FAQ

 

Data File Standards
Format Gerber RS-274X is preferred although we can accept RS-274D.  We do not accept board layout files in ODB++, AutoCAD or other software specific formats.
Drill File Excellon Drill File (a.k.a. ASCII or CNC Drill) - Including tool size list
View We assume all gerber layers are viewed from top side.  This means your bottom layers will appear 'backward'.  For example, your bottom side silkscreen should be 'wrong reading' or backwards, as if in a mirror, since you are viewing it from the top side, not the bottom.
Fab Print We prefer all orders to contain a detailed fab print specifying dimensions, board thickness, material type, copper weight, dielectric stackup, qty of holes, whether holes are plated or not, layer stack order….etc.  If a print or other instructions are not provided, we will build per PCB Universe Standard Specifications.  
Alternative File Types If your gerbers do not contain a fab print, we can accept prints in other popular formats such as PDF, DXF, DWG, TXT … etc.  
Delivery For ease of delivery and to ensure no files are lost, please place all design files, fab notes and other files regarding your order, into a single .zip file.  If ordering online, please upload your file through the online order system so it can be associated and tracked with your order.  

 

Final Finishes 101
There are many factors to consider when selecting a final finish for your printed circuit board.  Below is a consolidated list of popular finishes and their general characteristics.
Final Finish Cost RoHS Fine Pitch Use Flatness High Speed Rework Cycles Shelf Life Solder Joint Solderability Wire Bonding
Tin/Lead Solder (HASL) Lowest No No Bad No Few 12 months Excellent Excellent No
Lead Free Solder (HASL) Lowest Yes No Fair No Few 12 months Good Good No
OSP (Organic Solder Preservative) Low Yes Yes Excellent No None 9-12 months Good Good Yes
Immersion/White Tin Low Yes No Excellent No None 9-12 months Good Good No
Immersion Silver Medium Yes Yes Excellent Yes Many 9-12 months Good Very Good No
Immersion Gold (ENIG) Electroless Nickel Gold Medium Yes Yes Excellent No Few 12 months Good Good No
Hard/Deep Gold High Yes No Bad No None 12 months Bad Good No
Wirebondable/Soft Gold Very High Yes Yes Good No None 12 months Bad Good Yes

 

Tin/Lead Solder (HASL) The PCB is dipped into a solder pot and air knives remove the excess solder from the surface of the board.  The typical chemical composition of this finish is approximately 63% Tin and 37% Lead.  Historically this has been the accepted industry standard finish but tighter designs and lead free legislation may soon bring this finish to an end for most purposes.  Only military, medical and select few other devices that require high dependability are currently exempt from RoHS legislation.
Pros Lowest cost and remains solderable through many cycles.  Relatively low temperature reflow point.
Cons Not recommended for lead pitches less than 0.64mm (.025 inch) due to solder bridging and uneven thickness.  Lead is a known cause of many illnesses, more stringent environmental (RoHS lead free) legislature may eventually eliminate this plating option.
Lead Free Solder (HASL) The PCB is dipped into a solder pot and air knives remove the excess solder from the surface of the board.    Various chemistries exist for Lead Free Solder but most rely on a 99% Tin composition with various trace elements depending on the manufacturers recipie.  While it is flatter than its lead counterpart, Lead Free Solder is still not recommended for fine pitch applications.
Pros Lowest cost and remains solderable through many cycles.
Cons Not recommended for lead pitches less than 0.64mm (.025 inch) due to solder bridging and uneven thickness.  Tin Whiskering is also a concern with tightly spaced features.   http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/background/index.htm#q1
OSP (Organic Solder Preservative) A very thin finish. Its only purpose is to protect the bare copper from oxidation since it dissipates after soldering.  Assemblers need to use a different type of flux and cannot use as many heating cycles as with other finishes.
Pros Low cost, flat surface, good solderability and can be wire bonded.
Cons Significant changes to assembly process make it unpopular with most assemblers. Special handling required since finger prints can easily errode the OSP finish exposing the copper to oxidation.
Immersion / White Tin Due to the many other superior alternatives available today, this finish is seldom used.
Pros Good solderability, flat surface, low cost.
Cons Subject to Tin Whiskering and limited rework capability.  Solutions used in manufacturing are suspected carcinogens and pose potential health threats.
Immersion Silver Unlike gold finishes which use a layer of nickel to prevent the base copper from migrating into the metal, silver does not require this process.  Silver is applied directly onto the bare copper. Silver is quickly gaining in popularity as a preferred RoHS finish.  ENIG is still #1 but time will tell.
Pros Good solderability, assemblers like it since it can be worked like HASL. During the solder process the silver is dissolved into the joint providing very good connections, ideal for BGAs.
Cons Higher cost than solder but less expensive than ENIG.  Tarnishes relatively easily so keep them in a cool, dark place in their original packaging until ready to assemble.
Immersion Gold (ENIG) Electroless Nickel Gold ENIG stands for Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold.  Approx 100-150µ" of nickel is applied directly to the bare copper on the PCB.  2-5µ" of gold are then applied on top of the nickel via a chemical process.  Because the gold bonds to the nickel by replacing the outer nickel molecules, the resulting finish is extremely flat and cannot be plated any thicker than approx 5-6µ".
Pros Excellent solderability, flat  surface, long shelf life, multiple reflows, will not tarnish easily, precious metal electrical contact surface, mini nickel rivet which strengthens hole walls, and the nickel barrier also protects the barrels from copper dissolution during wave solder and rework.
Cons Higher cost, nickel layer is fairly brittle and has been noted to break during mechanical stress. This is known as "black pad" or "mudflat cracks".
Hard / Deep Gold Like all gold finishes, 100-200µ" of nickel is used as a barrier to prevent the copper from migrating into the gold.  Because this finish is plated using electricity rather than chemically, the surface is relatively rough.  There are hardeners added to the chemistry making the finish very durable.  It is generally used for edge fingers or keypad based applications where high durability is desired.  Typical gold thickness for this finish range between 7 to 50µ".
Pros Durability and long shelf life.
Cons High cost, no rework capability and poor coplanarity (flatness). 
Wirebondable / Soft Gold Like Hard/Deep Gold, this process is electroplated except this is 99.99% pure gold. Due to its very high cost, it is typically used only for wirebonding applications.  Typical gold thickness is between 30-100µ" over 150-200µ" of nickel.  Cost varies significantly depending on the desired gold thickness.
Pros Long shelf life, solderability and wirebondable.
Cons Very high cost and no rework capability. 

 

PCB Universe Rigid PCB Standards
To avoid miscommunication, we prefer all data packages to contain a complete fab print detailing all aspects of your PCB fabrication either within your gerber data or in another commonly used format such as a PDF, DWG or even a simple TXT file.  
We realize this is not always convenient or possible for all of our customers so please be aware that if your data is incomplete we will build to the following standard specifications.  It is your responsibility to review the quoted/ordered specifications and verify they are acceptable for your design.
* Below is a list of our rigid PCB manufacturing assumptions if your data is incomplete.  We have many other capabilities, these are simply our standards.

Standard Specifications (Rigid Boards)
Material Type FR4 (135-140°C Tg)
Finished Thickness .062"
Rout Type Individually routed
Array/Panel If you require your board to be panelized into an array for automated assembly, we will be glad to step and repeat your 1-up design for you at no extra charge.  We assume .4" rails on all 4 sides of the array whether it be scored or tab-routed.  We will score where possible and tab-rout (rout and retain) where it is not.  Many assemblers have guidelines as to how they prefer arrays to be constructed.  Check with your assembler if they have size limitations or preferences regarding rail placement, tooling holes and fiducials.  
Finished Plating Lead Solder
Copper Weight 1oz (finished weight, outer and inner)
Drill All holes assumed plated thru (PTH).  If there is no copper pad surrounding the hole on the top and bottom layers or the pads are the same size as the drill and no apparent electrical purpose, will assume non-plated thru hole (NPTH).
Slots Slots are assumed to be non-plated thru unless there is a copper pad surrounding the slot on both the top and bottom layers.
Soldermask We will use your soldermask files if included in your data.  If your design is all thru-hole and we receive only 1 mask file, will assume it is to be used on both sides.  Soldermask type will be LPI (Liquid Photo Imageable).
Soldermask Color Green
Silkscreen We will use all silkscreen files included in your data.  Any legend that covers pads or annular rings will be clipped to ensure proper final finish adhesion.
Silkscreen Color White
Gold Fingers If your design appears to have an edge connector we will assume 20µ" hard gold over 100-150µ" nickel plating and beveled edge.
Dielectric Thickness We will use one of our standard dielectric stacks based on your design and  materials we have on hand.
Impedance We assume there are no impedance requirements unless specifically stated.  
RoHS If RoHS compliancy is requested, we will build with Lead Free Solder and FR4 (135-140°C Tg) material.  All of our final finishes are RoHS compliant EXCEPT Lead Solder.  All board laminates we use are also RoHS compliant.  We assume our standard FR4 (135-140°C Tg) material is sufficient for your RoHS needs.  Use of a hi-temp laminate must be specified.  RoHS compliancy is not an indication of special laminate temperature requirements or final finish.  Consult with your PCB assembler if you are unsure what final finish or laminate they require for their RoHS process.
ITAR We assume all designs are not ITAR controlled.
Board Thickness Tolerance ± 10%
Dimensional Tolerance ± 10 mils
Inspection Criteria IPC Class II

 

Policies
Order Cut-Off Time Orders may be placed on our website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Depending on the day of the week and/or time of day, your order may not be processed until the next business day.  Orders placed Monday-Friday before 9pm(EST)/6pm(PST), will be counted as being entered that day.  Orders placed over the weekend, on a holiday or after 9pm(EST)/6PM(PST) will be processed the next business day.
Calculating Lead Time Our lead times are calculated in business days.  The day an order is processed is day zero, (see order cut-off time).  If it is 3pm on Wednesday, a 4 day turn will ship no later than the next Tuesday.  (Assuming no holidays or delays from incomplete or unclear data).
Wed = 0 Thu = 1 Fri = 2 Mon = 3 Tue = 4 (order ships)
Afterhours Contact As with any custom fabrication, questions can arise if there is any missing or unclear data.  We never want to delay the shipment of your order so please provide us with an afterhours contact so we can address any questions as soon as possible.  Turn times do not begin until your order clears engineering review.
Electrical Test Policy We electrically test every bare PCB we manufacture. Please be aware that some shorts or opens may not be present or detectable until after the heat cycle of the assembly process.
Electrical Test Types Depending on the design, we may use a flying probe or clamshell test fixture at our discretion.  For designs with Controlled Impedance requirements, we will test to verify your target impedance has been achieved and list the results on your inspection report.  Upon request we can also perform a high voltage test.
Warranty We will gladly replace or credit any boards that are found to be defective within 60 days of the original shipment that we find to be defective in materials, workmanship or order accuracy.  We will not be held accountable for monetary losses including but not limited to; missed deadlines, components, labor or other damages. 

 

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