PCB Design Outputs & Documentation

Make sure your manufacturer understands your design intent with complete and accurate design outputs. Browse our library of resources on documenting your PCB design to ensure defect-free manufacturing with high yield. Topics covered include creating your bill of materials, generating manufacturing data, and file formats.

Overview of PCB Design Output Files Generating Gerber Files Push to Manufacturing with Altium 365 Project Release Design Documentation Features in Altium Designer

PCB Design Output Files

Overview of PCB Design Output and Fabrication Files Make sure you know which PCB design output files your fabricator and assembler need to ensure they can build your PCBA. Read Article

Best PCB Design Software

Altium Designer: The Best PCB Design Software Start working with the unified design environment in the best PCB design software. See what features you need in your design tools. Read Article

PCB cleanup

PCB Layout Cleanup Before Manufacturing Don't forget to clean up the surface layers on your PCB before you send the design in for manufacturing. We've compiled a list of the points you can check before beginning production. Read Article

rigid-flex documentation

Preparing Rigid-Flex PCB Documentation for Manufacturing Do you know what to include in your rigid-flex PCB documentatio? We've prepared a guide to help you prepare your design outputs and drawigns for your rigid-flex PCBs. Read Article

PCB layer stackup

Communicating PCB Layer Stackup Needs to Manufacturers With software-based stackup planning tools, you can quickly communicate PCB layer stackup needs to manufacturers. Read Article

Part 4: Creating Fabrication and Assembly Drawings In Altium Designer

Part 4: Creating Fabrication and Assembly Drawings In Altium Designer Draftsman is a sophisticated yet easy to use drawing tool that is integrated within Altium Designer, for the creation of fabrication and assembly drawings. Draftsman is a built-in extension that can be installed or removed manually by going to the Extensions and Updates page. You can access the Extensions and Updates page by clicking on the user icon on the top right of the Altium Designer window. If you would like to skip to different chapters Read Article

Part 3: Documenting Your PCB for Assembly

Part 3: Documenting Your PCB for Assembly Learn everything you need to know to have you board successfully assembled, including assembly drawing requirements, adding notes, and cautionary markings. Read Article

Part 2: Documenting Your Master Drawing

Part 2: PCB Specification Documentation for Your Master Drawing The master drawing is the most crucial part of your PCB documentation. See how to expertly complete your master drawings to ensure your board is manufacturable. Read Article

PCB fabrication document

Part 1: Setting Up Your Fabrication Document Learn everything you need to know about Documentation for Fabrication and Assembly of printed circuit boards. Read Article

E-Book: Navigating PCB Manufacturing: Part 2 This ebook is part 2 of Navigating PCB Manufacturing. We aim to give you the knowledge you need to design a manufacturable PCB confidently. Download PDF

E-Book: Navigating PCB Manufacturing: Part 1 Every designer should take time to understand the PCB manufacturing process. This e-book will guide designers through important concepts in PCB fabrication, assembly, and DFM. Download PDF

Improving Supply Chain Success with BOM Management

What Is BOM Management? Improving Supply Chain Success It’s no secret that component shortages have become more frequent this year. In fact, countries around the world are losing billions in revenue due to supply issues. According to EPSNews, “In 2021, there’s such a severe shortage of semiconductors that the automotive industry is set to lose more than $100 billion in sales because it can’t get chips.” Having the right components on hand is more crucial than ever as availability, obsolescence Read Article

Using Draftsman to Create a PCB Fabrication Drawing Download a PCB fabrication drawing example that shows all the important information you should include in your Draftsman document. Download PDF

Advantages of Using Draftsman to Create a PCB Assembly Drawing You don't need to use a mechanical drawing application to create your PCB assembly drawing. Instead, you can use Draftsman, an easy-to-use feature in Altium Designer. Download PDF

PCB fabrication notes

Decoding PCB Fabrication Notes Your PCB fabrication notes contain important information that ensures your board can be manufactured exactly as you intend. See what you should include and what these mean. Read Article

PCB manufacturing impedance control

Impedance Control: How to Specify Your Requirements for PCB Manufacturers PCB manufacturing houses can easily accommodate impedance control requirements as long as you can specify requirements clearly. Here’s what to tell your fabricator. Read Article

Complete Guide to PCB Aging Test Methods

Complete Guide to PCB Aging Test Methods for Electronics A finished PCBA that will be deployed in the field should pass several tests to ensure reliability and stable operation. Industry standards specify multiple testing methodologies, performance requirements, evaluation metrics, even test fixtures that must be used to assess electrical behavior, thermal cycling resistance, long-term thermal stability, ability to withstand thermal shock, and much more. With Altium Designer, you’ll have a complete Read Article