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August 9, 2023 | PRNewswireEstimated reading time: 1 minute
HQ NextPCB, a subsidiary of Huaqiu Electronics, a leading Chinese-based multilayer PCB manufacturer and assembly house, are proud to announce the release of HQDFM Gerber Viewer and DFM Analysis Tool.
HQDFM Gerber Viewer is a completely free, online tool for displaying and reviewing PCB Gerber files and OBD++ files. HQDFM incorporates NextPCB's Design for Manufacture (DFM) algorithms, based on NextPCB's 15 years of high-reliability manufacturing expertise and current industry standards.
The PCB manufacturing industry has and still relies on the Ucamco Gerber format to communicate PCB production to manufacturers, which are often located overseas. While the 2D image format overcomes language barriers, the language of PCB Design for Manufacture is still ambiguous to many inexperienced designers and the division between PCB design and PCB manufacture remains an expensive obstacle leading to missed deadlines, hit-and-miss runs and quick-to-fail products.
This is the problem NextPCB's engineers seek to resolve with HQDFM.
HQDFM is an easy-to-use Gerber Viewer and DFM tool for analyzing PCB production files before hand-off. Unlike EDA softwares' built-in DRC checks, HQDFM allows designers to navigate and analyze the production files and check for design issues that may impact manufacturing or cause long-term reliability issues. With HQDFM, designers are given a manufacturer's perspective and have valuable insights into how they can improve their designs.
Based on the free desktop software HQDFM, the cross-platform online version makes the easy-to-use Gerber Viewer function and DFM check available to everyone, including Mac and Linux users with no download or install and no sign-up. Anyone can freely upload PCB production files to the online interface and view their design in seconds. Try it now.
"There are still many designers that send off their production files without any knowledge of what the files contain. Resolving issues with the fab house becomes a challenge for both sides without the appropriate tools and knowledge to debug the design, which is something we hope to change for everyone's benefit," said HQ NextPCB CEO, Suibai Chen.
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