Team Collaboration & PCB Design

White Paper Overview

There was a time when once a circuit design was completed, it was handed off to “the PCB designer”, who then produced the board layout. Now, with products as complex as tablets, smartphones and even electronic games, there is no single person involved with the PCB. Products are designed by teams of experts and without the ability to effectively collaborate, time is wasted and errors introduced.

In current PCB design environments, engineers aren’t always in close communication with other members of their design team. Most products are developed through collaborative efforts that encompass groups that might span several countries and continents. Communication is critical in a collaborative environment. Poor communications causes errors, unresolved differences and version inconsistencies – ultimately costing time and money in the production process.

For effective collaboration, a PCB design solution must implement these five critical features:

• Allow multiple users to access the same board, to work on and s ave to storage - without impacting others’ tasks;

• Add traceability and accountability for all team members;

• Accurately compare files and detect differences across multiple versions of the same board;

• Resolve differences that are identified and allow the user to cho ose those that proceed;

• Automatically handle large difference volume and take resolution actions without creating conflicts.

Explore how do i select a tool for pcb design collaboration in this white paper from Altium.