If I ever live another life, I want to come back as a board designer
again. Board designers are a breed apart, with a way of thinking that
really appeals to me.
Jack, I've seen a lot of your email posts, and this last one just proves
it yet again. A good board designer knows that good design is a
never-ending journey, not a destination. It's a never-ending quest to
design in the best way you possibly can, with an acknowledgement that
nobody knows it all, that there's always several ways to do something,
and that what might be a mere detail in design today might have a huge
impact downstream in fab or assembly or test or reliability or ... etc.
One of my favorite sayings is that "You need to know what it is you
don't know". An open mind with a humble willingness to listen in order
to do something in a better way is the mark of a real board designer.
Not that we are particularly humble in just about everything else of
course :-)
Trouble is, board design is much more than placement and routing and
gerber files. Personal attitudes to fellow engineers and the politics of
getting a team to pull in the same direction is also a big part of it,
as you found out.
Your comments about education, the effect of the IPC classes and your
thirst for knowledge so that you can do a better job all point to you
being an excellent designer.
You can work for me anytime.
Andy K.
Sychip Inc
Office (972) 202 8852
-----Original Message-----
From: DesignerCouncil [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jack
C. Olson
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 10:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [DC] (NTC) design philosophy
Hey, Moonman
I'm glad you wrote back... sorry for the delayed response, I took a long
weekend off.
(And you are most certainly right, I DO feel damn lucky to have a job
these
days, especially at a fairly stable company like Caterpillar. No
guarantees
though, right?)
Anyway I would like to share something with you.
I've been trying to learn how to be a good designer for many years, even
though for a long time I was staying pretty isolated from the
manufacturing
side of things. My major goal was to get the artwork through the CAM
department of whatever bare-board vendor we were using, and if that data
went out, and I didn't hear anything back, it was a success! (Not that I
didn't encourage them letting me know if anything needed improvement),
but
when I started working for Intel I suddenly had some kind of realization
that my work affects MANY people down the line for years and years.
Maybe
it was all the classes and articles and mistakes finally built up enough
to
make a dent in this bonehead, who knows?
When I left Intel it was to go up to Northern California to work for a
small "family-owned" company, I just couldn't wait to "turn them on" to
"a better way of doing things"!
You can probably guess what happened, right? No one was really ASKING
for a
better way of doing things. And then I tried to push them into some
changes
that I was certain would make the products more reliable, and yeah, I
was
an ass about it, and they resented me for it. So I didn't make any
friends,
but I couldn't believe people would choose tradition over science and I
was
really frustrated. Then I went to an IPC class to get the training for
CID
certification, and suddenly I saw the whole big picture of my role in
the
scheme of things as far as being a circuit board designer goes. I
probably
sound a little wacko by saying this (and yes I have other interests
besides
board design in my life) but by hearing the whole IPC structure outlined
in
a cram course at just the right time in my life when I was ready to put
all
the details into perspective, it was like a revelation. (Was I
hyno-tized
by the IPC...? hahaha! ahem.)
Now I've moved again, to another large company, and you would think that
a
company that has been around for a long time would have very
well-established procedures and processes, right? They would have
gradually
learned from all the mistakes and "have it down", right? Well, not to
say
anything bad about Caterpillar, because I have never been at ANY company
that's had a perfect process. People come and go, graduate in and retire
out, vendors change, and on and on. But I didn't make the same mistake
this
time. This time I realized people aren't that anxious to hear from "the
new
guy", and some people just don't enjoy sitting around talking about
design
philosophy. So I pick my battles. I just pick the one that I think will
have the most affect. I'm still kind of a squeeky wheel around here, and
I'm sure some of my co-workers think I am "over the top" or just a plain
jerk, but its okay, I think the product and the company is better for it
in
the long run, and I see that as part of my job.
So why am I posting this personal history in public?
Because I think this next statement deserves to be said at least once
and
then I'll probably never mention it again.
I seldom come into contact with people who think in a similar way.
Most user groups that I know of are pretty much dead (and since we're
always here on the internet, why bother with two hours every month or
quarter-year when we have 24/7 right here?). I meet others at the
design
conferences, and sometimes I can tell the authors of certain articles
have
a similar philosophy, but right here and on the PCDList and TechNet and
Mentor email forums are where I find others like me (at least a little
bit
like me) So I hate to lose contact with anyone because we got off on the
wrong foot. There's so few of us we should work together.
Okay, I've rambled on enough, I just wanted to say you are not alone out
there Earl, and if there are other lurkers out there who never speak up,
but have a passion for trying to do things right (or at least best), you
are not alone either.
For the record I didn't do this on "company time", this is just a
personal
note from your friend,
Jack
"moonman"
<[log in to unmask]
>
To
09/02/2004 10:27
To
AM "Jack C. Olson"
<[log in to unmask]>
"Brooks,Bill" <[log in to unmask]>
cc
Subject
MoonMan
Caterpillar: Confidential Green Retain Until: 10/02/2004
Retention Category: G90
-
General
Matters/Administration
I would work with you two and so many others if I thought you would
pitch
in OBJECTIVELY and VERY SERIOUSLY to make designs more manufacturable. I
have joined with many others in this endeavor over MANY years from the
design world as well as manufacturing, quality, test, process and
product
development.
I'm damn serious about this effort. If you are as well, I would like to
join your efforts to IMPROVE.
MoonMan
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