Siemens introduces PCBflow, a secure, cloud-based solution for accelerating design-to-manufacturing handoff for printed circuit boards

April 6, 2021 -- Siemens today introduced PCBflow, an innovative cloud-based software solution which bridges the gap between the electronics design and manufacturing ecosystems. PCBflow extends Siemens’ Xcelerator™ portfolio with a secure environment for printed circuit board (PCB) design teams to interact with a variety of manufacturers, and by rapidly performing a range of design-for-manufacturing (DFM) analyses in the context of each manufacturers’ process capabilities, which helps customers accelerate design-to-production handoff.

Powered by the industry-leading Valor™ NPI software engine, which performs over 1000 DFM checks, PCBflow enables PCB design teams to rapidly identify manufacturability violations. These violations are then sorted and prioritized according to level of severity, guiding users through images and locations on the design for easy identification and immediate correction.

PCBflow is Siemens’ first step toward PCB assembly online solutions which automate the design-to-manufacturing handoff process. With a leading position across the design-to-manufacturing flow, Siemens is the first company to offer a marketplace featuring online, fully automated DFM analysis technology, which can help optimize designs, reduce front-end engineering cycles, and streamline designer/manufacturer communication.

“PCBflow is the ultimate product-design tool, because it supports comprehensive designer/manufacturer collaboration with a closed-loop feedback mechanism that drives continuous improvement,” said Dan Hoz, general manager, Valor Division, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “Because customer designs are in sync with the fab’s capabilities, respins can be reduced, time-to-market can be shortened, board quality can be optimized, and yield can be enhanced.”

For manufacturers, PCBflow helps simplify customer onboarding processes and provides designers with a comprehensive source of knowledge, which can streamline customer/manufacturer collaboration. And thanks to manufacturers’ capabilities being shared electronically, lengthy phone calls and email exchanges can be reduced, helping enable real-time customer communication to focus more on strategic, high-value discussion.

“PCBflow saves time and costs in the design-to-manufacturing handoff process by addressing manufacturability violations during the design phase,” said Evgeny Makhline, chief technology officer for Nistec, a PCBflow customer. “With PCBflow, producing and reviewing a DFM analysis report takes just minutes instead of hours.”

As a software as a service (SaaS) technology, PCBflow incorporates the strict security standards of Siemens’ software, reducing risk and protecting intellectual property (IP) with no additional IT investment.

PCBflow works with the Mendix™ low-code application development platform. The platform provides the ability to build multi-experience apps and share data from any location, on any device, on any cloud or platform, to more quickly realize the benefits of digital transformation.

Engineered for ease-of-use, PCBflow requires neither training nor prerequisites, and it is accessible from virtually any location, including mobile phones and tablets. Additionally, PCBflow provides designers with images, tool-tips, measurements and precise locations of solderability issues and other PCB design violations. Reports are available online and in a downloadable PDF format for easy sharing. PCBflow supports the ODB++™ language design file format and support for additional formats is planned in 2021.

Additional information is available here, and at: www.PCBflow.com.

Siemens Digital Industries Software is driving transformation to enable a digital enterprise where engineering, manufacturing and electronics design meet tomorrow. The Xcelerator portfolio helps companies of all sizes create and leverage digital twins that provide organizations with new insights, opportunities and levels of automation to drive innovation. For more information on Siemens Digital Industries Software products and services, visit www.sw.siemens.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Siemens Digital Industries Software – Where today meets tomorrow.

Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is an innovation leader in automation and digitalization. Closely collaborating with partners and customers, DI drives the digital transformation in the process and discrete industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI provides companies of all sizes with an end-to-end set of products, solutions and services to integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific needs of each industry, DI’s unique portfolio supports customers to achieve greater productivity and flexibility. DI is constantly adding innovations to its portfolio to integrate cutting-edge future technologies. Siemens Digital Industries has its global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and has around 76,000 employees internationally.

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. Active around the world, the company focuses on intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems and on automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Siemens brings together the digital and physical worlds to benefit customers and society. Through Mobility, a leading supplier of intelligent mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is helping to shape the world market for passenger and freight services. Via its majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital health services. In addition, Siemens holds a minority stake in Siemens Energy, a global leader in the transmission and generation of electrical power that has been listed on the stock exchange since September 28, 2020. In fiscal 2020, which ended on September 30, 2020, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €57.1 billion and net income of €4.2 billion. As of September 30, 2020, the company had around 293,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.