Design for Manufacturability and Assembly
Guidelines Template

For any firm assembling SMT circuit board assemblies - OEM or CEM - there are two essential documents - workmanship standards and Design for Manufacturability and Assembly guidelines. While most facilities use Workmanship Standards, surprisingly few have implemented Design For Manufacturability and Assembly Guidelines.

The Design for Manufacturability and Assembly Guidelines document is vital to optimized and high-yield assembly, and contributes greatly to product reliability. These guidelines can be used to establish a communications link between Design, Manufacturing, Quality and Procurement and set operational standards for board and assembly design, manufacture, inspection, test and rework. The Guidelines help established design practices so they match the operational parameters demanded by the production equipment.

Putting together a Design for Manufacturability and Assembly Guideline document can be an expensive, daunting and time-consuming task, yet it must be done. Each facility is different with regard to the equipment and processes used and thus, each requires its own set of Guidelines. (And a copy of IPC-782 on the reference shelf doesn't quite cut it).

ITM Consulting has helped many of its clients compile and launch their own Design for Manufacturability and Assembly Guidelines. Based upon our experience and expertise, ITM has put together a product that will allow any SMT assembly facility to easily, expeditiously and economically produce their own Guideline document - the Design for Manufacturability and Assembly Guidelines Template.

ITM's Design for Manufacturability and Assembly Guideline Template is a complete document - less the particulars of your company's facility and line(s). You simply take this MS-Word[TM] document and fill in the blanks regarding equipment and their specifications (i.e. maximum and minimum board width handled by each machine, etc.), responsible personnel, and other process information. In no time, your facility has a comprehensive Guideline document.

The Design for Manufacturability and Assembly Guideline is also a "living" document that allows for changes in equipment, materials and process. You simply modify or expand the tables and edit any other information.

If you are an OEM or a CEM, the ITM Guideline Template can now guide your supplier or your client on the necessity of designing printed circuit boards so the product can be assembled.