PCBELEC Knowledge Base · Bare Board Fabrication
PCB Manufacturing Guides
A structured library of engineering guides on bare board fabrication — written by the people who run the lines. Each guide covers one decision area end to end: how boards are made, how to design for manufacturing, how quality is verified, what drives cost, and where capability limits sit.
- 6 In-Depth Guides Each linked to a cluster of supporting articles
- Factory-Side View Written from production data, not desk research
- ISO 9001 · IATF 16949 · UL Guidance aligned with a certified quality system
The Guides · Six Decision Areas
Start With the Question You Are Trying to Answer
Each guide is a complete reference on one topic, supported by a cluster of shorter articles. Read a guide straight through, or jump to the articles it links for a specific question.
PCB Fabrication Guide: From Gerber Files to Finished Bare Boards
The complete fabrication flow — laminate preparation, drilling, copper patterning and plating, solder mask, surface finish and electrical test — plus the files your fabricator needs and how boards are verified before shipping.
Read the guide GUIDE 02PCB Design for Fabrication (DFM) Guide
The design rules that decide whether your board builds cleanly: trace width and spacing, annular rings, drill-to-copper, via selection, panelization and tolerances — explained as acceptance criteria, not theory.
Read the guide GUIDE 03Bare Board Quality & Acceptance Guide
How bare boards are inspected and accepted: IPC-A-600 Class 2 vs Class 3 criteria, AOI and electrical test coverage, microsection analysis, and what to specify on your drawing to get the quality level you actually need.
Read the guide GUIDE 04PCB Materials & Stackup Guide
FR-4 grades, high-Tg and halogen-free laminates, copper weights, prepreg and core selection, and how stackup decisions affect impedance, thermal performance and cost.
Read the guide GUIDE 05PCB Cost & Lead Time Guide
What actually drives board price and schedule: layer count, panel utilization, surface finish, quantity breaks, quick-turn premiums — and how to reduce cost without relaxing the requirements that matter.
Read the guide GUIDE 06PCB Capability Limits Explained
Where standard capability ends and advanced processes begin: HDI and microvias, heavy copper, controlled impedance, tight tolerances and special finishes — and how to tell which tier your design falls into.
Read the guideThese guides cover bare board fabrication. Component assembly (PCBA) is a separate scope delivered by our partner JHYPCB. If your project needs both, send your files through any guide's inquiry form and we will coordinate the two scopes in one quotation.
Reading Paths · By Task
Not Sure Where to Start? Follow Your Task
Three common situations, each with a short reading order. The first link is always a guide; the follow-ups are the articles or pages that go deeper.
Designing Your First Board
You have a schematic and need to understand what fabrication actually involves before you lay out the board.
- PCB Fabrication Guide — the end-to-end process
- DFM Guide — the rules your layout must pass
- Manufacturing File Requirements — what to send us
Evaluating a Quotation
You are comparing quotes and want to know why prices and lead times differ between fabricators.
- Fabrication Guide — what the price actually pays for
- Cost & Lead Time Guide — cost drivers and quantity breaks
- Technical Capabilities — what we can build
Specifying Quality Requirements
Your drawing needs acceptance criteria and you are not sure what Class 2 vs Class 3 really changes.
- Quality & Acceptance Guide — IPC criteria in plain terms
- Testing & Inspection — our inspection coverage
- Capability Limits Guide — when requirements turn advanced
FAQ · About This Knowledge Base
Questions About These Guides
What this library covers, who writes it, and how to use it alongside your own project documentation.
Who writes these guides?
The guides are written and reviewed by PCBELEC's engineering team — the same people who run CAM reviews, process engineering and quality inspection on customer orders. Content reflects current production practice at an ISO 9001, IATF 16949 and UL certified facility, not desk research.
Do these guides cover PCB assembly?
No. This library covers bare board fabrication only — the board itself, before any components are mounted. Component sourcing and assembly are delivered by our partner JHYPCB. Where a fabrication decision affects assembly (for example surface finish choice), the guides note the assembly implication briefly.
Can I use these guides as acceptance criteria for my order?
The guides explain industry standards such as IPC-A-600 and typical capability ranges, but the binding criteria for your order are always the fabrication drawing and quotation we confirm with you. Where a guide states a number, treat it as a reference range until your quotation confirms it for your specific construction.
What should I do if my question is not answered here?
Send us your files and describe the question in the inquiry form — every fabrication quote includes a free engineering review, and manufacturability questions are answered as part of that review. If a topic keeps coming up, we add it to this library.
What Comes With Every Quote
The Engineering Review Behind Every Quote
A guide tells you what to check. A review tells you what your file actually does. Every fabrication quotation includes the following — before production starts, not as a paid add-on.
- 01 Manufacturability flags Every layer, drill file and drawing callout checked against our process limits — what cannot be built is identified before tooling, not after.
- 02 Cost-saving suggestions Where a small change to the construction removes cost without changing function — panel utilization, layer count, finish choice.
- 03 A confirmed capability statement What we can build for your specific construction, stated in writing together with the quotation.