Technology is everywhere in the present day -
it works its way into every aspect of your life for the better. The cloud is
one of many innovations that is maximizing your abilities for storage,
connectivity and more. Its integration with printed circuit board (PCB)
creation optimizes the design and manufacturing processes.
The cloud brings about digital change in
positive ways. Designers and engineers can now create PCBs like never before as
the cloud becomes part of their foundation.
The Current
Progress
As cloud technology becomes more popular
within engineering and manufacturing, the designs of PCBs will continue to
improve. Platforms like Altium 365 and OrCAD integrate the cloud as part of
their systems. You can then have remote access to other developers, a range of
tools and resources and a user-friendly interface that requires no
maintenance.
Cloud-based PCB manufacturing offers the
ability to work with electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) and mechanical
computer-aided design (MCAD) from one system. With a combination
of ECAD and MCAD, you can maintain your standard methods of design and
bring them to life through the platform. You will also be able to use schematics,
PCB layout, PCB footprint and 3D visualization to create your
design.
These functions are cloud-based, meaning that
you can access them from your laptop, phone, tablet and any other device with
the program on it - and wherever there's an internet connection. The cloud
takes operations a step further, though, and lets you improve upon designer-to-manufacturer
collaboration.
How It's Helping
Using cloud-based software for PCB manufacturing
allows for an optimized approach and creation process. From anywhere in the
world, you can connect with different people in your team in real-time.
Everyone will receive live updates regarding the design and can communicate
back and forth with each other.
Part of the issue with manual PCB design is
the lack of two-way communication between manufacturers and designers. Cloud
manufacturing fixes that setback with its remote features. You can also
collaborate on the same design in real-time.
These new cloud developments not only improve
upon communication but the overall process as well. They allow you to create in
a smoother, user-friendly way while understanding where obstacles may come in -
such as requiring specific
materials for design, like G10, or alternations that suppliers require.
With its global connections, you can
instantly update everyone in the supply chain and your team. Further, you can
focus on the work instead of any glitches, too - cloud technology requires less
hardware, software and maintenance than traditional PCB manufacturing.
This step towards cloud integration is
monumental. It improves upon traditional designing, adds better communication
and graphics and optimizes the overall process.
Where Will It Go
From Here?
Cloud-base PCB manufacturing is
groundbreaking. And although this combination is the current biggest innovation
for PCBs, experts believe that more
developments will come in the future, improving the process further. Some
of these updates will include coating, communication about obstacles and
automation.
One update will entail fixing coating issues
of PCBs. With manual creation, designers cannot put conformal coating on
anything in the PCB that has to dissipate heat. With digital design, though,
experts hope to change that. Small fixes like these will bring about
significant improvements.
Communication is another area of interest for
developers. First, the two-way street of communication between designers and
manufacturers can always use more efficient means of connecting. This will most
likely entail smaller updates since cloud-based software allows for optimal
communication as is.
Second, designers and manufacturers need
better communication from their software and overall process about issues and
obstacles that they will run into. Digital PCB platforms will improve upon
their detection of issues within the model to optimize time.
One way they could do this is through
automation, which is going to impact the industry more and more. With
automation, the software could solve a number of
issues instantly and provide better feedback for
users.
With these updates and more, this new age of
digital, cloud-based PCB design and manufacturing is just getting
started.
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About the Author
Kayla Matthews is a tech-loving blogger who writes and edits ProductivityBytes.com. Follow her on Twitter @productibytes to read all of her latest posts!