Webinar: Design Documentation Needed to Manufacture Your PCBs

Webinar abstract:

Suppose you’ve submitted the PCB design data package to your fab and assembly house and finally think the job is done. You sit back, but then your phone rings:

“The drill drawing is missing.”
“There are duplicate MPNs in the BOM.”
“The impedance requirements for the critical nets aren’t specified.”

And just like that, peace is gone. What should have been a straightforward manufacturing release turns into a week-long back-and-forth communication.

To help you avoid these last-minute delays, we’ve put together this webinar. Here, we will walk you through the essential information to include in your PCB design documentation so your fab partner can move your board into production with fewer questions.

Preparing your PCB design files for seamless manufacturing

Once your design is ready for release, the next question is: how do you package all information for your contract manufacturer?

Gerber is the widely used design data format. It requires separate files for each copper layer, solder mask, silkscreen, and paste. However, additional files (drill data, fabrication drawings, and BOMs) may need to be supplied separately.

ODB++ takes a more structured approach by organizing manufacturing information into a hierarchical database.

IPC-2581 is an open standard, designed to consolidate fab and assembly information into a single data package. It includes stack-up, materials, drill data, BOM, netlists, and manufacturing instructions.

Let’s walk through the key design documents you should include. Your stack-up diagram defines how the PCB is physically constructed. Specify the complete layer sequence, material type, dielectric thickness, copper thickness, and overall finished board thickness.

Next, provide complete drill information. The NC drill file communicates the locations and sizes of the holes. Indicate plated through-holes (PTH) and non-plated through-holes (NPTH), and pay particular attention to slots, connector holes, and mounting holes.

For controlled impedance designs, specify the target impedance, tolerance, trace width, and spacing for the relevant nets.

Don’t forget the netlist. It defines the electrical connectivity between components and PCB features. Generate it from the same design revision used to create your manufacturing files, so that the information remains consistent across the package.

Once the fabrication data is complete, move on to the assembly part.

Start with the centroid file, which provides component placement coordinates and rotation. Verify that the coordinate system, part orientations, and rotation conventions are correct.

Finally, your BOM should contain accurate MPNs, quantities, descriptions, and reference designators. Check for duplicate MPNs before releasing the package.

The goal is simple: your manufacturer should not have to guess what you intended to build.

Register for the webinar to learn how to build complete PCB design documentation and make your next manufacturing release smoother and faster.