PCB Quotation | pelectropcb

Introduction

These Guidelines set out best practice to reduce the cost of your boards and to minimize the risk of errors arising during manufacture. Not all possible PCB design features are available on all our services. Look at our services overview to see more details. On some specific features we highlight the availability in a particular service.

The world is divided into a part that works with the Metric system and a part that works with the Imperial system for defining measurements. The “µm” is 25.4 times smaller than the “Mil”. Dimensions for electronics are driven smaller all the time. To ensure the highest quality possible, we decided many years ago to work exclusively in the Metric system in our front end department. Therefore the basis of all measurements given in this document and in our website is the Metric system. All Imperial values are there for clarification and general understanding only.

There is no general consensus throughout the global PCB industry on terminology, so if we feel any term we use may be unclear we have tried to explain it when it first appears.

Input Data Formats

Accepted data formats for PCB layout data are:

Artwork:

Gerber version 2 (or Gerber X2) or Gerber version 1 (or Geber X1). All Gerber specifications from Ucamco NV owner of the format.

Gerber file format: RS-274X
Gerber file naming:

1. GTL Gerber top layer

2. GTO Gerber top overlay

3. GTS Gerber top solder

4. GBL Gerber bottom layer

5. GBO Gerber bottom overlay

6. GBS Gerber bottom solder

7. GKO Gerber keepout layer

8. DRD Excellon drill file

DPF (Dynamic Process Format – developed by Ucamco NV)
Eagle .BRD file (CAD-data from CADsoft now Premier Farnell)

Artwork means all copper layers, soldermask and legend layers, board outline or mechanical layer, SMD paste layers,carbon layers, peel-off layers, etc.

Drilling:

Excellon (1 or 2) + appropriate tool list (ideally embedded)
Sieb&Meyer + appropriate tool list (ideally embedded)
Gerber format (only true drill data, not a drill map)
DPF (only true drill data, not a drill map).

Important

Please supply ONLY ASCII-encoded files. These files are man-readable so that our engineers can check them visually if needed during data preparation. So we don’t accept formats such as EIA or EBCDIC. We prefer Gerber X2.

We do not accept native CAD PCB design data other than from EAGLE or KiCAD.

1. Converting CAD data into production data may lead to errors which we cannot cross-check
2. It is impossible to have legal copies of every CAD PCB design package in the market and to have the necessary knowledge to use them all correctly. As designers do not all use the same software version, we would need to have a whole range of update patches as well.

Gerber is clear and unambiguous. It has been the industry-standard format for PCB manufacture for many years. Every PCB design package can output Gerber data and the process will be fully described in your CAD PCB design package handbook or help-files.