Getting started with HDI: A clear path from design to prototype
Spend less time preparing your HDI PCB design, check manufacturability before ordering and benefit from cost-effective HDI pooling.
Focus on your design, not the manufacturing process
You have selected your components and are ready to turn your schematic into a PCB layout. But one part, perhaps a fine-pitch BGA, may require HDI technology to facilitate the necessary connections. Does that mean you need a fully customised HDI build-up? Not necessarily. In many cases, a simpler partial-HDI construction provides the routing capabilities you need.
With predefined PCB build-ups and ready-to-use Altium design rules, you can get started quickly, without having to develop a custom HDI construction from scratch.
Start with predefined Altium data
Eurocircuits provides predefined 6 and 8-layer PCB build-ups and downloadable design rule files for Altium Designer. Import the appropriate build-up into the Layer Stack Manager, load the corresponding design rules and adapt them to your project’s requirements. You can then concentrate on placement, routing and electrical performance within known manufacturing limits.
The HDI pool uses two staggered microvia layers on one side of a 6- or 8-layer multilayer PCB. The L1–L2 microvias are laser-drilled and copper-filled, while the L2–L3 microvias are mechanically drilled and filled with resin.
Select your preferred 6 or 8-layer HDI pool build-up in the Eurocircuits Visualizer. Configure the design rules in the Eurocircuits Visualizer and import them into Altium Designer. Start your layout with rules matched to the selected PCB manufacturing capabilities.
This construction supports three typical applications:
- Fine-pitch BGA fan-out for densely packed connections.
- Impedance-controlled high-speed routing using defined build-ups.
- Thermal connections for components such as QFNs.
Three practical design examples developed with CiBOARD electronic illustrate these possibilities.
HDI design guidelines, Altium files and examples
6-layer HDI pool demo board featuring real components. It demonstrates practical applications of partial HDI, including fine-pitch BGA fan-out, impedance-controlled routing and thermal connections.
Check manufacturability before ordering
Eurocircuits’ online tools allow you to check your data for manufacturing using virtual manufacturing (digital twin), DRC and DFM analysis. Additional tools support impedance calculations, assembly data validation and component availability checks. Identifying manufacturing issues before ordering helps avoid unnecessary corrections and delays.
Reduce prototype costs through pooling
Standardised materials, build-ups and manufacturing processes allow compatible HDI designs to share production panels. Sharing production panels and using standardised processes helps reduce costs and lead times compared with producing traditional customised HDI prototypes individually.
More time for reliable PCB design
Not every design requires a fully customised HDI construction. Standardised solutions incorporate proven manufacturing knowledge and remove unnecessary complexity. This leaves designers more time for what matters: developing a reliable PCB that meets the application’s requirements and can be manufactured cost effectively.
Explore the Eurocircuits HDI pool
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