Defining the Ideal PCB Design Data Output

Estimated reading time: Less than a minute

At the heart of delivering successful, manufacturable printed circuit boards lies a vital question: What should your design data output package include to best support manufacturing?

The answer: It depends.

There are many factors to consider regarding the specific category you’re designing for—such as mil/aero, space, medical, and commercial. Other factors that need to be considered are requirements and engineering intent. More specifically, does the output package contain all the necessary information required by fabrication and assembly to fulfill the demands from engineering? 

The industry best practice for transferring design output data to manufacturing is establishing tight integration and close collaborations with your suppliers. It’s important to understand that your suppliers are your project’s external stakeholders. The key to achieving downstream success is in optimizing the transition between engineering and manufacturing. It’s a principle rooted in design for manufacturing (DFM) and manufacturing-driven design (MDD). A complete, correct, accurate, intelligent, and collaborative data output package is not just good practice, it is essential for product quality, speed, and competitiveness.

Continue reading this article in the May 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine.