Kari Rantakoski Why “Can We Build It?” Is the Wrong First Question in PCB Manufacturing One of the most common questions asked at the end of a PCB design is: “Can we build it?” While this question sounds reasonable, it is often the wrong one. In practice, many PCBs that can be built once... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski Component Choices: Electrical Fit vs Production Reality In many PCB projects, component selection is treated primarily as an electrical decision. If a part meets voltage, current, speed, and accuracy requirements, it is often considered “good enough.” In p... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski How Early Manufacturer Input Shortens Time-to-Market When PCB projects miss deadlines, the root cause is rarely engineering capability. More often, delays are caused by late discovery of manufacturing constraints. At Comtec Labs, the fastest and smoothe... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski Common PCB Design Mistakes That Increase Production Cost In PCB projects, cost problems rarely come from a single dramatic mistake. They come from many small design decisions that seem harmless in CAD, but become expensive in production. At Comtec Labs, we ... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski PCB Documentation Mistakes That Cost Time, Yield, and Money In PCB manufacturing, documentation is not paperwork—it is the contract between design and production. When that contract is unclear, incomplete, or contradictory, problems are inevitable. At Comtec L... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski Test Points: Small Detail, Big Impact In many PCB projects, test points are treated as a minor detail. If they are added at all, they are often squeezed in at the very end of layout, after routing, placement, and mechanical constraints ar... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski The PCB Tolerances That Silently Kill Manufacturing Yield Many PCB designs fail not because of obvious mistakes, but because of tolerances that are too tight to be realistic. On paper, everything looks correct. In production, yield quietly collapses.At Comte... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski Via-in-Pad in PCB Design – Powerful Tool or Hidden Manufacturing Risk? Via-in-pad is one of the most debated techniques in modern PCB design. Used correctly, it enables compact layouts, improved signal integrity, and routing feasibility for fine-pitch components. Used un... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski Why DFM Should Start at Project Kickoff DFM is not a final checklist. It is a part of a good design process. Design for Manufacturability (DFM) is often misunderstood as a late-stage review step. In reality, it is a mindset that must guide ... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski PCB Panelization: Do’s and Don’ts PCB panelization is often treated as a minor manufacturing detail. Something to be solved after layout is finished, or delegated entirely to the factory. In practice, panelization decisions have a dir... Jan 20, 2026
Kari Rantakoski PCB Stackup decisions designers often underestimate PCB stackup is often treated as an electrical detail—something to define quickly so routing can begin. In reality, stackup decisions influence nearly every downstream manufacturing step: fabrication y... Jan 19, 2026
Kari Rantakoski 3 PCB Design Decisions That Make Manufacturing Harder – And How to Avoid Them In PCB projects, manufacturing problems rarely come from dramatic design errors. Much more often, they originate from perfectly reasonable design decisions that were made in isolation—without full vis... Jan 19, 2026
