PCB and IC Design Using Multiplexed Modules to Accelerate Time to Market

In recent years, with the vigorous development of technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and 5G, the electronic product market has been updated and iterated with each passing day. In 2020, the sudden outbreak of new crown pneumonia swept the world. While the epidemic accelerated the digital reform, it also further forced the iteration and innovation of electronic products to accelerate. The increasingly hot consumer market brings infinite challenges to the product research and development of enterprises. In many industry segments, being first-to-market can make or break an electronics product. 

In the field of electronic product design, design reuse has played an amazing effect in accelerating the progress of product development and shortening the time-to-market. According to a recent study by Aberdeen Group, 78% of Best-in-Class companies are using design reuse to accelerate their new product development process, and these Best-in-Class companies report that their design reuse approach directly drives them to achieve quality goals at a higher rate than the industry. The average is 22%, and the percentage of reaching product launch goals is an astonishing 92%.

 Designed with reusable modules, 

Opportunities and challenges coexist 

Therefore, the trend of adopting module reuse has been overwhelming in the field of electronic design. Utilizing "known good" proven circuits in new designs can facilitate product development and eliminate the duplication of effort to create the same circuits. Multiplexing also facilitates building integration and ensures continuous circuit improvement in the process of incorporating electronic module user data into source circuit modules. Most importantly, for designs containing sensitive, restricted components or circuits, it is the management of the source circuit module that utilizes the exact tracking of critical information such as IP owner, ITAR classification and any export control requirements.

However, there are still many challenges to properly implement and manage the enterprise-level reusable circuit module process. Such modular reuse requires solutions that span libraries and designs. Circuit modules represent purely logical or logical and physical design information; therefore, ECAD suites must be tightly integrated with enterprise data management systems to properly manage and utilize multiplexed data throughout the design process. A library of reusable circuit blocks, paired with an enterprise-level data management system, ensures proper control of this critical corporate intellectual property.

Reusable modules were once extremely popular in IC design and software development, and are now becoming increasingly popular in PCB design. It can help companies accelerate product development process, provide key competitive advantages and resolve many challenges in the face of severe market environment. The Xpedition family of solutions provides enterprise-level data management support for reusable circuit blocks in libraries and designs. With Xpedition, reusable modules can jumpstart new designs, accelerate product development, and help companies bring new products to market more quickly and efficiently.