In a typical scenario, electrical and mechanical engineering departments have a tendency to work independently, communicating in a limited and often uncoordinated fashion, which can lead to costly, time-consuming errors. In the aerospace industry, minimizing these types of errors is critical to the design and manufacture of an effective product from the onset; one that can be efficiently manufactured and easily replicated where required. The ideal design process involves full collaboration between the electrical and mechanical departments. With multi-disciplined collaboration, the earliest revisions of a design will reflect the logical world of the electrical engineer, while taking into account the realistic three-dimensional world of the mechanical engineer. This approach maximizes design accuracy and quality, minimizes overall design cycle time, and results in reduced design development costs.
Steven Watt is a PCB Engineering Manager for Zuken USA, Inc. He has more than 25 years of experience in the printed circuit board design industry with an emphasis on IC packaging. Steve has a diverse work background including several EDA companies, Boeing, Motorola, and McDonnell Douglas.