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A flawless PCB layout requires meticulous verification before manufacturing. Continuing from our comprehensive guide, this section covers the critical final stages of your design—from physical clearance and silkscreen identification to Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and final Gerber file outputs.
1. Clearance, Spacing & Physical Routing
- 76. Close to the connector panel with cloth 10 ~ 20mm protective ground, and with double staggered hole to connect the layers?
- 77. The distance between the power cord and other signal lines to meet the safety requirements?
- 78. Metal shell devices and cooling devices, there should be no possible short circuit traces, copper and vias
- 79. Mounting screws or washer should not have around the wiring may cause short circuit, copper and vias
- 80. Design requirements in the reserved location for alignment
- 81. Non-metallic hole inside the line from the circuit and the copper foil spacing should be greater than 0.5mm (20mil), the outer 0.3mm (12mil)
- 82. Copper and wire to the edge of the board is recommended for more than 2mm minimum 0.5mm
- 83. The inner layer of copper to the edge of the plate 1 ~ 2 mm, a minimum of 0.5mm
2. Component Pads & Trace Transitions
- 84. For two pad mounted CHIP components (0805 and below), such as resistors and capacitors, the traces connected to their pads are preferably symmetrically drawn from the center of the pad and printed with the pads The lines must have the same width, for the line width of less than 0.3mm (12mil) leads may not consider this article
- 85. With the wider printed wiring connection pad, the middle of the best through a narrow line transition? (0805 and below package)
- 86. The circuit should try to lead from both ends of the pad of SOIC, PLCC, QFP, SOT and so on
3. Silkscreen, Labels & Identification
- 87. Is the device's bit number missing, the location can correctly identify the device?
- 88. The device number is in line with company standards
- 89. Confirm the device pinout order, the first leg of the flag, the polarity of the device logo, the correct direction of the connector identification
- 90. Motherboard and daughter card board direction mark whether the corresponding
- 91. Is the backplane the slot name, slot number, port name, and sheath direction correctly?
- 92. confirm the design requirements of the silk screen to add the correct
- 93. Confirm that you have placed anti-static and radio frequency board identification (RF board use)
- 94. Verify that the PCB code is correct and in accordance with the company's specifications
- 95. Confirm that the PCB coding position and level of the veneer are correct (should be in the upper left of the A side
- 96. Confirm that the backplane's PCB coding position and level is correct (should be at the top right of B.)
- 97. confirm the bar code laser printing white silk screen marking area
- 98. Verify that there is no wire below the barcode bar and vias above 0.5mm
- 99. confirm the bar code white screen outside the area of 20mm can not have a height of more than 25mm components
4. Vias, Copper Pour & DRC
- 100. Reflow surface, the vias can not be designed on the pad. (Normally fenestrated vias and pads should be spaced more than 0.5mm (20mils) apart), and the green-capped vias and pads should be spaced more than 0.1mm (4mils) by opening the Same Net DRC, checking DRC, Then shut down Same Net DRC)
- 101. The arrangement of vias should not be too dense, to avoid causing power, large-scale fracture of the ground plane
- 102. Drilled hole diameter is best not less than the thickness of 1/10
- 103. device placement rate is 100%, Plot rate is 100% (100% did not meet the need to note)
- 104. Dangling line has been adjusted to a minimum, for the retention of the Dangling line has made one by one confirmed;
- 105. Craft Division feedback technology problems have been carefully checked
- 106. For Top and Bottom large area copper foil, if there is no special requirement, apply grid copper [Inclined grid for boards, orthogonal grid for back boards, line width 0.3mm (12 mil), pitch 0.5mm 20mil)]
- 107. Large area of the copper foil pad components, should be designed into flower pads, in order to avoid Weld; current requirements, then consider widening the flower pad ribs, and then consider the full connection
- 108. Large copper cloth, you should try to avoid the emergence of dead copper without network connection (island)
- 109. Large copper foil also need to pay attention to whether there is illegal connection, unreported DRC
5. Testing Points & Optical Alignment
- 110. A variety of power, the test point is sufficient (at least one test point per 2A current)
- 111. Verify that no networks with test points are validated for streamlining
- 112. Verify that the test point is not set on the plug-in that is not installed during production
- 113. Test Via, Test Pin has been Fix (for testing the needle bed does not change the board)
- 114. Test via and Test pin Spacing Rule should be set to the recommended distance, check the DRC, if there is still DRC, and then set the minimum distance to check the DRC
- 115. Open the constraint set to open the state, update the DRC to see if DRC not allowed to error
- 116. Confirm that the DRC has been adjusted to a minimum, and that one can not confirm the elimination of the DRC;
- 117. Verify that there is an optical alignment symbol for the PCB surface on which the component is mounted
- 118. Confirm that the optical positioning symbol is not pressed (screen printing and copper foil routing)
- 119. Optical positioning point background to be the same, confirm the whole board using the optical point of the center from the edge ≥ 5mm
- 120. Verify that the entire board's optical positioning reference symbol has been assigned a coordinate value (it is recommended to place the optical positioning reference symbol in the form of a device) and is an integer value in millimeters.
- 121. ICs with <0.5mm center pin pitch and BGA devices with a center pitch of less than 0.8mm (31 mil) should be provided with optical alignment points near the diagonal of the component
6. Solder Mask & Fabrication Requirements
- 122. To confirm whether there are special requirements of the types of pads are correct to open the window (with particular attention to the hardware design requirements)
- 123. BGA under the hole is processed into cap plug holes
- 124. In addition to testing the vias outside the hole has been made small window or cap hole
- 125. Optical positioning of the window to avoid the exposed copper and exposed lines
- 126. Power chip, crystal and other copper heat sink or ground shielding devices, there is copper and the correct window. Devices that are fixed by solder should have a large area of green solder to block solder diffusion
- 127. Notes PCB thickness, layer number, screen color, warp, and other technical instructions are correct
- 128. Stacking layer name, stacking order, the thickness of the media, the thickness of the copper foil is correct; whether the requirements for impedance control, the description is accurate. The layer name of the stacked drawing is the same as the name of the painted file
7. Output Files & Documentation
- 129. Turn off Repeat code in the setting table, drilling accuracy should be set to 2-5
- 130. hole table and drilling files are up-to-date (change holes, you must regenerate)
- 131. Hole table in the presence of abnormal aperture, the pressure is correct pore size; aperture tolerance is marked correctly
- 132. Was the hole in the main hole listed separately and labeled "filled vias"
- 133. Gerber file output as far as possible using RS274X format, and accuracy should be set to 5: 5
- 134. art_aper.txt whether the latest (274X may not need)
- 135. Output light file log file whether there is an exception report
- 136. Negative slice edges and islands to confirm
- 137. Use the paint inspection tool to check if the paint file matches the PCB (use the alignment tool to change the plate)
- 138. PCB File: Product Model_ Specification_ Veneer Code_ Version Number .brd
- 139. Backing board design documents: Product Model_ Specifications _ veneer code _ version number-CB [-T / B] .brd
- 140. PCB processing documents: PCB coding. Zip (including all layers of light painting files, aperture table, drilling files and ncdrill.log; puzzle also need to have the craft puzzle file *. Dxf)
- 141. Process Design Document: Product Model_ Specs _ Board Code _ Version -GY.doc
- 142. SMT Coordinate Documents: Product Model_ Specification_ veneer code_ version number-SMT.txt
- 143. PCB Board Structure File: Product Model_Specification_Single Board Code_Version_MCAD.zip (contains the .DXF and .EMN files provided by the structural engineer)
- 144. Test Files: Product Model_Specification_Single Code_ Version Number -TEST.ZIP (a coordinate file containing testprep.log and untest.lst or * .drl test points)
- 145. Filing drawing documents: Product Model Specification - veneer name - version number .pdf
- 146. Confirm the cover, the home page information is correct
- 147. Confirm that the drawing number (corresponding to the order of PCB layers) is correct
- 148. Verify that the PCB code on the drawing box is correct
8. Final Stage PCB Design FAQs
What should be reviewed during the final stage of PCB design?
The final stage of PCB design should include a comprehensive review of component placement, routing quality, power distribution, grounding strategy, design rule compliance, manufacturing requirements, and documentation accuracy. A thorough review helps identify issues before production begins.
How can Design Rule Check (DRC) improve PCB reliability?
DRC automatically verifies whether a PCB design complies with predefined electrical and manufacturing constraints. It helps detect issues such as clearance violations, unconnected nets, trace width errors, and other problems that could affect functionality or manufacturability.
Why is power integrity important in PCB design?
Power integrity ensures that all components receive stable and sufficient power during operation. Poor power distribution can cause voltage fluctuations, signal instability, increased noise, and reduced system reliability, particularly in high-speed and high-current applications.
What documentation should be prepared before PCB manufacturing?
Essential manufacturing documents typically include Gerber files, drill files, bill of materials (BOM), pick-and-place files, assembly drawings, fabrication notes, and testing requirements. Accurate documentation helps ensure a smooth transition from design to production.
How can engineers reduce PCB redesigns and production delays?
Engineers can minimize redesigns by following a structured design checklist, performing schematic and layout reviews, running DRC and DFM analyses, verifying component availability, and validating manufacturing data before releasing the design for fabrication and assembly.
