PCB Proto Board Control
PCB Proto Board Control
(OP)
Does anyone have a good SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) document that they use to track proto boards?
Currently I have 8 different projects and I'm starting to receive boards all at once and of course everyone wants a proto board as soon as they are received. But what I don't want to happen is that I lose track of who has which board, what Rev they are at, what program rev is on the programmable chips, which boards need rework which don't, ect............
So does anyone have a good SOP for tracking PCB's they have used in the past that has worked well for them?
Currently I have 8 different projects and I'm starting to receive boards all at once and of course everyone wants a proto board as soon as they are received. But what I don't want to happen is that I lose track of who has which board, what Rev they are at, what program rev is on the programmable chips, which boards need rework which don't, ect............
So does anyone have a good SOP for tracking PCB's they have used in the past that has worked well for them?





RE: PCB Proto Board Control
A small block of white silkscreen on the PCB allows space for writing with a permanent marker (board revision, etc.), and a sticker on the chip should easily display the software version #.
Dan
Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: PCB Proto Board Control
I was thinking of maybe using different colored paint pens to track the different levels, putting a paint dot on the chip or on the board to signify the revision.
I don't know, I was just seeing if anyone had some good ideas.
RE: PCB Proto Board Control
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: PCB Proto Board Control
Thanks Mike
Steve
RE: PCB Proto Board Control
RE: PCB Proto Board Control
What we do is to put the part number and M0, M1, M2... in the copper.
Tofflemire
RE: PCB Proto Board Control
The part number of the Circuit Card Assembly (CCA, stuffed with parts) can be printed on the PCB as part of the silk screen layer. The revision of the CCA needs to be added manually (hand printed or stamped) because it should change with (for example) resistor value changes. The silk screen could contain the prefix "Rev." and an empty box.
It helps if you add the prefixes PCB and CCA to the P/Ns so that people will know which is which.
In summary (an example):
In Copper: "PCB P/N 98-12345 Rev. B"
In Silk Screen: "CCA P/N 99-98765 Rev. [ ]"
Hand Stamped: "D" (in the CCA Rev. box above)
This method covers 99% of all eventualities for the pure hardware side of things.
Now - programmable devices is a whole 'nother issue. It may help to clarify your thoughts that programmable devices might be anywhere from hardware (FPGA) to software (uP) or anywhere in between (fuzzy distinction these days).
If the chips can only be programmed once, then simply add a decal (P/N + Rev.) to each chip. It helps to use a very fine font.
Sometimes these devices can be updated in the field (firmware updates can even be done via satellite), which makes labling the devices a huge (sometime non-) issue.
In those cases, it might be best to roll-up all the SW and firmware into one tracking number and add a decal to the CCA that says something like "SW configuration 666-12345 Rev. A at time of manufacture".
RE: PCB Proto Board Control
Track the exact configuration of each S/N or each product can be done with As-Built Logs. The log can be an on-line database, or a simple book, or anything you want.
Tracking who has what is a simple "sign-out" log.
Tracking what needs updates can be done using Problem Reports and tracking their progress and closure.
You can see that different information is kept in different databases. I wouldn't try to mix it all into one tracking system.
RE: PCB Proto Board Control