On the Routinization of Analysis for Physical Design

Abstract

While it is generally agreed physical designers would like to benefit more from analysis, methodologies are lacking for identifying appropriate analysis models and transforming them into readily usable tools. This paper identifies physical designer needs with respect to analysis, and introduces the term “routinization” to describe the process of creating routine analysis modules — automated analysis models that can be regularly used in product design. A routinization methodology is presented with electronic packaging examples. Based on the multi-representation architecture (MRA), a design-analysis integration strategy, this methodology creates catalogs of product model-based analysis models (PBAMs) — analysis modules that associate design data with specific analysis models to obtain results in a highly automated manner. The methodology is illustrated using a simple PBAM for PWB warpage analysis. Applications to solder joint fatigue and plated through hole deformation are also highlighted, with solution methods ranging from encoded formulae to multi-vendor 3D finite element analysis. Observations are given, including how routinization aides both electronic packaging researchers and physical designers. While it enables researchers to more readily benefit designers, it also acts as a catalyst for identifying needed research extensions.