Design Rite is not your typical design service.

In the past 35 years, we have designed over 2,000 different PC boards for more than 150 customers. When we opened for business in 1975, it was red and blue pencil layouts on paper. Then there were the “puppets” and always the stretching of miles of black tape or cutting Rubylith on Mylar over a precision grid on a light table. Now that was real artwork.

Things changed in 1984. We bought our first Telesis CAD system. We had no choice. It was either get into CAD or get out of the business. That was a very tough time for everyone. Those huge payments and that lengthy learning curve put a bunch of guys out of business. We put in a ton of time getting up to speed. Then just about the time we got those beasts paid off, along comes the PC with a hundred times the speed at one tenth the price and better software.

We learned a few things along the way:

1. Never book more work than you can do on time (scheduling is everything for most customers)
2. Work on a first in - first out basis.
3. Don’t off-load work. All work is done at our office.
4. Ask questions; never guess or assume anything.
5. Don’t auto-route. Most customers hate the results.
6. Give the customer the best possible design, even if it takes longer than you bid
7. If it isn’t perfect, it isn’t finished.