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If he finds violations such as traces too close, pads to small for the drill hole or other related problems he can either fix them or report them back to the designer.
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He then checks the data and runs a series of tests to insure that the board can be manufactured. So the first thing the board manufacturer does is to import all the different data formats and bring the data up in his CAM software. You can see that there is a lot of data to send from design to manufacturing and often the data that is transmitted is incomplete, inconsistent or just plain incorrect. The component "library" is located in the EDA directory (as data) and the component placements are in the layer section: comp_+_top for the components on the top side and comp_+_bot for the components on the bottom side.
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It can take the form of a PDF file, an HPGL file, Gerber file or AutoCAD file.Ĭomponent Placements - this is not used by the bare board manufacturer but is used for DRC checking and for generating pick and place files. locations), dimensions, materials and such.
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Again, sometimes the data on this file is offset from the Gerbers which require manual intervention when trying to use this data.ĭocumentation - describes key elements of the board (i.e. It is a very old format with a couple of variations and contains net names, test points and pins. IPC-D-356 - esentially an electrical database of connections needed for testing the completed board. Stackup - the stackup is generally a print or written description of the board material, thickness, interposer and order. Routing Files - similar to drill files but defines a path for routing out the board. Finally, one needs a separate document that describes which file passes through which conductor layers. There are lots of aggravations with drill data - first, there is no consistent standard as to how the drill tools should be defined in the header second the coordinate system of the drill data can sometimes be offset from the Gerber files.
These each require a different drill file. On multi-layer boards you can have some holes that go all the way through, some that only go through a few layers and such. So a four layer board could have 8-10 gerber files associated with it.ĭrill Files - these are CNC files very similar to Gerber (but different) that are used to control a drilling machine. There is also a Gerber file needed for other processes such as solder masks on top and bottom, paste masks and silk screens. Gerber Files - these are actually "CNC" files which drive a photoplotter which creates the film used to expose each conductor layer in the board. I've summarized the data and its function below: To actually build a PCB board the manufacturer needs quite a few pieces of data from the designer. What Design Data is Needed to Make a PCB?
A free ODB++ viewer can be obtained from Valor (Mentor) that allows one to visualize the data.
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The great majority of PCB design software (layout) can output a valid and correct ODB++ file. In recent years ODB++ has become more open after attempts by the IPC were made to replace it. Because Valor also provides the dominant CAM tool to manfacturers the company was able to get the major industry players to adopt their proprietary standard. It was created to try to bring some order to the transfer of board data from the designers to the manufacturer.
ODB++ is a printed circuit board manufacturing database originally developed by Valor.
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