Operational and manufacturing environment CE validation tools

The vast majority of failures in electronic systems are due to thermal and vibration stresses. Major improvements in product reliability can be attained by validating the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) design with respect to the thermal and vibration/shock environments in operation, manufacturing, and test. This PCBA design validation is accomplished with application-specific finite element analysis tools developed by Pacific Numerix Corporation, linked with common CAE/CAD tools in a PCBA level concurrent engineering (CE) system. Also included in this CE system is the capability to validate the PCBA design with respect to electromagnetic parasitics. Designs can be validated before the printed circuit board (PCB) is fabricated and assembled, resulting in a more reliable product, reduced quality costs and reduced product development cycle time. Communication inadequacies between various engineering disciplines and between engineering, manufacturing, and test is one of the major obstacles to concurrent engineering that is improved with this PCBA CE system