Before Sending

Before you send your design to the PCB manufacturer, there are a few things that you should do. Remember – this is your final chance to make sure that your board design lives up to your expectations. To that end, make sure that you:

• Print Out the Layout: Physically print the board design on paper and make sure that everything fits. If there is even a small amount out of tolerance, it’s time to address that.

• Check for Functionality: Make sure that your components are all in place, that your traces are properly sized, that you have no 90-degree angles (to avoid partial etching and the resulting shorts), and more. As much as you can, check functionality and placement one last time before sending the design out.

• Double Check Tolerances: Verify with your PCB manufacturer what their tolerances are and then ensure that your design meets those requirements. In most cases, you can simply build those tolerances into your design with your PCB software, such as our free PCB Artist software. Just run a quick manufacturability check based on those tolerances and you should be alerted to any issues, which can then be rectified.

• Double Check the Space Requirements: When adding components to your PCB, make sure that you leave enough space between them. You need to account for traces, but also to help alleviate heat buildup, to reduce resistance, and more. Don’t forget that you will also need to leave room for things like buttons and other components that are not part of the PCB layout, too. Accurate size estimation from the beginning stages is essential to success.

Know the PCB Manufacturing Process

It is important to understand the process followed by the PCB manufacturer once you send your design to them. After design, which is the part you handle, the next step is printing. The PCB manufacturer will check your design to ensure that it meets design tolerances. Note that this check does not necessarily mean that your board works to your expectations – most DFM checks are strictly to ensure that the board fulfills the tolerances necessary for manufacturing. (When you work with Advanced Circuits you can take advantage of our FreeDFM tool, to ensure your design is free of manufacturability issues.)

A plotter printer will then be used to print the PCB. This type of printer uses a transparent film to create a negative image of the board. Black and clear ink are used to represent traces and circuits, as well as non-conductive areas of the board (clear ink). With outer board layers, the colors are reversed, with black indicating non-conductive parts and clear ink used for components. A soldering mask is added, and then a registration hole is punched through the film to help align each one into the appropriate layer.

Next up, the manufacturer prints the copper layer for the board’s interior layers, then unnecessary copper is removed. Finally, the entire thing is sandwiched together into a single board and inspected, the layers are laminated, drilling takes place, and plating occurs. A final etching then occurs, followed by the application of the solder mask, silk-screening, and a final reliability test.

Of course, it helps if you have chosen the right PCB manufacturer in the first place. What should you consider when choosing one?

Choosing a PCB Manufacturer

You’ll find many important considerations when choosing a PCB manufacturer. There are numerous fabricators available, but they are by no means created equal. Some are budget-oriented options, while others are geared for working with major tech companies. Here are a few of the more critical considerations to make before choosing a partner:

• Lead Time: Some PCB manufacturers have very long lead times. Make sure you know the lead time requirements of any you are considering working with, as this will have a huge impact on your overall project.

• File Type: Make sure that the PCB manufacturer that you choose accepts the file type(s) that you want to send. Some of the more common types used today include KiCad, Gerber, and EAGLE.

• Minimum Time to Shipment: In addition to lead time, you’ll need to think about the company’s minimum time to shipment. Basically, this is a specified period that occurs before your order can be shipped. Some companies have very low requirements, but others have lengthy periods that may be a week or more.

• Order Quantity: How many boards do you need to print? Are you interested in one or two prototypes for testing? Do you need a full production run? Make sure that the PCB manufacturer you choose is able to meet your quantity requirements. Some companies will only print larger quantities, while others are more flexible.

• Software Availability: Ideally, you’ll work with a PCB manufacturer that makes design software available to you. At Advanced Circuits, we offer one of the most robust design tools in the industry – PCB Artist – free of charge. It can handle all of your design needs and seamlessly export the design when you’re ready to print.

Our Position as an Industry Leader

Ultimately, the right PCB manufacturer will help you bring your designs to life. Make sure that you check their reputation, the quality of their manufacturing process, their lead time and minimum time to shipment, minimum order quantity, and whether they offer access to free design software or not. At Advanced Circuits, we’re proud of our position as an industry leader, as well as our ability to offer our customers the flexibility they need. Whether you’re printing off a handful of prototypes, or you’re ready to go to market with a full production run, we can help.

Our powerful PCB fabrication solutions range from the simplest circuit board designs to the most rigorous design requirements for the medical, commercial, defense, and aerospace marketplaces.  Advanced Circuits is committed to U.S.A. manufacturing with three facilities in Arizona, Colorado, and Minnesota totaling over 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space.  Providing enhanced support to the military/defense and aerospace industries for PCB fabrication, Advanced Circuits has made significant capital investments over the years to meet stringent standards and fabrication requirements of some of the most technologically advanced circuit board designs for mission-critical applications.

Advanced Circuits’ Three PCB Fabrication Facilities are ITAR Registered

All three of Advanced Circuits’ PCB fabrication facilities are are fully compliant and follow strict security protocols with the United States International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR) which is an important factor for our aerospace and defense industry customers.  To download our industry certifications and review our ITAR documentation, please visit our Certifications page on our website 4pcb.com.

Advanced Circuits’ Minnesota PCB fabrication facility is also DOD contracts ready with elevated security measures and compliance protocols that only few PCB manufacturers in the U.S.A. meet for Department of Defense contracts.

Expanded PCB Fabrication Laminates and Capabilities

Advanced Circuits sources many types of PCB laminates from top industry providers to bring you a wide range of options such as enhanced epoxy laminates, ultra-low moisture materials, high-frequency ceramic filled laminates, RoHS compliant, and more.  As North America’s third largest PCB manufacturer, we are able to work closely with laminate providers like Isola, Nelco, Arlon, Rogers, Taconic, 3M, Panasonic, and others to quickly source the materials our customers demand.  We carry laminate materials suitable for applications such as:

• Radar systems
• Mobile communications
• Complex microwave
• High speed digital
• RF components
• Phased array antennas
• Automotive radar & sensors
• High reliability aerospace & defense
• High frequency performance
• Direct broadcast satellites
• Power backplanes
• GPS antennas

Our advanced PCB Fabrication capabilities to support advanced designs with demanding requirements include: laser-drilled microvias, cavity boards, heavy copper up to 20 oz., via-in-pad, microwave & RF boards, up to 40 layers, IPC Class 3 Etchback, and others.  To view a complete list of Advanced Circuits PCB fabrication capabilities, click here.

For more information about our advanced PCB fabrication capabilities, certifications, and facilities, please call 1-800-979-4722 or find your Advanced Circuits Sales Representative by clicking here.

A One-Stop Approach to Circuit Board Fabrication

Advanced Circuits is committed to providing the highest quality in the industry and the most convenient services with outstanding customer support – all under one roof.  From prototype to production quantities and from the simplest boards to the most advanced design requirements.

Below are some of the reasons why engineers, buyers, hobbyists, and students choose Advanced Circuits for all of their circuit board needs and requirements:

Circuit Board Design

Before your circuit board can be manufactured, you will need to create the design and generate your circuit board files for production.  PCB Artist® is Advanced Circuits’ free circuit board design software that is available to everyone at no cost.  The highly-capable tool is made available without paywalls or subscriptions of any kind and its features and functionality rival expensive circuit board design packages on the market.

Circuit Board Design Verification

After you have created your circuit board design and have exported the Gerber files for manufacturing, Advanced Circuits helps you ensure your design is free of manufacturability issues with our free tool, FreeDFM™.  FreeDFM™ is a free online tool created to find any features on the customers’ circuit board design that would need to be fixed or modified for successful manufacturing.  This saves the customer time by avoiding holds in production due to design issues and also saves the customer money by providing a discount code for up to $100 off their next circuit board order each time the FreeDFM™ tool is used.

Circuit Board Prototyping

Advanced Circuits has created three special pricing options that are great for 2 and 4 layer quick turn prototypes.  The three options are BareBones™, $33 Each, and $66 Each.

• BareBones™ is a 2 layer circuit board prototyping option that ships in just one day with no minimum quantity requirements. The BareBones™ circuit boards are shipped without Soldermask or Silkscreen (bare FR4).  This option is great when just a few low-cost circuit boards are needed very quickly.
• $33 Each is Advanced Circuits 2 layer circuit board special. What makes this offering unique is that the size of the board will not change the price.  A board can be as big as 60 square inches and customers only pay $33 each.  This option ships in just 5 days.
• $66 Each is Advanced Circuits 4 layer circuit board special. Just like the $33 Each special, the price does not change with the size of the board.  You can get a 4 layer board as big as 30 square inches shipped in just 5 days for $66 Each.

Quickturn Prototype Assembly

Advanced Circuits is the leading PCB manufacturer in North America to offer in-house PCB assembly.  While some circuit board manufacturers may offer PCB assembly services through a third party, Advanced Circuits can actually offer PCB + turnkey assembly as quick as one day.  Customers rely on us for their time-sensitive projects knowing that the work is kept in-house to reduce the chance of shipping delays, communication, and accuracy issues.

Quickturn Capabilities

Rely on the circuit board manufacturer with the industry’s best on-time shipping record for your time-sensitive projects.  Our flexible turn-time options make it easy to meet your project deadlines.

• Same Day Turns. Manufactured and shipped in less than 24 hours!
• Weekend Turns. Manufactured through the weekend and shipped for Monday morning delivery!
• 1 – 4 Day Turns Options
• 1 – 4 Week Turns Options

Small, Medium, and High-Volume Circuit Board Production Quantities

We make it easy to scale circuit board production from the prototyping stages to high-volume production in-house with flexible turn-times and even offer scheduled shipment options.

For more information about all of our printed circuit board manufacturing services, please contact your Regional Sales Manager.