PCB guides for engineers and buyers
Short, practical articles from the production floor of PCB-ELECTRA.
38 guides
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Start here
Six guides that cover the basics of a first order.
- Files and ordering
Gerber Files for PCB Manufacturing
What a PCB manufacturer needs from you: Gerber and drill files, how to export them from KiCad, Altium or EAGLE, and the mistakes that delay an order.
- Files and ordering
How to Order PCBs Online: Step by Step
From files to delivery: how to order PCBs from PCB-ELECTRA. Prepare Gerber files, configure the board, check the preview, send the request and follow the order.
- Design
PCB DFM Checklist Before You Order
A design-for-manufacturing checklist for PCBs: outline, trace and spacing, drills, annular ring, edge clearance, solder mask, silkscreen and files.
- Price, delivery and compliance
What Determines the Price of a PCB?
Board area, quantity, layers, material, tolerances, colours and delivery time: what drives PCB prices and how to lower them without losing quality.
- Materials and stack-up
FR4 or Aluminium (IMS) PCB?
FR4 or IMS aluminium: how the two board types differ in heat conduction, layers, holes and applications, and when each one is the right choice.
- Manufacturing and quality
PCB Electrical Test and AOI: How Boards Are Checked
How PCBs are checked: 100% electrical test (short circuit and open circuit) and AOI on every board, at no extra charge. What each method finds and misses.
Design 10
- Design
How Many Layers Does a PCB Need?
1, 2, 4 or 6 layers: how to choose the layer count of a PCB, which signs call for more layers and how the choice affects price and lead time.
- Design
PCB DFM Checklist Before You Order
A design-for-manufacturing checklist for PCBs: outline, trace and spacing, drills, annular ring, edge clearance, solder mask, silkscreen and files.
- Design
PCB Design Rules and Manufacturing Limits
The numbers a PCB designer needs: trace and spacing, drill and pad, board and panel size, thickness, copper, Tg, colours and finish at PCB-ELECTRA.
- Design
KiCad Design Rules for PCB Manufacturing
Set up KiCad Board Setup and the design rules check with real manufacturer limits: clearance, track width, drill, annular ring, net classes and board thickness.
- Design
PCB Trace Width and Current Capacity
How wide a PCB trace must be for a given current: IPC-2221 guide values for 35 and 70 µm copper, inner versus outer layers, and our minimum trace and spacing.
- Design
PCB Vias and Hole Sizes
Through-hole vias, annular ring and hole sizes: drill limits at PCB-ELECTRA (0.3 to 6.4 mm), holes for leads and screws, and blind or buried vias.
- Design
Solder Mask and Silkscreen: Colours and Design Rules
Solder mask and silkscreen on a PCB: colours at PCB-ELECTRA, mask openings and bridges, and silkscreen rules that keep the legend readable.
- Design
PCB Thermal Management: Copper, Vias, Aluminium
How to remove heat from a printed circuit board: copper area and weight, thermal vias, board thickness, aluminium (IMS) boards and layout rules.
- Design
PCB Ground Plane and Return Paths
How to lay out ground on 2- and 4-layer PCBs: continuous ground plane, return current paths, split planes, stitching vias and decoupling capacitor placement.
- Design
Castellated Holes on PCB Modules
Castellated holes (half-cut plated edge holes) let a module be soldered onto another board like a surface-mount part: how they work, our limits and how to design them.
Materials and stack-up 8
- Materials and stack-up
FR4 Material and Tg: What the Numbers Mean
What FR4 is, its typical properties and what the glass transition temperature (Tg 135, 150, 170 °C) means for soldering and reliability.
- Materials and stack-up
FR4 or Aluminium (IMS) PCB?
FR4 or IMS aluminium: how the two board types differ in heat conduction, layers, holes and applications, and when each one is the right choice.
- Materials and stack-up
Aluminium PCB for LED: Design Guide
How to design an aluminium (IMS) PCB for LEDs: heat path, copper weight, thermal pads, mounting holes, white solder mask and what to specify when you order.
- Materials and stack-up
4- and 6-Layer PCB Stack-up Guide
How to build the stack-up of a 4- or 6-layer PCB: typical layer assignment, core and prepreg, symmetry, thickness and what to specify when you order.
- Materials and stack-up
PCB Copper Thickness: Ounces to Microns
What 0.5, 1 and 2 oz copper means in microns, which copper weights PCB-ELECTRA offers (18 to 70 µm) and how copper thickness affects traces, spacing and cost.
- Materials and stack-up
Standard PCB Thickness: 1.6 mm and Alternatives
Why 1.6 mm is the standard PCB thickness and when to choose a thinner or thicker board (0.51 to 2.4 mm at PCB-ELECTRA), with stiffness, holes and stack-up.
- Materials and stack-up
PCB Surface Finish: HASL, ENIG, OSP Compared
Which surface finish to choose for a PCB: lead-free HASL, ENIG, OSP and immersion tin compared by flatness, fine pitch, shelf life and cost, and what PCB-ELECTRA offers.
- Materials and stack-up
Lead-Free HASL and RoHS for PCBs
What lead-free HASL (HASL-LF) is, how it relates to RoHS, where it works well and where to check its limits for fine-pitch designs.
Manufacturing and quality 4
- Manufacturing and quality
How a PCB Is Manufactured, Step by Step
The main steps of PCB manufacturing: drilling, plating, imaging and etching, solder mask, finish, routing and testing, plus multilayer and aluminium differences.
- Manufacturing and quality
PCB Electrical Test and AOI: How Boards Are Checked
How PCBs are checked: 100% electrical test (short circuit and open circuit) and AOI on every board, at no extra charge. What each method finds and misses.
- Manufacturing and quality
IPC Class 2 or Class 3 for PCBs
IPC-6012 Class 1, 2 and 3 explained: hole plating, annular ring, which class fits which product and how to specify it when you order PCBs.
- Manufacturing and quality
PCB Storage, Shelf Life and Baking
How to store bare PCBs and when to bake them: storage temperature and humidity, shelf life by finish, packaging and baking parameters.
Files and ordering 9
- Files and ordering
Gerber Files for PCB Manufacturing
What a PCB manufacturer needs from you: Gerber and drill files, how to export them from KiCad, Altium or EAGLE, and the mistakes that delay an order.
- Files and ordering
How to Open and Check Gerber Files
Open and check Gerber files before you order: viewers, what to look at on every layer, and a step-by-step export from KiCad.
- Files and ordering
Export Gerber Files: Altium, EasyEDA, Eagle
How to export Gerber and Excellon files from Altium Designer, EasyEDA and Eagle or Fusion: the right layers, drill files, units and a final check before you upload.
- Files and ordering
PCB Quote Request: What to Specify
What a PCB manufacturer needs for a quote: quantity, size, layers, material, thickness, copper, finish, colours, delivery format and files — a checklist.
- Files and ordering
How to Order PCBs Online: Step by Step
From files to delivery: how to order PCBs from PCB-ELECTRA. Prepare Gerber files, configure the board, check the preview, send the request and follow the order.
- Files and ordering
Ordering a Single PCB: Quantity and Price
Can you order just one PCB? Yes, from 1 piece. Why the price per board falls with quantity, how to see the effect in the calculator and how to order small quantities sensibly.
- Files and ordering
PCB Prototypes from 1 Piece: Instant Price in EUR
Order PCB prototypes from 1 piece, made in the EU: 1 to 6 layers FR4 and aluminium, instant price in euro, 100% flying-probe electrical test on every board.
- Files and ordering
PCB Panelization: V-Cut, Routing, Castellated Holes
How small boards are delivered on panels: V-cut or routing with tabs, the three delivery methods in our calculator, panel size limits and castellated edge holes.
- Files and ordering
PCB Prototypes: From 1 Piece to Series
How to take a printed circuit board from the first prototype to a series run: what to freeze, what to check and how to avoid surprises when the quantity grows.
Price, delivery and compliance 6
- Price, delivery and compliance
What Determines the Price of a PCB?
Board area, quantity, layers, material, tolerances, colours and delivery time: what drives PCB prices and how to lower them without losing quality.
- Price, delivery and compliance
PCB Lead Time: How Long Does Production Take?
How long a PCB order takes: standard and urgent production in working days, what makes multilayer boards slower, and how to avoid delays caused by files and queries.
- Price, delivery and compliance
PCBs to the UK and Switzerland: Customs and VAT
What changes when PCBs from the EU go to the United Kingdom or Switzerland: customs declaration, duty, import VAT and what to agree before ordering.
- Price, delivery and compliance
European or Overseas PCB Supplier: What Differs
Compare a European PCB manufacturer with an overseas supplier: customs, import VAT, delivery, communication, documentation, returns, and when each one makes sense.
- Price, delivery and compliance
Choosing a European PCB Manufacturer
What to check when you order PCB prototypes and small series in Europe: certification, testing, lead time and total cost — a checklist for engineers and buyers.
- Price, delivery and compliance
RoHS Compliance for PCBs Explained
What RoHS means for printed circuit boards: Directive 2011/65/EU, restricted substances and limits, lead-free HASL and how to request a RoHS certificate.