Technical Guidelines

Our Technical guidelines offer information and best practices on various aspects of PCB manufacturing and assembly, helping you understand the processes and requirements to ensure your PCB design is suitable for manufacturing.

Designing for HDI pool

Our new HDI pool allows customers to use microvias between layers L1-L2 and L2-L3 (or, alternatively, L6-L7 and L7-L8). Since the PCB is manufactured with our standard technology parameters, has two microvia runs, and the HDI is only applied to a part of the board, our solution, sometimes called ‘partial’ or ‘hybrid’ HDI, is cheaper than ‘full’ HDI. So when we want to use a single fine-pitch BGA – that perhaps comes in no other package – it doesn’t necessarily mean a very expensive board. In this article we’ll cover some techniques our customers may use to maximise the use of what the HDI pool can offer.

Understanding Generic Part Numbers

Generic parts are defined by their characteristics rather than a manufacturer’s part number (MPN). However, they still need to have a number (the GPN) that can be added to a BOM in the MPN column. This allows for the part to be automatically identified when uploading the BOM data, in Eurocircuits case this will be performed by the PCBA Visualizer.

eC-Registration System Details for PCBs and Stencils.

The eC Registration System is a simple, easy to use, yet accurate pin tooling system to perfectly register the SMD stencil onto the PCB (panel). Stencils having this tooling are called eC- stencils. PCBs having these tooling are called eC-Registration Compatible PCBs. The PCB requires 2 location holes of 3 mm finished diameter and the stencil requires 2 location holes of 5 mm finished diameter. The drawing shows their relative positions and should be sufficient for PCB and stencil manufacturing.

The Optimum PCB Design Flow – Right First Time

An optimised PCB Design Flow allows you to create PCBs that are “Right First Time for Manufacture”. Our customers report that they save time and money by using the Eurocircuits’ Smart Tools. These allow the designer to analyse their design parameters before starting their board layout. Eurocircuits developed their Smart Tools to help Electronic Design Engineers achieve an efficient PCB Design Flow.