LAYOUT

OVERVIEW

Turning your schematics into a layout ready for fabrication is the service that the TS-DEM-BE design office provides to CERN users. We also organise the production and assembly of the boards designed.

The design office provides the following services:

  • Layout of PCB, flexible circuit, hybrid or fine-pitch detectors

    • manual routing or autorouted on demand

  • Design of associated small mechanics (front-panels, crates) and heavy-duty stickers

  • Creation of schematic and padstack symbols for central Cadence, PCAD and Altium libraries

  • Storage of manufacturing files (assembly files, bill of material) in EDMS

  • Organisation of in-house production and assembly (prototype quantities: <10 pieces)
  • Organisation of outsourcing of production and assembly (medium scale production: ≥10 pieces)
  • Validation of production companies
  • Industrialisation of designs

 

New! - Fast track service - New!

Jobs that we estimate to take less than two days of actual layout time will be started immediately or on the day after your request. The pricing and quality of the work will be the same as usual, including the generation and storage of all design and production files in EDMS.

We can do this fast service for two designs per week without disturbing the planning of other jobs.

How to use the layout service

As CERN engineer or engineer from a collaboration you enter the service in the DEM-BE section (Betty Magnin,  electronics-design-office@cern.ch) with schematic diagrams that you made in Cadence or PCAD. If necessary, you can even come with hand-drawn schematics. Based on when you need the assembled prototype, a planning is made. Also dates will be fixed on which you have to verify the component placement and the PCB layout. The fabrication of the boards is not started until you have given your final OK.

To make sure that your schematics don't contain any errors, such as nets with only one connection, or having the wrong IC package, you should verify the netlist and the bill-of-material generated by your CAD tool.

The design office stores all schematics, manufacturing files and documentation in the EDMS system so you can reach them over the web. Also placeholders are made to which you can attach other documentation such as user guides, specifications and photos (example, EDA-xxxxx, Electronics design archive). We guarantee that the files will be stored for the full lifetime of the LHC.

If you need new schematic symbols, you can also go to the design office. They keep a central library for both the Cadence and PCAD systems so that new symbols are available to everyone.

The design office can also design mechanics such as front-panels and small crates.

Next steps

The DEM-BE section not only makes the layout, but also takes care of the handling and ordering of your circuit (including small mechanical parts and front-panels). Already when you come with your schematic, a planning is made that assures that you'll have your completely assembled cards or crates on the date that you need them. If we foresee a delay in the delivery, of course you will be informed immediately.

To make use of this production service, you should provide us with the components that are not existing in the CERN stores; there is no need to provide standard resistors and capacitors (SMD or radial). To save you time, we may also order other components for you.

A word on the design and production time

A commonly asked question is: "How long will it take you to build my design?". Our answer is: "Count ten weeks in total". Those ten weeks include all phases of the production of your board, from the PCB layout until the final assembly of the components. We will organise all those steps for you, just come with verified Cadence or PCAD schematics that use the CERN central symbol libraries. Some five weeks later you should give us the components that are not available in the stores.

The table below shows how this production time is built up. Notice that instead of having a margin for each of the phases, we have all margins collapsed at the end. So it might be that you get your fully assembled board even earlier!

Prototype electronics production - multi-layer PCB, standard priority
Layout
4 weeks		 PCB fabrication
3 weeks		 Assembly
2 weeks		 Margin
1 week

What do we do when there is an overload? We outsource. For all phases we have contracts with companies outside CERN that can do the job. Delivery times should stay the same. What can you do to help us keeping our delays? Please tell us a few weeks in advance on which date you will come with your schematics! That's all we ask.

With an early planned entry date, we can schedule your job early enough, so we don't have to disappoint anyone or that we have to urgently shuffle jobs and delay the schedule of one or several of your collegues. The entry date also gives a nice deadline for you as engineer, which reduces the risk that your project slips. An early announcement sometimes can make that the 4 weeks of the Layout phase can be reduced to only 2.
Please contact us if you have any special needs; we have done near miracles for valid cases.

DOCUMENTATION

General documentation

Symbol creation

CONTACTS