{"id":2383,"date":"2018-05-11T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T15:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/eagle\/blog\/?p=2383"},"modified":"2023-07-04T20:55:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T03:55:16","slug":"pcb-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/pcb-manufacturing\/","title":{"rendered":"How Your PCB Is Manufactured"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Like a Sandwich – How Your PCB Is Manufactured in Plain English<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Curious about how that Printed Circuit Board (PCB)<\/a> you just designed actually gets made? I was, until I found a bunch of videos from manufacturers on Youtube and nearly fell asleep trying to sift through all the technical details. It\u2019s not that the PCB manufacturing process is dull in itself, there\u2019s a ton of fascinating machinery, and a lot of human labor and love that goes into the whole mix. It\u2019s just explained very, very dryly. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you\u2019ve ever felt a bit disconnected between completing your design, sending it off to manufacturing, and wondering what happens after you get a box on your doorstep with your new PCB, this blog is for you. Let\u2019s find out how your PCB is manufactured, in plain English with the help of a sandwich. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

What Do Sandwiches Have to Do With This?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

I\u2019ll be honest, the sandwich analogy isn\u2019t perfect. But the more I tried to think about an ideal physical representation for how a PCB is made, the more a sandwich seemed applicable. You\u2019ve got your top and bottom layers (bread), your inner layers (meats, cheese, condiments), and everything comes together to form a completed whole.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your typical PCB layer stackup, looks just like a sandwich, kinda (<\/span><\/i>Image source<\/span><\/i><\/a>)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we get started, it\u2019s important to know that PCBs are manufactured on giant panels, which contain a ton of other PCBs. Maybe they\u2019re all yours, or sometimes they combine multiple designs one one panel to save everyone money. The process we\u2019ll be talking about below goes into making a complete multiplayer board, and if you\u2019re just dealing with 1-2 layer designs then there will be less steps involved. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

Step 1 – The Shopping List<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The first step in getting a PCB made starts with you. Much like assembling a shopping list for your next sandwich masterpiece, you\u2019ll need to get all of your design files together to hand off to your manufacturer, including:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n