An integrated design approach for virtual prototyping and manufacturing

One of the greatest problems facing electronics companies today is the difficulty of successfully transitioning circuit board designs from design to manufacturing. This problem is primarily the result of the combined effect of rapidly increasing clock speeds and an overall miniaturization of products, components, and circuit boards. The design and manufacture of assemblies, which operate reliably at today´s complexities, requires unique capabilities to validate-electrical, thermal, mechanical, and manufacturing-the design prior to creating and testing physical prototypes. Simulating (virtual prototyping) complex circuit designs, environmental conditions, and manufacturing processes (virtual manufacturing) is much less expensive and much more comprehensive than testing physical prototypes. Virtual prototyping and manufacturing can detect and help correct design and manufacturing problems more thoroughly than physical prototypes through highly accurate numerical analysis and an integrated design system