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General Project Guidelines

General Project Guidelines

 

 

Welcome! The following document will help you understand how the formatting of your design project affects the automated processes provided to you.

General FAQs

 

Q: How many projects can I load at a time?

Load only one revision/project at a time.

Q: What are the board default options?

Below are the default options set for a board if automation results in uncertainty or they are not specifically set calling user.

  • Green Soldermask

  • White Silkscreen

  • 1 oz copper

  • HASL-LF finish

  • FR-4 material

  • No controlled impedance

  • These settings cannot be changed

Q: What is the maximum number of files I can have in one project?

500 files.

Q: What is the maximum size of a project?

512 megabytes.

Q: Do I have to upload my board files to get a quote?

No file upload is needed. You can provide basic info to proceed with an estimate.

Q: What if I want to provide my own PCBs and only need assembly?

It is highly recommended that you upload your board files as some of the files are essential for the assembly process. However, in case you choose to skip the file upload, you will still have the option to notify us that you will supply your own PCBs. The pricing will be based on the components required and the estimated labor.

Q: Does the platform support ITAR?

Boardera is not currently registered for ITAR.

Boardera is ISO27001 Certified protecting all data.

More information on ITAR

Project Formatting FAQs

Q: What file formats are supported?

  • ODB ++

  • Gerber

  • PDF (Fab Notes Extraction)

  • BOM

    • .xls

    • .xlsx

    • .csv

    • .ods

    • .txt

    • .zip

    • .tgz

Q: Where do I get those formats?

Export from your favourite eCAD design program (Native eCAD files are not supported).

BOM Formatting FAQs

Q: How can I get an estimate on a PCB assembly?

Include a Bill Of Material (BOM) inside the project package, and you will receive a pricing estimate for a complete assembly (if your selected supplier provides assembly services).

You can also upload a BOM separately during the Part Sourcing step.

Q: How can the tool find my part numbers in a spreadsheet?

Automation processes analyze the BOM based on data structure, named columns and the data within each column in order to understand where the data is, what it represents, if and how substitutions are noted and if there are records to be ignored.

Below is an example of a well formatted BOM if you are encountering issues with automation due to ‘interesting’ BOM formats.

Example Project, BOM and XYRS Files

Download this project to see how the files are named and review BOM formatting. You can also use this project to test if desired.

Troubleshooting

  1. The most common issues is a package (compressed file) with redundant revisions, design, BOM or both. To rectify, ensure there is a single package representing the singe project you want to analyze.