Circuit Board Routing Outline

Perimeter PCB Routing Details:

Our process will program the circuit board routing automatically by reading the path of your outline. The outline must be a continuous line; round or odd shapes okay when following our guidelines, although the shape should be very simple to be considered for the PCBexpress^® quickturn service.

Our overall board dimensions are calculated from the center of the traces used to draw your board outline with an allowance of 0.10" added to each side for tool clearance (kerf).

You should leave a .020" space from the fab edge of the board to the nearest copper elements to prevent traces from being cut off and possible mask peeling and exposed copper.

Most board shapes are allowed, however, due to the restrictions of our service, please check your circuit board routing outline for compatibility prior to submitting your files so there are no disappointments.

PCB Routing Restrictions:

1. Limit to 1 pass of outside board perimeter using .093" router bit; no internal cutouts.
2. No internal cutouts, tab routed (array) pallets, v-score or slots for PCBexpress^® quickturn services -- if your needs exceed our PCBexpress^® specifications, try our Full Feature Multilayer PCB quote.
3. Connected or Panelized boards are not cut apart, you will need to cut smaller boards from main panel. We recommend a Dremel tool, rotary cutter or small saw for separation. A continuous outline must be placed around individual boards connected with tabs; channel widths between boards must measure no less than .110 between boards otherwise a default square/rectangle may be placed unless you specify to hold for outline redraw.
4. Break away or Perforation Holes: Please try and limit your total number of holes per board design to no more than 35 per square inch. For example; if the total area of the circuit board is 9 sq-in, there is a limit to 225 max holes per board.
5. Inside Chamfer not recommended (an inside cut made usually at a 45° angle to the adjacent edges).

Non-Continuous/Odd or Difficult Shapes:

Odd or difficult shapes are defined as broken lines, overlapping lines, and/or improperly drawn arcs. We reserve the right to change the board shape to a default 0.0 square or rectangle snapped to the existing board outline IF the board shape is difficult or not a continuous line. No Hold or Alert notice will be sent unless you specified on order form to "hold the order for outline redraw."

Missing PCB Routing Outline:

If a PCB routing outline is not present on the layer specified on your order form your design is processed as sent. We will create a square/rectangle outline .020" from the nearest copper feature if board routing outline is missing. No Hold or Alert notice will be sent unless you specified on order form "hold the order for outline redraw."