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Quotes-
Call 802-877-6939 or email design@mtipcb.com |
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PADS
PowerPCB Version 5.0 - Specctra
Router Ver 8.0 - Blaze Router Ver
5.0 |
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A Short History
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In
1982, we began using the Racal-Redac CAD system for PCB design.
Although a technology fossil by today's standards, it was the "hot
system" at the time! Before the advent of
desktop PCs, pcb layout was usually accomplished by
hand-taping and manual drafting. Early CAD systems brought a
revolution in speed and precision to board layout, but they were very
costly. By 1985, members of the Racal-Redac team formed PADS Software, and we
adopted their new PADS-PCB layout software
in 1987. We have continued with
the PADS product line for 18 years through PCB, Work, Perform, and
PowerPCB. The PADS Software company eventually became Innoveda,
which was acquired by Mentor Graphics.
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Artwork
files in industry-standard Gerber RS-274X format: |
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| General |
Artwork
files are provided in Gerber format at 1X scale and to 1/10000 inch
precision. The number and type of artworks we deliver for a particular
printed circuit board depends on the board category and customer
preferences, as detailed below. |
| Trace
Layers |
From
one to several trace layer artworks are required depending on the layer
stack-up of your printed circuit board. Each
trace layer contain pads for component pins and for vias, and a number of connecting traces. Depending on the particular
pcb
design, the sizes of pads and traces vary
over a wide range. There may also be copper fill areas and various
identifying text items. |
| Plane
Layers |
Solid
plane layers may be created to distribute power and ground throughout
areas of a printed circuit board. Alternatively, mixed plane
layers can combine solid areas with regions of connecting traces on the
same level. While planes are typically implemented as inner-layer
pairs, single-layer external planes are not uncommon. A plane layer
may distribute a single net, or it may be "split" to distribute
several voltages, depending on the pcb layout design. Plated-thru
holes connect selected component pins with the appropriate plane layers by
means of spoked thermal relief pads. Pins and vias that are not
connected to a plane pass through the plane by way of isolation
clearances. |
| Silkscreen |
The
design of silkscreen artworks generally includes the component outlines
and reference designators to be inked on the printed circuit board
surface. The component outlines resemble the actual part
shape. The reference designators are positioned close to the part,
such that the component ID remains visible after the part is installed on
the board. Depending on the type of pcb layout, one or two
silkscreens will be required. The ink color is specified in
the master drawing as either white, blue, or yellow. Good pcb
design practice requires that all solderable component lands remain
free of silkscreen ink . |
| Soldermask |
Soldermask
artworks are used by the board manufacturer to apply a solder-resistive
coating to the board surface. All solderable component lands must
remain free of the mask material, and the artwork contains a 1X scale
layout of the solderable component lands. Several different types of
mask are common, most notable are the liquid photo imageable (LPI) and dry
film (DF) processes. Each process has unique advantages, and we will
specify the proper mask on the master drawing. Soldermasks can be
specified as "tented", in which the soldermask covers the via
holes. Tented soldermasks are very useful to reduce solder-bridging
on dense pcb layouts. More often than not, thru-hole boards
use the same soldermask artwork for both sides of the board. Boards
having any surface mount parts invariably need different soldermask
designs for the top and the bottom sides. |
| Pastemask |
Except
for certain mixed thru-hole/surface mount board designs which can be
wave-soldered, pcb layouts using SMT will require a pastemask
artwork. The precision solder stencil will be created with this artwork, to
be used in applying solder paste to the SMT lands. At assembly, the
components are
precisely "dropped" onto the solder-coated lands, then the
solder paste is fused by an IR reflow process. |
| Drill
Drawing |
For
prototypes and other pcb designs not needing full production level
documentation, the fabrication master drawing can be reduced to a
simplified drill drawing. Typically supplied as a gerber artwork
file, the drill drawing shows the dimensioned board outline and the
required drilling pattern, together with a table of drill sizes and a
condensed list of fabrication notes. |
| Heatsinks |
In
thru-hole designs, heat sinking can be implemented by metal heat-rails
which fit under the components and are bonded to the board surface.
The heatsink artwork is a 1X scale phototool used to fabricate this
item. The basic design resembles a ladder, with the rungs conducting
heat out to the risers along two board edges. The risers are clamped
or otherwise fastened to an external heat-dissipating
structure. |
| Pads-only |
SMT
designs can sometimes benefit from the use of pads-cap external
layers. This layout style restricts the outer board surfaces to
containing only component lands and vias, but no traces other than very
short fan-out segments. The main advantage is that narrow
clearances in the routing pattern are confined to the inner layers where
they are much less likely to cause problems in fabrication or
soldering. Another plus is improved testability- all nets have vias
exposed for probing. Some designers will also eliminate the
soldermask. The main disadvantage is the addition of two layers, but
this may not be a significant cost issue for a design which requires 6 to
10 layers anyway. |
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Documentation Drawings
in DXF, HP-GL, or PDF formats: |
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General
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Documentation
drawings conform to IPC-D-325A Class 1, 2, or 3.
Typically, these drawings are prepared on size D title block, but smaller
formats (A, B, or C) are also available.
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| Assembly
Drawings |
The
assembly drawing documents the finished board assembly, and depicts one or
several scale views of the board together with detailed notes pertaining
to the assembly process. The
main view includes the
board profile outline, the component outlines, the solder lands, reference
designators, and other required markings.
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| Fabrication
Drawings |
The
fabrication drawing or master drawing describes the board in detail
sufficient to produce the bare board. The extent of detail depends
on the documentation class, but typically includes physical
dimensions, specifications for materials, platings, coatings, holes,
and tolerances.
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Other Files |
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| NC
Drilling |
Hole
locations and size, for automated drilling machines. In Excellon (or
other) format. |
| Pick
& Place
XY |
Part
mounting position, orientation, side, for pick-and-place automated
assembly machines. |
| Netlists |
Point-to-point
connectivity of the board, for automated testing machines and for design
checking. |
| Part
Lists |
Detailed
report on all parts used in the board layout. |
| CAD
Database |
Master
data file for archive. To be used as a start point for future board
layout revisions. |
| Back-annotation |
Report
on re-numbering of component reference designators, for schematic updates. |
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Quotes-
Call 802-877-6939 or email design@mtipcb.com
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