NCHC’s Cloud Analysis Platform Enhances PCB Design Capabilities

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are essential for electronic products such as communication devices, computers, semiconductors, and vehicles. Taiwan is home to the world’s largest PCB supply chain. With the continuous advancement of electronic functionalities, PCB structures, which play a key role in product operation, are becoming increasingly complex and challenging to design. In response, the National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC), under the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), has developed a powerful tool for designers: the cloud analysis platform for printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). This platform enhances PCB design efficiency and manufacturing performance, ensuring Taiwan’s competitiveness in the global PCB industry.

Electronic components such as chips, capacitors, resistors, and connectors must be installed and attached to PCBs to function properly. Among these, advanced chips are joined to PCBs through solder balls. As electronic products become increasingly advanced, PCB designs grow more layered and complex. Modern PCBs often consist of tens of copper-clad layers. During manufacturing or use, the multilayered structure may warp due to differences in the thermal expansion coefficients of materials. Such warpage can damage solder balls, causing failed joints, disrupting signal transmission, and reducing product durability.

Therefore, effectively and efficiently controlling design quality is a critical concern for manufacturers. NCHC has developed the PCBA cloud analysis platform by leveraging expertise in solid mechanics and high-performance simulation. This platform enables designers to rapidly and accurately assess structural deformation in PCBs and PCBAs, overcoming the limitations of traditional analyses that rely on complex simulations performed by specialized engineers.

Users can quickly obtain results through the PCBA cloud analysis platform without requiring expertise in solid mechanics. By simply entering or selecting structural parameters such as  sizes, materials, or options via the web interface, the platform swiftly generates models and starts the analyses to obtain  stress and deformation distribution results. This reduces the analysis time from several weeks to just tens of minutes, helping users rapidly adjust and optimize parameters.

With its cloud-based design, users can perform analyses and review results anytime and anywhere with an Internet connection, greatly enhancing teamwork and accessibility. the platform also enables users to adjust model designs and report formats according to their needs. Additionally, through NCHC's application of open-source software, the platform can be tailored to address specific product requirements, optimization challenges such as copper trace distribution, board module combinations, geometrical dimensions and materials, solder ball lifespan predictions, and the impact of shielding covers on warpage. Furthermore, it provides optimal designs for chip placement, delivering comprehensive solutions for various industries.

The State Grid Center has created a cloud analysis platform that can analyze PCB copper laying rate, PCBA structural warpage and deformation, and solder ball life. 

NCHC Director General Chau-Lyan Chang stated that the PCBA cloud analysis platform is an innovative tool for enhancing product value and competitiveness. NCHC has already collaborated with leading Information and Communication Technology (ICT)  companies, world-class PCB manufacturers, and large semiconductor packaging and testing companies. By utilizing the platform’s highly customized structural analysis, these collaborations have significantly streamlined product development processes and enhanced efficiency, thereby boosting market competitiveness. Moving forward, NCHC plans to expand collaborations in the fields of solid mechanics and high-performance computing, developing more solutions tailored to meet diverse industry needs and serving as a strong pillar for domestic R&D and technological innovation.

Chao-Chieh Chan, Senior Director of the Advanced Fabrication Center at Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC), is also a client of the PCBA cloud analysis platform. He noted that WNC is dedicated to becoming a global leader in ICT-AIoT products, with applications spanning households, vehicles, enterprises, and IoT sectors. As product applications grow increasingly diverse, so does the demand for PCB design. With the support of NCHC’s PCBA cloud analysis platform, WNC aims to achieve rapid and precise PCB structural design and optimization, shortening product development cycles and improving market responsiveness. This not only demonstrates WNC’s strong technological innovation capabilities but also highlights its distinct competitive advantages, creating unparalleled value and competitiveness for its clients.
 

Chih-Min Yao, deputy director of the National Center for High-Performance Computing,  briefed on the PCBA cloud analysis platform

Dr. Chau-Jie Zhan, Senior Director of the Wistron NeWeb Corporation, shared the benefits of using the platform


(From left to right) Dr. Chau-Jie Zhan, Senior Director of the Wistron NeWeb Corporation, Chau-Lyan Chang, Director General of the NCHC, Hung-Yin Tsai, director of the National Applied Research Laboratories, Zhang Longyao, director of the Operation and Promotion Office of the National Research Institute, and Yao Zhimin, deputy director of the NCHC