Improve the Design and Quality of your PCBs
PCB designers often focus heavily on the electrical performance of their circuits. While it’s crucial to choose suitable components from the huge range available, maintain an up-to-date component library, and ensure proper design rules are followed, it’s equally important to align those designs with the manufacturing capabilities of the PCB fabricator.
To help ensure smooth production and avoid delays, we strongly suggest reviewing the following key guidelines before submitting your final design files.
Data Package
- All copper layers
- Solder mask and legend layers
- Board outline or mechanical layer
- SMD paste layers
- Carbon layers
- Peel-off layer
- All in Gerber RS274-X format
- Drill file in Excellon-1 or 2 format with embedded tools list
If possible, avoid sending data in Gerber RS274-D format as it is an obsolete format. If sending data in Gerber RS274-D format, make sure of including the aperture file along with the apertures used in the design.
It is not necessary to send PCB Design data such as Original CAD data, Graphicode GWK files, PDF files, Word files (doc), Excel files (xls), parts lists, placement, and assembly information.
Before sending your data to the manufacturer, always verify it using a Gerber viewer. Use concise and intuitive file names, avoiding overly long names, and include a readme file if needed for clarity. Confirm that all files are at a full-scale 1:1 ratio without any scaled elements. Ensure Gerber files do not contain apertures with zero dimensions (0.00 mm or 0 mils), and similarly, Excellon drill files should be free of zero-sized tool entries. Keep a consistent offset for all Gerber and Excellon files, ideally set to zero. Use the same measurement units (millimeters or inches) in your Gerber and Excellon outputs as were used in your CAD software. Likewise, maintain uniform resolution or grid settings across both Gerber and Excellon data. The data should be arranged top-to-bottom with no mirroring applied—text on the component side must be readable, and text on the solder side should appear reversed.
Always review the final Gerber and Excellon files in a viewer before submitting them for fabrication. Be sure to include any necessary instructions or details that the board manufacturer might need alongside these files.
Choose clear, straightforward file names that help easily identify each layer’s purpose. Avoid overly lengthy names and consider adding a descriptive readme file if the layer functions cannot be inferred from the file names alone.
It is essential that the data you provide is at true scale (1:1) without any resizing or scaling applied.
Confirm that your Gerber data contains no zero-sized apertures and your Excellon drill files have no zero-diameter drill tools.
Apply the same offset to all Gerber layers and drill files, preferring a zero offset to maintain consistency.
Make sure the units in your Gerber and drill files match those used in your CAD design package to prevent errors from unit conversion or rounding.
Use identical resolution settings for Gerber and Excellon data to ensure they align perfectly.
Organize your data from the top side of your board down to the bottom. Do not mirror or flip any layers or drill data. Industry standard dictates viewing from top to bottom, so text on the top side should be legible and text on the bottom side should be mirrored (non-readable).
Want to avoid common exceptions while ordering PCBs?
Designing on Kicad?
Click Here For Guidelines Data Package
- All copper layers
- Solder mask and legend layers
- Board outline or mechanical layer
- SMD paste layers
- Carbon layers
- Peel-off layer
- All in Gerber RS274-X format
- Drill file in Excellon-1 or 2 format with embedded tools list
If possible, avoid sending data in Gerber RS274-D format as it is an obsolete format. If sending data in Gerber RS274-D format, make sure of including the aperture file along with the apertures used in the design.
It is not necessary to send PCB Design data such as Original CAD data, Graphicode GWK files, PDF files, Word files (doc), Excel files (xls), parts lists, placement, and assembly information.
Before sending your data to the manufacturer, always verify it using a Gerber viewer. Use concise and intuitive file names, avoiding overly long names, and include a readme file if needed for clarity. Confirm that all files are at a full-scale 1:1 ratio without any scaled elements. Ensure Gerber files do not contain apertures with zero dimensions (0.00 mm or 0 mils), and similarly, Excellon drill files should be free of zero-sized tool entries. Keep a consistent offset for all Gerber and Excellon files, ideally set to zero. Use the same measurement units (millimeters or inches) in your Gerber and Excellon outputs as were used in your CAD software. Likewise, maintain uniform resolution or grid settings across both Gerber and Excellon data. The data should be arranged top-to-bottom with no mirroring applied—text on the component side must be readable, and text on the solder side should appear reversed.
Always review the final Gerber and Excellon files in a viewer before submitting them for fabrication. Be sure to include any necessary instructions or details that the board manufacturer might need alongside these files.
Choose clear, straightforward file names that help easily identify each layer’s purpose. Avoid overly lengthy names and consider adding a descriptive readme file if the layer functions cannot be inferred from the file names alone.
It is essential that the data you provide is at true scale (1:1) without any resizing or scaling applied.
Confirm that your Gerber data contains no zero-sized apertures and your Excellon drill files have no zero-diameter drill tools.
Apply the same offset to all Gerber layers and drill files, preferring a zero offset to maintain consistency.
Make sure the units in your Gerber and drill files match those used in your CAD design package to prevent errors from unit conversion or rounding.
Use identical resolution settings for Gerber and Excellon data to ensure they align perfectly.
Organize your data from the top side of your board down to the bottom. Do not mirror or flip any layers or drill data. Industry standard dictates viewing from top to bottom, so text on the top side should be legible and text on the bottom side should be mirrored (non-readable).
Want to avoid common exceptions while ordering PCBs?
Designing on Kicad?
Click Here For Guidelines