Blog / How NextPCB ensures your product quality: Four Core Test Reports

How NextPCB ensures your product quality: Four Core Test Reports

Posted:02:34 PM December 05, 2025 writer: Robin

In the rapidly evolving electronics industry, the reliability of printed circuit boards is the cornerstone that determines the performance and lifespan of the final product. For engineers worldwide, choosing a manufacturer that offers transparent and rigorous quality assurance is crucial. NextPCB has earned the trust of its customers through its systematic quality control system and comprehensive product reports.

Every product report provided by NextPCB is a complete commitment to product quality and manufacturing process, ensuring that every board you receive meets stringent standards.

PCB Comprehensive Quality Assurance and Delivery Reports

1. Final Assurance Before Delivery: Comprehensive Shipment Report

The Shipment Report is the last line of defense before product release, proving that the delivered PCB finished product is impeccable in both function and appearance. NextPCB's Shipment Report clearly states:

Shipment Report: Includes Appearance/Dimension/Open & Short Circuit/Reliability Testing.

We analyze the key elements of the Shipment Report in detail using a table, which forms the foundation of product reliability:

Inspection Item	NextPCB Inspection Standard Details	Significance for Product Reliability
Appearance	Strictly referencing the IPC-A-600 standard, checks the board surface, pads, annular rings, solder mask, and legend printing for contamination, scratches, bubbles, or alignment deviation.	Ensures subsequent Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and soldering quality are unaffected, guaranteeing the product's aesthetic and functional integrity.
Dimension	Uses 2D/3D measuring instruments to ensure external dimensions, registration holes, slots, and hole tolerances are within the limits allowed by the customer's design drawings.	Guarantees the PCB can be smoothly assembled into the casing and other connectors, preventing mechanical compatibility issues.
Open/Short (E-Test)	100% Flying Probe Test or dedicated fixture test. Detects conductivity (Open) and insulation (Short) of every trace, aiming for minimized resistance and maximized isolation.	Basic electrical functionality verification, ensuring all circuit connections comply with the design logic, a prerequisite for product power-up and operation.
Reliability Test	Includes Thermal Shock, Peel Strength, Solderability, etc. For example, Thermal Shock testing verifies the interlayer bonding stability of multilayer boards under extreme temperature changes.	Verifies the PCB's performance longevity in long-term use and complex environments (temperature, humidity), significantly reducing the risk of early failure.

2. In-depth Internal Investigation: Microsection Reports Ensure Structural Integrity

PCB reliability is not just about the surface but also the stability of its internal multilayer structure. NextPCB provides quantitative data on the internal structure through professional microsection analysis.

Microsection Report: Includes Surface Copper/Hole Copper/Dielectric Layer Thickness/Internal Material Characteristic Inspection, excluding the physical mounted microsection coupon.

NextPCB's quality reports focus on providing high-resolution data and image proof, rather than delivering physical samples, which makes the reports efficient for archiving and traceability. Here are the four core indicators addressed in the microsection report:

Key Structural Indicator	NextPCB Measurement Requirements (Ref. IPC-6012 Standard)	Why It Matters
Hole Copper Thickness	Strict control of Plated Through Hole (PTH) copper thickness, generally required to be ≥20μm. Measured at the hole entrance, middle, and wall to ensure plating uniformity.	Directly relates to the reliability of the interlayer electrical connection, preventing Barrel Crack under thermal stress.
Surface Copper Thickness	Measures the outer layer copper thickness after plating to ensure adequate current carrying capacity and corrosion resistance.	Determines the power handling capacity and heat dissipation performance of the outer layer traces.
Dielectric Layer Thickness	Precise measurement of the insulating dielectric (Prepreg/Core) thickness between different signal layers.	Directly affects characteristic impedance calculation and control, ensuring signal transmission delay and crosstalk meet design requirements.
Internal Characteristics	Checks interlayer alignment deviation, plating quality (voids, cracks), resin fill level of the substrate, etc.	Reveals potential defects that may exist during the manufacturing process, ensuring the long-term electrical and mechanical stability of multilayer boards.

3. High-speed Design Core Verification: PCB Impedance Report

In today's environment where high-frequency, high-speed signal transmission is mainstream, precise control of characteristic impedance is a decisive factor in PCB quality. NextPCB safeguards your signal integrity through precise Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) testing.

Impedance Report: Includes Impedance Waveform/Impedance Value, excluding the physical impedance test coupon.

While we do not ship the physical impedance test coupon, the report provided by NextPCB includes all critical quantitative data and graphical analysis, giving you a clear understanding of the signal line performance:

Report Element	Detailed Content and Analysis	Signal Integrity Assurance
Target Impedance Value	Clearly indicates the customer's required impedance value (e.g., $50Ω Single-ended or 100Ω Differential) and the allowable tolerance (usually ±10%).	Ensures the signal traces exhibit consistent characteristic impedance throughout the transmission path.
Actual Measured Impedance	Provides the average measured impedance value of the test points and test traces, strictly comparing it against the tolerance range.	Verifies whether the manufacturing process (trace width, dielectric thickness, copper thickness) meets high-frequency design requirements, minimizing signal reflection and distortion.
TDR Impedance Graph	Provides the waveform graph of impedance vs. transmission distance measured by the TDR instrument.	In-Depth Diagnosis: Engineers can visually judge the uniformity of the impedance through the graph and quickly locate and analyze where impedance discontinuities (i.e., impedance peaks or dips) may exist, such as at vias and pads.

4. Delivery of Final Graphic Assets: Optional Service for Production Films

For customers with specific requirements, NextPCB offers the option to deliver the complete set of production films, transferring key process assets to the client for enhanced traceability.

Production Films: Includes photomasks for the Circuit Layer, Drill Holes, Outline/Contour, Solder Mask, and Legend/Silkscreen, provided upon request.

The film serves as the original process carrier for all graphic transfers during PCB manufacturing (e.g., circuit layer and solder mask graphics data). Providing this set of physical films makes them the physical basis for final product quality traceability. Customers can utilize the film for precise comparison and verification of critical parameters, such as line width, line spacing, and hole positions on the finished board, ensuring absolute consistency with the original design blueprint.

NextPCB: Reliability through Transparency and Rigor

These four core reports—Shipment Report, Microsection Report, Impedance Report, and Production Films—constitute NextPCB's comprehensive quality commitment to its customers. They are not just simple test results but proof that every stage of the product manufacturing process is strictly controlled.

Choosing NextPCB means choosing not just a PCB, but a traceable, verifiable, and digitally certified reliability assurance system. We are committed to translating your product design into high-quality physical reality with zero risk, through transparent and rigorous reporting.