Do-It-Yourselfers: Ask for Help

By Bob Merlo

Bob Merlo,
ChipData, Inc.

In a way, the entire engineering community is comprised of do-it-yourselfers (DIY). To its credit, this group’s persistence has paid off, producing innovative new designs and technologies. However with new Web services available today, the DIY group may just have discovered the next best thing: Do-It-With-Help.

The Internet has transformed the way B2B companies do business, from streamlined communications to improved information accessibility. But there is still substantial opportunity for the Internet to further improve interactions between historical do-it—yourself designers and suppliers: specifically in the area of engineering design support.

For example, consider the complexity of the printed circuit board (PCB) design process. Once new components are selected for a board design, a logical model—schematic symbol—must be created for each. Creating these symbols involves extensive re-entry of data from the component supplier’s datasheet, followed by meticulous quality assurance checks. Next, the board layout process begins with the creation of a model, a footprint, that defines the size, shape, and location of the electrical connections that the component makes on the PCB. Like schematic symbols, creating footprints takes time and is prone to errors that can have disastrous results when the design is sent out for prototype.

Despite its lackluster appeal, DIY designers grind out the symbols and board layouts because it is a fundamental element of PCB design and, besides, who else would do it?

Some suppliers have tried to alleviate this burden for customers by providing design content in addition to technical product catalogs on their websites. But when suppliers attempt to offer these services on their own, they find it can be a costly investment. Unlike a designer, who only needs to create the symbol or footprint in a single ECAD format, suppliers must create the content in multiple formats to support all their customers. This requires an investment in a wide variety of design tools, plus investments in staffing and training to create the content on an ongoing basis. While most suppliers understand that offering technical specifications for their products is necessary, they often believe the cost of providing more intelligent design-ready content is too high and dilutes already thin profit margins.

However, new research suggests that offering design content is essential because it helps support a customer’s natural buying process. Just as advertising helps create interest in a company’s products, design content helps support the next critical step in the buying process—designing the product in. This view is supported in a recent survey by a major semiconductor company, which showed that customers were more likely to use components from suppliers that offer design-ready content, and that they viewed this as a significant customer support enhancement.

Fortunately for today’s busy designers, some suppliers are using new Web services that offer more options in delivering and accessing design-ready content. These third-party services come into play when a designer searches a supplier’s website, finds a part, and requests the design content. The service provider receives the request, builds and checks the design content, and delivers it electronically to the designer. New technology speeds up the creation, validation, and delivery processes, and the transaction is completed very quickly.

Outsourcing this task and leveraging this “help-on-demand” approach is a benefit to suppliers because it saves a tremendous amount of time and they can cost-effectively support customers—ultimately increasing the probability of a design win. Designers also benefit because they no longer need to develop schematic symbols and footprints, giving them more time to design.

In the end, these kinds of Internet-enabled, on-demand programs benefit all involved, letting do-it-yourselfers know it’s OK to ask for help. n

Bob Merlo is President and CEO of ChipData, Inc. Send your comments and feedback on this article to [email protected].