Why In-House Prototyping
Today, more than ever, prototyping is crucial to the electronic design process. In this world of blazing time-to-market requirements and fierce R&D expectations, effective prototyping is critical to success. Yet, in spite of the need for effective prototyping, engineers still find themselves constrained by the time and cost limitations inherent in outsourcing their prototypes. As a result, an increasing number of engineers are adopting LPKF’s in-house prototyping solution because of its enhanced technological capabilities and clear advantages over outsourcing.
The Problems with Outsourcing
The following example is typical of the time and iteration constraints inherent in outsourcing. An engineer must order a minimum of 10 to 20 boards and wait one to two weeks in order to receive an initial prototype. Usually, the prototype is populated with components and then tested. If the test results are unfavorable or the engineer wants to test a second iteration, then the design has to be reconfigured and a set of prototypes created a second time, usually taking another one to two weeks to be received and tested. Since effective prototyping almost always requires multiple design iterations, outsourcing makes it difficult to meet the demands of many development cycles. Plus, downtime between prototype builds can lead to a loss of engineering focus and momentum, thus causing projects to suffer. |
Explore the online demo!
|
Another problem with outsourcing is that the cost to fabricate one or multiple prototypes can be prohibitively high and these costs must be estimated for each project. Outsourcing costs become an even greater issue when designing multilayer boards. Those costs can easily run into the thousands of dollars for a single prototype.
"Thanks to our LPKF ProtoMat we took a project that should have taken 10 weeks and did it in only one week."
The Solution – LPKF Plotters
For almost 30 years, LPKF Laser & Electronics has been the leader in in-house prototyping equipment and products. Today, LPKF customers around the world benefit from our passion and commitment to product quality, precision and performance.
LPKF Plotters produce high-performance boards that match the quality of outsourced PCBs by delivering high signal integrity and SMT component capability. Plus, LPKF plotters do not require hazardous chemicals for processing and their versatility makes them capable of producing many different applications.
Many of our customers are former outsourcers who benefit from the increased productivity, performance and control this equipment provides. Maintaining total control over prototyping projects while still producing boards equal to outsourcing is an important reason for the tremendous popularity of LPKF plotters.
Mechanical PCB prototyping never requires a minimum production quantity. Design engineers can fabricate one or many boards simultaneously, all of which can be tested and reconfigured the same day. This instant turnaround enables our customers to make immediate revisions one at a time instead of being forced to accumulate design changes. Plus, fabrication and testing time is reduced from weeks to minutes. This encourages better designs and fewer production-related mistakes. Concerns about guarding a design’s intellectual property are also alleviated because development efforts remain in-house.
Recent LPKF advances in PCB prototyping and milling system technology continues to be a primary factor contributing to the increasing use of our equipment. Unlike other basic milling equipment, LPKF systems are easy to operate and have the precision to fabricate multilayer PCBs that use cutting-edge SMT components and have professionally-plated through-holes. The milling precision, reliability and operating convenience delivered by LPKF’s state-of-the-art PCB plotters offers engineers a rich set of prototyping tools. Capabilities such as automatic front-to-back alignment, automatic tool change and automatic milling depth adjustment enable advanced LPKF systems to operate unattended. Our hybrid systems combine the milling, drilling and contour routing capabilities of a PCB plotter with the fine structuring ability of a laser system. Integrated CAM software drives LPKF systems and provides the tools for defining the board production process. In addition, our software allows engineers to work directly with their own PCB production CAD data, giving them insight into ways to improve their designs
For designs involving complex RF and microwave boards, LPKF plotters can mill these types of circuits on a variety of substrates, from standard FR4 to PTFE-based material. Non-contact milling techniques ensure that the substrate is precisely cut and delicately handled to preserve the design’s performance characteristics.
LPKF Provides the Complete In-House Prototyping Solution
An array of other LPKF in-house prototyping equipment used in conjunction with our PCB plotters gives customers the ability to fabricate prototypes with up to eight layers. Compact PCB laminating equipment securely bonds the inner and outer layers of multilayer boards, while in-house electroplating and chemical-free epoxy paste tools can plate very small through-holes with the quality and reliability of an outside circuit board fabrication facility. LPKF customers can apply protective solder masks in-house, and our SMT assembly equipment automates the precise placement of surface-mounted components on the finished PCB.
The ability to produce prototypes, multilayers and test circuits that are equal to outsourced boards, combined with their time and cost advantages over outsourcing, makes LPKF’s in-house PCB milling technology and related equipment the perfect solution for every engineer.
We invite you to learn more about LPKF’s in-house prototyping equipment and products:
|
