Valor NPI
PCB New Product Introduction (NPI) Platform with Comprehensive DFM Optimization
The New Product Introduction (NPI) process can be a time-consuming and costly exercise during the development of new products. At each consecutive step of the NPI process, the cost of rectifying a product design problem increases tenfold.
The Valor NPI platform provides comprehensive DFM analysis, applied in parallel with your design flow for maximum advantage, or on design completion. By combining the Valor NPI manufacturing optimization tools and DFM, the design can be fully prepared for handoff to production.
Resolve Manufacturability Issues Early in the process to Save Time and Money
For PCB designers, Valor NPI provides concurrent DFM analysis during the design process, applying almost 700 manufacturing rules to the design ensuring minimum revision spins in manufacturing. The DFM analysis flow can be set up to automatically analyze each new version and pinpoint all potential manufacturing problems directly in the CAD system.
For manufacturing NPI and process engineers, Valor NPI provides comprehensive analysis to prove new products match the fabrication processes. BOM, AVL and component analysis ensures the design complies with assembly and test processes. Rapid feedback to the PCB designer allows DFM corrections or improvements to be implemented before manufacture.
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Highlights
- Reduces the number of design revisions required to bring a new design to volume production release
- Lowers total product cost by enabling automated DFM early in the design and NPI process
- Improves the reliability of a design by locating manufacturing risks to be managed ahead of the production processes
- Provides the interface between design and manufacture to ensure smooth transition to production
- Reduces the amount of time spent on supplier "call-backs" to the designer
- Works with all major PCB layout and manufacturing tools, supported by Mentor's OpenDoor partnering program
ODB++ Data Exchange Format
- An intelligent format for the PCB industry, ODB++ provides optimized data exchange between design, fabrication, assembly and test.
- Format open to the industry via the ODB++ Solutions Alliance: www.odb-sa.com
- Captures all PCB DFM, fabrication, assembly and test data into a unified data structure that is easily shared across the supply chain.
- Eliminates time-consuming data reintegration at the CAM stage; facilitates automated, repeatable engineering processes.
- Constantly evolving standard that follows the technology requirements of the electronics interconnect industry.
- Establishes a continuous, traceable engineering process between design, fabrication and assembly.
Design for PCB Manufacturing (DFM) Verification
Valor NPI
Understanding the Manufacturing Risks
Valor NPI shows where low yield or field failures may occur by using color-severity indicators of red, yellow, and green. Valor NPI further categorizes and prioritizes design-change requirements so that you can easily resolve the most critical issues first. The weight assigned to each check is user-definable, enabling you to decide how the results should be prioritized.
The NPI Flow
The NPI business process is distributed between Design, and Fabrication and Assembly operations that may be outsourced. The Fabrication, Assembly and Test process engineering experts feed their rules into the Valor NPI platform for a complete DFM validation flow that delivers DFM optimization design changes directly into the PCB layout system.
Comprehensive DFM Analysis
Today’s miniaturized, high-layer count designs cannot be reviewed reliably by manual means. Simple DFM tools do not check for all the required manufacturing process constraints.
Mentor Graphics’ Valor NPI software analyzes your PCB design for manufacturability with more than:
- 275 Fabrication checks
- 250 Assembly checks
- 100 Advanced Substrate checks
- 40 Microvia checks
- 30 Panel checks
Valor NPI also provides the ability to compare the output netlist against the original CAD data to ensure no fatal errors exist before PCB fabrication. Valor NPI validates that your BOM matches the design, and that all components in your Approved Vendors List (AVL) are an acceptable physical match using Mentor’s NPI-dedicated Valor Parts Library (VPL).
A Dedicated Library for Accurate Assembly Analysis
The consistency and method of component-representation in the CAD data presents challenges for validating accurate placement and quality solder joints during the assembly process.
Valor NPI offers optional access to the Valor Parts Library (VPL), which contains more than 35 million manufacturing part numbers with accurate 2-½ D “plus” data.
Each VPL package is drawn in accordance with the manufacturer’s data sheet, adhering to an ISO-9001 certified process. Accurate component body outlines, including height information, and pin contact areas are detailed.
VPL packages, when used, for every part type on the design enables a “virtual build”. The Valor NPI comprehensive assembly analysis highlights placement and rework problems, and component pin to PCB pad mismatching which leads to solder joint faults.
Synchronized with your Supply Chain
Unless the designer and the manufacturer perform the same analysis, there is no certainty that the PCB design will not have DFM problems. Anything less leaves the risk that something costly may have been missed.
Mentor NPI technologies are used by the majority of PCB fabrication, assembly and test process engineers worldwide. Therefore the same rules and even the same settings can be used at the design stage to guarantee consistent DFM throughout the NPI process.
Assembly Panel Design & Optimization
Valor NPI offers an optional intelligent Assembly Panel Design (APD) tool. The APD will automatically generate the desired step and repeat configurations with minimal user effort. All required panel features such as tooling holes, fiducials, routing, breakaway tabs, V-score lines, copper balancing and text can be added.
Panel related DFM analysis can be performed to verify the integrity of the panel design before handing off to the PCB fabricator a precise definition in ODB++ data of what has to be delivered onwards for assembly.
Valor NPI Resources
On-demand Web Seminar: Implementing Lean NPI as a Business Process
On-demand Web Seminar: Managing DFM Validation for PCB Fabrication Processes
On-demand Web Seminar: Managing DFM Validation for PCB Assembly and Test Processes
Valor Training
We have training courses available for the Valor products in our training centers around the world, online, or at your site.
Contact Mentor Graphics
- Valor NPI Info Request or call toll free: 1-800-547-3000