DFM, design for manufacturability, covers the rules and reviews that make a board easy to fabricate and assemble: line and space within capability, adequate annular rings, no slivers or acid traps, sensible drill sizes, enough part spacing for rework and good paste and mask design. Fabricators and assemblers run DFM on incoming data and send back queries, and designers run their own first to avoid delays. Sibling reviews are DFA for assembly and DFT for testability.
DFM report came back with 40 queries, most are slivers, but they also want the mask opened on the test points.
Also heard as
- design for manufacturability
- design for manufacturing
Related terms
DRC
Design rule check: automated scan of a layout for spacing, width, drill and connectivity violations.
Sliver
Very narrow strip of copper or soldermask in the artwork that can peel loose during fabrication.
Acid trap
Acute inside angle in copper artwork where etchant can pool and over-etch, a classic DFM flag.
IPC class
Reliability class 1, 2 or 3 under IPC standards, setting the acceptance criteria a board is built to.