The exported file should be analyzed to ensure it is error-free and complete. Once the layout is imported and checked, the layout file can be exported to the formats required. If the layout is ready, it is possible to import the existing layout to almost all available PCB design software. You need the support of PCB design software. How do you convey the PCB design details to the PCB fabrication team? If the printing of PCBs is being outsourced, how do you convey the PCB layout details to the manufacturer? Imagine you already have a highly optimized, well-designed layout that is ready for printing. If the PCB layout is optimized and suitable for automated assembly, it decreases the lead time to market, increases the production rate, and reduces the per-unit cost. For example, if you have a new product with a potential rival in the market, then your product’s time-to-market impact is crucial. The PCB layout greatly influences the reliability, performance, and pricing of the final product that is to be mass-produced. The Importance of a PCB Layoutįor mass production, it is necessary to lay out components properly while considering all industry standards. When the prototype meets requirements and satisfies standards such as emissions, harmonics, safety, etc., it can be released for mass production. Prototyping continues until the intended output or function is achieved from the circuit being designed. ![]() Prototyping is a tedious and iterative process. Prototyping is not essential however, it is best practice and can save you money and time. All electronic product development follows the prototyping-to-production process flow. ![]() Once the concept of an electronic product is conceived, designers move toward prototyping. We’ll give an overview of PCB layout design, cover how to convert a PCB layout to Gerber files, and discuss other file formats available for conversion. The industry standard is to use Gerber files to print PCBs (shown above)Īre you a newly-minted engineer trying to figure out how to convert a PCB layout? We’ve got you covered. Open Data Base (ODB)++ is an alternative file format used in the PCB manufacturing sector. The PCB layout greatly influences the reliability, performance, and pricing of the final product. While many do the automatic deletion of silkscreen where pads are present, do not rely on it and get sloppy with stock libraries.Once a prototype meets requirements and satisfies standards, it can be released for mass production. PS: I too agree with C4757p, it is not the fab fault. Needless to say, I threw out the stock libraries soon after and started a company repository of cad symbols that we use now. It will nominally increase the solder coating on the boards, but not enough to cause any significant issues like pick and place alignment and reflow stuff. It did not fix all the pads but 99.9% of them were silkscreen free. To answer your question, if it is a large batch, and if the fab is near your place and/or you can afford to send it to your fab and get it back, try to see if they agree to HASL finish the board again. It was a wakeup call to pay attention to finer details. Needless to say, my boss was not happy (to say the least). The baords were 2" x 4" 2 layer FR4, 6x2 panel, and 2000 panels. I had exactly the same problem with eagle and my fab company. I find silkscreen to be generally useless anyhow, except for ass'y numbers and company names, there's no room on my boards anyways. You should also always verify your gerbers in another software completely, exactly for those ridiculous arc problems which don't show up in Allegro but show up in a gerber viewer. You should always use DRCs to check for silkscreen on pads, Allegro can do that, at least in the higher licenses I used. Sometimes it stops the gerber process, sometimes it creates "not a number" arcs. Allegro had problems when two identical objects of the same type/subclass are exactly on top of each other. ![]() You're in Belgium, you can buy a Saison Dupont Vieille Provision! I can't! As for your corner, is that Allegro? It always had bizarre arc bugs in obscure cases, with exactly that kind of inverted arc, or weird S tangles. It's sharp enough to remove the brittle silkscreen, but too dull to seriously harm the board. Just scrape off the silkscreen with a pocket knife.
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