeing to talk to me. I’m very familiar with the equipment you have supplied in the past because in my generation I was a very happy user of Burkle laminating presses and coating machines.

Starkey: What sort of laminating equipment are you presently supplying? What is typical platen size, and number of daylights?

Wu: We deliver exactly what the customer specifies, from very small machines up to a maximum of twenty four daylights as for CCL. And as you know, Burkle does not make only standard machines, we can also make customer-specific machines, when the customer has special demands or specific innovations. We work closely with customers to develop machines to suit their requirements.

As an OEM supplier of PCB fabrication laminating machines, our target is to provide real value-added equipment to our customers so that when they are using Burkle laminating presses, even if our price is a little higher than the competition, they are achieving the very best in product quality. Wu: We deliver exactly what the customer specifies, from very small machines up to a maximum of twenty four daylights as for CCL. And as you know, Burkle does not make only standard machines, we can also make customer-specific machines, when the customer has special demands or specific innovations. When the customer had problems with those machines, which were from a very well-known producer in the world, the customer requested our help. We have made many modifications to our machines to make them compatible with our competitors’ transportation system, which the customer uses for moving product to the presses.

We have customers making premium products, and with such products they are really focusing for the future. And we also have those customers who are taking the strategy of wait-and-see before they prepare themselves for the future. We have some customers who are really preparing themselves now, not waiting until the market comes back up.

Starkey: Can you give an example of a customer’s specific demand and his application, and how you would then configure your equipment to suit it?

Starkey: There has been very much discussion recently about a slowing down of the China PCB manufacturing market, is this something that you have experienced, or not?

Starkey: These customers hopefully can see further into the future; the present slow-down in growth will change and probably the growth will increase again. They can see their technology needs for the future, and if they have good vision and also the financial resources to invest now, then they are ready for the market when it comes back, instead of waiting for the market and then running behind it. Is this something that you experience?

When the customer had problems with those machines, which were from a very well-known producer in the world, the customer requested our help. We have made many modifications to our machines to make them compatible with our competitors’ transportation system, which the customer uses for moving product to the presses.

Wu: Yes, we have received some feedback from our customers that the market is slowing down. We have some premium customers, and they are continuing to buy our machines.

Wu: Currently, customers in China are using our machines to make high-end products like HDI, rigid-flex PCB and flex PCB and so on. In many cases, they can make products with our machines that are not possible with our competitors’ equipment.

Wu: Thank you, Mr. Starkey.

Starkey: Mr. Wu, thank you very much indeed for your time and for a very interesting discussion. We wish you every success.

Starkey: What is typical of the type of printed circuit board that your customers are manufacturing? Are they manufacturing rigid multi-layer, are they manufacturing flex, are they manufacturing rigid-flex multi-layer?

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Dealing with PCB Design Engineers

Some magazines get a bunch of responses from visitor surveys. One frequent comment from PCB designers as well as circuit board engineers involves the setback of working with each other. Likewise, a question ,often asked, is, “Are EEs taking charge of PC board design?”

PCB design in the 1970s was less a matter of engineering and also even more a matter of fine art. Obviously science was referred,but that science was far more regarding mechanics as well as manufacturability of bare pcb and assemblies compared to concerning electronics. Individuals ,who knew the worth of copper balance, pad-to-hole proportion, hole-to-board density ratio, exactly how part positioning influenced setting up and repair service, understanding of thermal transfer, etc. made better board developers than those with knowledge of just circuit concept. Those that had good analytical capability really had the best device required for PCB design. Yet who paid the attention to the knowledge of electronics?

Why did EE knowledge play such a little function back then? Circuits in those days, with the exception of the RF world, were so reduced in regularity that board traces had to be several yards long before they were a distributed length, qualified of affecting performance. You could, by today’s criteria, make every error under the sun, also in extremely big PCB manufacturing boards, and also there was a good possibility the circuit would work anyhow. This is not true at all the time, but for most of time, it is true.

From the 1950s to the late 1980s, the PCB design methods were seriously bending the laws of physics, stammering on the edge of catastrophe! Most of those PC board developers were changed into technicians, mechanical developers, and musicians who discovered how to review a schematic and also konw artwork taping. EEs would certainly frequently provide their ideas on what need to be done, but you could possibly pay attention to them or overlook them and also the wire would likely work anyway. This age developed some stress in between board designers and their EE counterparts, primarily since they completely overlooked each other’s ideas.So in order to make better pcb or prototype pcb,it is better for board designers and EE counterparts to pay attention to each other’s thoughts.