Assembly Capabilities

Eurocircuits’ assembly manufacturing capabilities

BOM & CPL Files – Uploaded or Imported

For the Eurocircuits “New – Assembly service” we require the customer to upload both BOM & CPL files, these are necessary in order to provide accurate pricing and also for the actual assembly off the PCB.

Please see our How to Upload or Import BOM & CPL files – User Guides.

Certificates

This section goes deeper into all certificates we have and statements we make towards, RoHS, Reach, Privacy, etc...

Where can I find Eurocircuits quality labels ?

All our quality certificates or our production units can be found on the download page.

Where can I find Eurocircuits statements concerning RoHS, REACH, etc. ?
Where can I find the manuals etc. of the eC-equipment ?

All manuals, safety instructions and software for our eC-equipment can be found on the download page.

Where can I find the specifications for materials etc. ?

All our specification sheets for base material we use, the soldermask we apply etc. can be found on the download page.

eC-Wiki

Answers to "what does it mean that ..."

Annular Ring (OAR & IAR)

The Annular Ring value is defined as the amount of Copper from the edge of the Drilled Hole to the Copper Pad associated with the hole.

OAR – Outer Layer Annular Ring – for more information click here.

IAR – Inner Layer Annular Ring – for more information click here.

Also see our PCB Design Guidelines – Drilled Holes page.

Any Lead-Free Finishes

Eurocircuits offers the following Led-free finishes:]

  • HAL
  • ENIG
  • Chemical Silver
CHE NI/AU Selective/Overall. Which should I specify?

For more information please see our Which Surface Finish fits your Design page.

Interesting information for electronics engineers
Outer/Inner layer copper foil? Start and Final copper thickness?

Copper foil is the starting thickness of the copper of any given layer of the PCB, choosing the correct thickness depends on the design and may be different for Inner and Outer layers on the PCB.

Please see our PCB Design Guidelines – Classification page for more information.

PCB Visualizer – seminar session 1

Wim De Greve, head of development for Eurocircuits explains how the PCB Configurator works, and what functionality is available for electronics engineers to configure and visualise their boards before placing an order.

This is a first episode in a series about our smart tools, as presented during a meeting in the Hungarian production plant in January 2018:

  • PCB Configurator
  • PCB Visualizer
  • Classification editor
  • Buildup editor
  • Outline/Milling editor

PCB Visualizer – seminar session 2

Wim De Greve, head of development for Eurocircuits explains how the PCB Configurator works, and what functionality is available for electronics engineers to configure and visualise their boards before placing an order.

This is a first episode in a series about our smart tools, as presented during a meeting in the Hungarian production plant in January 2018:

  • PCB Checker
  • Plating index
  • Drill/Slot editor
  • Panel editor

PCB Visualizer – seminar session 3

Wim De Greve, head of development for Eurocircuits explains how the PCB Configurator works, and what functionality is available for electronics engineers to configure and visualise their boards before placing an order.

This is a first episode in a series about our smart tools, as presented during a meeting in the Hungarian production plant in January 2018:

  • Marking editor
  • PCB PIXture editor
  • Solder Paste editor

Pooling conditions not met

If you have received the message “Pooling conditions no longer met” then there are parameters of your design that make it impossible to pool with Other PCB’s, this may result is an increase in price.

Please see our Pooling Conditions No Longer Met and The History of Order Pooling for more information.

Via Holes may be reduced

Via Holes have a tolerance of +0.10/-0.30mm and maybe reduced to accommodate for a larger annular ring.

For further information please see our pages on:

What is UL?

The Underwriters Laboratory (UL) was set up around 120 years ago in the USA as an independent facility to test the safety of new products and new technologies. Today it has a network of sites around the world focused on product safety.

It test products, certifies manufacturers, and produces and updates safety standards across a broad range of industrial and commercial sectors. More.

For PCB’s the main standards are UL 796, the specific PCB standard, and UL 94 for flammability testing of all plastics.

These specify a number of performance tests to measure the long-term reliability and fire safety of the PCB. If a board is released to these standards, it is marked with the UL logo, the fabricator’s logo and the board type.

For more information please see What About UL on the Eurocircuits website.

Getting Started

How to become a Eurocircuits customer and place place your first order.

Can I order PCBs if I am not a company?

You can register a Private account or a Business account.

If you or your company are VAT-registered include your VAT number. In many European countries we can then invoice you VAT-free (more).

Do I have to pay upfront for my first order?

Typically, we do not ask for upfront payments.

However, a prepayment may be requested depending upon the status of your account.

To check this please Sign In to your Eurocircuits account and select Financial in the left hand menu and then Credit status.

How do I get a price? Do I have to register as a user?

On our web site home page, in the right upper corner you will find 2 option to calculate a price.

  1. FAST price will calculate you a rough idea of price for any quantity of boards, based on standard FR-4 base material and standard PCB technology.
  2. PCB Calculator will take you to the service selection page where you can find all possible services and specific calculators. Help in making your choice here.

You can make all calculations you want and take benefit of our smart calculator who will validate all chosen technical options for you. So no need to study all our capabilities first, our smart calculator will prevent you from making mistakes.

It is only from the moment that you wish to save your calculation in the shopping basket that you will be asked to login or give your details for registering.

From that moment on you can also profit from our PCB Visualizer and have the software analyse your data (DRC/DFM). Just attach your PCB data to the calculation after login and before you save it to the basket.

How do I get Support?

Please be in touch with our sales department:

  • Chat – on every page of our transaction web site you can activate the online chat button. You will see us online during office hours. You may also use this communication to leave your message while we are offline. It is efficient as we can see where in the web site you are and who you are, so we can help you faster.
  • E-mail – euro@eurocircuits.com
  • Tf – +32 15 28 16 30 for the Belgian main office. For local offices look here.
How do I pay for my order?

You can pay online or by bank transfer.  

To pay online, log in and go to the Financial tab, select the invoice(s) you want to pay and click online payment.

Payment by bank transfer is different in different countries.  More.

Note: do you need to pay VAT?  See here.

How do I place an order? Can I place an order as soon as I register?

YES.

To use any of our services, enter the board details into the online Price calculator and calculate the price.  Attach the data and put the order in your basket (you can use PCB Visualizer to check all details and view your PCB already).

Proceed to checkout and you will be asked for your (company) name, address etc.  You can register a Private account or a Business account.  If you or your company are VAT-registered include your VAT number.  In many European countries we can then invoice you VAT-free (more).

Place your order.  We will check the details provided while our engineers are checking your data.

If everything is OK, we will open a QuickStart credit account for you and proceed with your order without delay.

You don’t have to pay up-front.  We will invoice you when the goods are shipped.

If opening PCB Visualizer I receive the message that my browser is not supported.
Customer feedback:

I’m using Internet explore 8.0.6001… on a Windows XP 32bit PC. I get the message that I need a more recent version of my browser.

PCB Visualizer support reaction:

PCB Visualizer is using HTML5 code. This code is not supported by older versions of Internet Explorer. In Windows XP you cannot upgrade to version 9 or 10 of Windows Explorer, so the only solution is to try another browser.

We suggest Firefox or Google Chrome, these are the most common browsers used by our customers  (based on our google analytics data), and we most actively debug PCB Visualizer on these two browsers.

What is the fastest delivery?

The fastest delivery term depends on the chosen service and even more on the chosen technology.

The fastest delivery we offer is 2 working days in our PCB proto service covering 2 and 4 layer boards with solder mask and legend and in quantities of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 PCB’s.

Which PCB service should I choose?

What do you need?

First you should decide which base material is to be used for your PCBs. FR-4 is the standard base material but we can also offer other material for specific application which are placed under special base materials.

FR-4 (standard base material) pooling services

  • PCB proto   dedicated prototype pooling service with 3 working days standard delivery term.
    1, 2 or 5 boards 2 or 4 layers standard PCB technology in 2 or 3 working days
  • DEFINED IMPEDANCE pool  a fast turnaround solution for boards with specific impedance requirements.
    4, 6 or 8 layers with online Impedance calculator.
  • STANDARD pool  widest range of pooled and non pooled options up to 16 layers
    Other TG values, finer layout, more layers, higher quantity, etc…
  • BINDI pool  Eurocircuits’ Asian alternative with European assured quality.
    2 and 4 layer boards with standard technology in medium quantities at Indian cost but inhouse produced in India.

Special base material pooling services

  • RF pool – Isola I-TERA and Rogers 4000 series materials
    For RF specialists that need their specific base material but at lower pooling costing
  • SEMI-FLEX pool   flex-to-install flex-rigid pooling service.
    Something brand new to replace rigid -flex boards in flex-to-install applications and at pooling prices for our 4 layer offer.
  • IMS pool – Insulated Metal Substrate PCBs
    Need aluminium-backed boards for cooling purposes. Prototypes and small series at acceptable prices due to pooling conditions.

You cannot find what you are looking for here?

Please contact our sales department:

  • Chat – on every page of our transaction web site you can activate the online chat button. You will see us online during office hours. You may also use this communication to leave your message while we are offline. It is efficient as we can see where in the web site you are and who you are, so we can help you faster.
  • E-mail – euro@eurocircuits.com
  • Tf – +32 15 28 16 30 for the Belgian main office. For local offices look here.

How to ?

How to answers questions to do things "right first time".

How can I check that my data is correct before I place my order?

Log in to your customer account on our web site (or create an account), then upload your data into the PCB Visualizer and check the data using the PCB Configurator and PCB Checker.

How do I order a panel?

Please follow the link below for our guidelines on how to create and order a customer panel.

Guidelines for customers that design and upload their own panel data

How do I order a Stencil?

Once your data is uploaded to the Eurocircuits PCB Visualizer you able to select the Stencil section of the PCB Configurator and choose Top, Bottom or Both Stencils.

You are also able to edit your Solder Paste data using our New Solder Paste Editor in the PCB Checker tab.

How-do-I-order-a-Stencil---web

How do I specify a multilayer build?

The build-up of the PCB is usually predefined when you upload you data files to the Eurocircuits PCB Visualizer. If this is not possible or you need an alternative build you can use our Buildup Editor in the PCB Configurator. Here you can select from our predefined builds or if necessary request a special build.

How-to-specify-Multilayer-build---web

How do I specify internal slots (plated or non-plated) and cut-outs? Complex profiles? Do they cost extra?

Please follow the link below for more information.

PCB Design Guidelines – Mechanical Layer.

These may increase the cost of the PCB

How do I specify UL marking? Does it cost extra?

You can add all types of markings including UL using the Eurocircuits Marking Editor, follow the link below for instructions.

Eurocircuits Tips & Tricks – Marking Editor

These may increase the cost of the PCB.

How to check the status of the Component Sourcing of my Assembly Order?

To check the components availability for your PCB assembly order simply follow the steps below.

Step 1: Go to your Online Customer Account and Click on “View Running Orders”.

Overview-Online-Customer-Account

This opens your running orders.

In this overview, you can see that your order has been broken into 3 different parts.

  • PCB order (E-Number of 7 digits)
  • Assembly order (E-Number ending in A)
  • Component order (E-Number ending in B)

Step 2: Click on the status of your component order

Running-orders-customer-profile

Step 3: Look at the status of each part to monitor the component availability of each order

Here you will see the status of the component availability for your order.

Possible statuses:

  • In Stock
  • Awaiting delivery from supplier
  • Awaiting delivery from customer
  • Partially delivered from customer (When Eurocircuits receives only a part of the components needed to finish the order)
NOTE

If you want to proceed with the production of your order with only part of the components available, please contact our Customer Service.

Component-overview-Customer-profile

Order and Delivery

Questions related to the logistics.

Can I change the delivery Address?

Changing the delivery address for a running order is possible until the status of the order says “Production Finish”.  How to do this?

  • Go to “’running orders”
  • Select the order and click the black button “modify order”
  • Click “change delivery address”
  • Now select a different delivery address from the drop down list
  • In the next window: select a different delivery address from the drop down list

If you want to ship to an address, which is not yet appearing in this dropdown list, please contact the power user of the account. He can create a new delivery address in this dropdown list. (He can do this via “manage profile”).

Can I change the Order Quantity? Change the delivery date? Cancel my order? Upload new data?

This depends of the status of your order.

If the preparation of the data is already finished or if the order is in production, no changes are possible anymore.

The fastest way to make the modification is through your online account:

  • Go to your “running order” list.
  • Select the order by checking the box on the left.
  • Click the black button “modify order” on top of the page (Important tip: don’t do this by clicking on the PCB Visualizer, no changes can be saved via PCB Visualizer for a running order !).
  • The system will tell you if the order can still be modified.
  • If possible (after clicking on “modify specifications”) this order will automatically be “cancelled” and will be placed back in your shopping basket. (Important: the order is not processing anymore)
  • In your shopping basket, you can then modify the order details, delivery term and/or upload a new dataset using PCB Visualizer if you like
  • Check out the item again to re-order and verify if it re-appears now in your list of “running orders”. If it does, it will have a new order number and you will be sure it is back in process.
Can I verify the production data before Eurocircuits starts manufacturing?

Yes, you can verify the production data before we start to manufacture.

If you wish to check and approve the data to be used to produce your order you must request Pre-Production Approval (PPA) for the specific order you want to check.

You will then be asked to approve the data to be used to produce your PCBs before we start production.

As soon as our engineers have completed their checks, we will send you an email to advise you that the production files are ready and waiting for your approval.

Setup Pre-Production Approval,

You can request a PPA on checkout by checking the “Check this box if you Require Pre-Production Approval” under the Submit button.

Alternatively, if you have submitted the order, you can request a PPA by selecting the order in Running orders of your Eurocircuits customer account. Next click on the Request a Pre-Production Approval tab at the top.

NOTE
  • Requesting a PPA is no longer possible if the order has reached the status “panelise” (from status panelise on it’s too late).

Once the preparation of the data is complete you will receive an email requesting your input to proceed with the order.

This is done using our Data feedback process where you can review, accept or reject the proposed data for production.

See also:

Submitting a PCB: The Cool Off Period and other Techniques

How are delivery times calculated?

Delivery terms is actually the number of days after we start production your PCB’s they are Shipped from our factory.

The Delivery term starts the day after receiving the order, this is seen as starting at 00H00, thus if you order at 23H15 the Delivery term will start at 00H00 of the following day.

Working days are Monday to Friday inclusive and excluding Public holidays.

Examples:
  • If a 3 day Delivery term is selected and the order placed at 22H00 on Monday, then the PCB’s will be Shipped on Thursday.
  • IF a 3 day Delivery term is selected and the order placed on a Wednesday then the PCB’s will be Shipped on the Monday.

The above applies providing the order was not stopped due to documentation, data or other issues.

How can I add/change my Purchase References (PO)?

You can add or change the purchase reference for an item in your shopping basket or for a running order until the status of the order says “Production Finish”.  How to do this?

  • Go to your shopping basket or to the list of your running orders
  • Select the item or order and click the black button “edit administrative details”.
  • Now you can add your references.

It is important that these fields are activated to be shown in your account (sometimes they are hidden). If only the PCB name appears, please contact the power user of the account. He can activate these fields. (He can do this via “manage profile”).

How do I place a repeat order?

To place a repeat order first Sign In to your account.

The select “CALCULATE AND ORDER” from the left-hand side menu, then select “Order repeats/view history” from the menu. This will display a history of your orders.

Repeat order - web

To “Order a repeat” simply check the box on the left of the row for the specific PCB,  then select the “Order a repeat” button at the top of the window.

Repeat order select - web

This will open the PCB Visualizer where you can review the details and prices etc.

Repeat order PCB Config - web

Once everything is correct select the “Add to basket”button and continue instructed.

How do I upload new data to resolve an issue?

To upload new data to resolve an issue please see the video below or refer to How to Resolve Exceptions on our website.

See also: What happens if there is a problem with my data?

How does Eurocircuits deliver? Charge for delivery?

Delivery is usually via a courier service, though other methods may be used as applicable.

The cost of delivery is based on the estimated weight of the finished order and is calculated at moment the order is placed.

For further information please see section 5 “Delivery” in our Terms of Sales.

I forgot to order a stencil. Can I still do it later?

You can order Stencils even after you have checked out and placed the order for the PCB, first Sign In to you account.

Then select “CALCULATE AND ORDER” from the menu list on the left-hand side and then select “Order stencils”. Next select “Price calculator” in the “Stencil order for an existing/ordered PCB” option.

Order Stencils - web

This will open a new window, click on the “Select” button corresponding to the order for which you would like to order Stencils.
 Select Job Order Stencils - web
The “Stencil service” window will open, here you fill in the details for the Stencil(s) you wish to order and click the “Add to basket” button and follow the instruction.
Stencil service - web
Order Not Received

If your order has been shipped but you have not received it as expected please contact us as soon as possible.

We will then contact our shipping partner to locate your order and have it delivered as soon as possible.

We will update you once we have all the information.

You can contact us either by:

Our online Live-Chat.

Email – euro@eurocircuits.com

Telephone – see our Contacts page for your local telephone number.

What happens if there is a problem with my PCB data?

We always run 100% pre-production checks on customer data. That way we can be sure you will get the board you want on the day you want it.

Our online check software, PCB Visualizer, has significantly reduced the number of exceptions but there may be remaining data or order issues.

Our engineers use their know-how to make the most logical correction to the order or the data where possible. This results into two possibilities:

  1. Logical corrections by our people are possible and we only need customer approval:
    The production-ready job goes into the customer’s pre-production approval (PPA) folder. He gets our email and needs only 1 click to send the job on for manufacture. How?

    • Go to “preproduction approval” – the status of your order is “waiting for your approval”.
    • Click the orange button “review for approval” – the document with the repair details/proposal/corrections will open automatically on your screen (if not, click on the grey button “repair details” to open it).
      • Check our proposed “repairs” in the document.
      • Have a closer look in PCB Visualizer: our production data of your PCB or customer panel (including the repairs) is displayed on your screen (especially check technical options like internal milling, customer panel layout and other specifics).
    • Then you decide to “approve” or “reject”:
        • If approved, the order will be moved directly to our production panel section, no changes are possible after that.
        • If rejected, do the following of two options:
          • write clearly why in the comments section and our people will receive your message and will check how to proceed next
          • or upload a new data set after which your order is processed further through the exception flow

Nearly 90% of jobs are authorised right away and go straight into production. No delays – and the customer doesn’t have to spend time making the corrections – a win-win result: the right board on the right day with minimum disruption to the designer.

  1. A logical correction was not possible and we need the customers input:
    • If the detected PCB data issue is not “repairable” by Eurocircuits and no solution can be proposed, then we will raise an “exception” as we have always done.
    • Go online to “exception overview” – check the problem, correct your data and upload your new complete PCB dataset.
    • The delivery date will be recalculated at the moment when you upload your dataset. Do this as fast as possible to avoid any delay in delivery.
What is the Cut-Off time for placing an order?

The cut-off time for placing an order is 24H00, meaning that the delivery term starts at 00H00 of the next day.

Where is my order? What do order status names mean?

To track the status of your order first Sign In to your Eurocircuits account.

Select “CALCULATE AND ORDER” from the left-hand side menu and then select  “View running orders”.

This will open a window with a list of all your running order and provide information such as Order number, PCB name, order Status and expected Shipment date etc.

Running Orders

To check status of your order first check the box next to the order number, then select either the “History” button at the top of the window or click directly on the status in the order row.

Running order status - web

This will open a pop-up window where you able to see the status or your order, select the “Back”button to return to the “Running orders”overview.

Running Order history window - web

For a definition of the text in the “Status” column select the “Status details” button at the top of the window.

Status details selection - web

A pop-up window will open listing all the definitions will be displayed.

Status details - web

Will I get an order confirmation?

Yes, a final order confirmation is sent after the preparation of your PCB data is done and the data are ready for production.

In case you have asked for a pre-production approval, we will send the order confirmation after your final approval to move ahead in to production.

PCB Capabilities

Eurocircuits' PCB manufacturing capabilities

Can Eurocircuits manufacture blind/buried vias? How do I order them?

Eurocircuits are able to manufacture Blind and Buried Via’s, however, we suggest you read our technical articles and Blog before adding these to your PCB layout, follow the links below:

Blog – Blind and buried Via’s

Technical Article – Blind and buried Via

Can Eurocircuits manufacture flexible PCBs?

Eurocircuits offers SEMI-Flex Production, please follow the link below for more information:

SEMI-Flex pool

Can I get a Certificate of Conformity?

For every PCB/Panel manufactured by Eurocircuits generate a PCB Passport, this details the materials, Production steps and Test Results etc.

More information can be found by following the link below:

How do we assure the quality of your PCB?

Can I order plated holes on board edge, round-edge plating etc. How do I define them?

Eurocircuits does offer these services, we recommend that you read our Blog on this topic by following the link below:

Copper and the board edge

What approvals does Eurocircuits hold?

Please follow the link below to see the Quality Labels held for each facility.

Quality Labels

What are available materials, board thicknesses, copper thicknesses, surface finishes?

Please follow the link below for our non-BINDI Pool production:

Technical Specifications of all Eurocircuits Prototype & small volume

Please follow the link below for our BINDI Pool production

Technical Specifications of BINDI pool

What are the specifications for the services including IMS, RF and SEMI-FLEX pool

Our PCB Services and capabilities are available by following the link below:

PCB Services

Where can I find the specifications of the materials?

You are able to find the specifications for the materials we use by following the link below:

Material Specifications