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What documents should be sent to the manufacturer for PCB proofing?

Generally, PCB proofing is done for testing before doing experiments or mass production of PCB. PCB files come in many forms. In order to meet the different needs of the market, these different forms of files can generally be opened by PCB manufacturers. So, what documents do we need to send to manufacturers for PCB proofing? Let me listen to the editor to explain it in detail for you!

Generally, PCB or GERBER files need to be provided to the PCB manufacturer to do PCB proofing. The provided files need to include some board-making instructions, such as: the number of board layers, required materials, pad technology, ink color and other specific production requirements. The specific instructions are as follows:

Material: It is necessary to explain what materials are needed to produce PCB. Generally, FR4 is the most commonly used, and the main material is epoxy resin peeled fiber cloth board.

Layer: The number of PCB layers has an impact on the price, so it is necessary to indicate how many layers are made.

Solder mask color: the normal color is green, other colors need to be noted.

Silk screen color: The color of the font and border of the silk screen printed on the PCB. The default selection is generally white.

Copper Thickness: Generally, the copper thickness is scientifically calculated based on the current of the PCB circuit. Generally, the thicker the better, but the cost will be higher, so a reasonable balance is required.

Whether the via is covered with solder mask: Over solder mask is to insulate the via, otherwise it is to make the via uninsulated.

Surface coating: spray tin or gold plating.

Quantity: The quantity of PCB produced should be clearly stated.

There are many kinds of software for drawing PCB boards, such as: PADS Layout, Protel 99 SE, DXP, etc. The board drawn with PADS Layout can be either a gerber or a PCB file. It is recommended that you choose gerber, because PCB manufacturers generally convert other styles of files into gerber files, so it is inevitable that errors will sometimes occur during conversion. Therefore, it is recommended that you provide the gerber file to the manufacturer when doing PCB proofing.

The boards drawn with Protel 99 SE and DXP are generally gerber files (including each layer and drilling files you use), and you can also provide the original files to the manufacturer, but few companies will do this, because Afraid of being copied.

Knowledge expansion:

The commonly used PCB design software suffixes are generally .pcb and .PCBDoc.

If the PCB file you provide to the manufacturer is a board drawn with Protel 99 SE and PADS Layout, the suffix is .pcb.

If the PCB file you provide to the manufacturer is a board drawn with dxp, the suffix is .PCBDoc.

If the PCB file you provide to the manufacturer is a board drawn with Protel 99 SE and DXP, and the gerber file is provided, the suffix is .gtl, .gts, .gto, etc.

If the PCB file you provide to the manufacturer is a board drawn with PADS Layout, and the gerber file is provided, the suffix is .pho.

Note: When providing the gerber file, the drilling file must also be provided to the manufacturer.

The above is the relevant knowledge provided by the editor on which documents to send to the manufacturer for PCB proofing. If you don’t understand, you can directly contact our online customer service.