PCB panelization review

Thread Starter

adrenalina

Joined Jan 4, 2011
78
Hello everyone. I have a pcb that a want to get manufactured in a panel. My pcb has a nonsquare shape so I don't know if the board house will cut the panel correctly. It is a panel with 9 designs of the pcb. I am attaching an image to be more clear.
panelization.png
The green lines are 2mm wide slots.
The dark pink square is the panel size which is 10*10cm
The light pink lines are the boards cutout. By this I mean that this is how the board should be after removing it from the panel.
board.png
Will the board house also cut the light pink lines, excluding the part where I want to leave the tabs to hold on to the panel, or if I send the panel like this do I risk the manufacturer cutting through the tabs, or worse not cutting the part marked with the light pink lines?
 

ronv

Joined Nov 12, 2008
3,770
Hello everyone. I have a pcb that a want to get manufactured in a panel. My pcb has a nonsquare shape so I don't know if the board house will cut the panel correctly. It is a panel with 9 designs of the pcb. I am attaching an image to be more clear.
View attachment 100913
The green lines are 2mm wide slots.
The dark pink square is the panel size which is 10*10cm
The light pink lines are the boards cutout. By this I mean that this is how the board should be after removing it from the panel.
View attachment 100912
Will the board house also cut the light pink lines, excluding the part where I want to leave the tabs to hold on to the panel, or if I send the panel like this do I risk the manufacturer cutting through the tabs, or worse not cutting the part marked with the light pink lines?
The Gerber files usually spell out the board outline, so it will depend on how your layout program does it.
 

SLK001

Joined Nov 29, 2011
1,549
The Gerber files usually spell out the board outline, so it will depend on how your layout program does it.
Gerber files DON'T spell out the board outline. Your green slots SHOULD define the board outline as a ROUT. Some houses have you generate a zero width outline Gerber for the board outline, some have you designate the board outline via ROUTES. So do as dl324 says and check with your vendor.
 

ronv

Joined Nov 12, 2008
3,770
Gerber files DON'T spell out the board outline. Your green slots SHOULD define the board outline as a ROUT. Some houses have you generate a zero width outline Gerber for the board outline, some have you designate the board outline via ROUTES. So do as dl324 says and check with your vendor.
Maybe.
A board outline/rout path needs to be included with your file set. Gerber files are preferred, but a dimensioned drawing will work provided it is simple to make an outline from, and we can determine how to align it correctly relative to the circuitry. As long as we can identify a line that is the perimeter of your board and it matches your ordered dimensions, we will use it for your board outline.

The most common method that customers use for communicating how to cut out their board is to place a 10 mil line on the top copper layer around the perimeter of their circuit, centered on where they want us to cut. We prefer a 10 mil wide line on the mask layer. The edge of the router bit will cut to the center of the given line unless we are told otherwise in the notes. Some customers put the board outline on all layers.

The board outline/route path can be found on an assortment of layers depending on the PCB software program used. We commonly see the board outline on one of the mechanical layers (.gm1 to .gm10). Some software packages have the outline on the .out (outline), .mil (milling layer), .fab (fabrication layer) or the drill symbols layer. The drill symbols layer usually has the drill chart, symbols showing where the drill hits are and the board outline along with any internal cutouts for the board.

Warning: GKO layers will NOT be used as an outline to cut out your board. The GKO layer is meant to be the keep out layer. If this is the only outline provided, your job will be placed on hold and we will ask if you do want us to use the GKO outline as your board outline.

Note: With many software packages, the "outline" is seen on all layers (as a global layer), but will commonly not appear in the outputted Gerber files. Gerber file viewers can be used to check if your software is placing the board outline in your files.

Resolution: We can make an outline for you, but we will need your permission to do so.

If your board is a perfect square or rectangle, we can make the outline if we know the exact dimensions and any corner relative to a feature such as the center of a tooling hole. Alternatively, if we know your board is a perfect rectangle and we know the x and y dimensions, we can center this rectangle around your design.

Rout (Board Outline) tolerances
The Outer Layer Tolerances on Standard Spec defined boards is +/- 0.010"
(+/- 0.005" available for Custom Spec upon request)
 
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Thread Starter

adrenalina

Joined Jan 4, 2011
78
Thanks everyone for your help. I checked with the board house and they are telling me that they can manufacture the panel as it is.
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
For "non-square" panelized PCB's I ALWAYS include a separate drawing showing EXACTLY how I want it routed out/where v score lines should be maintained, where extra mouse bites are,etc....
The board house won't always do it the way you might need it based on specifics.
 
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