Frequently asked questions about our printed circuit boards and related services are listed below. If you have a question that is not answered here, please fill out the information form at the bottom of this page and let us help you.

How Can I Order From Standard Printed Circuit Board?

You can either order online through our online order form, or you can zip required files together and send us the archive as an email attachment.

What files do you require to produce circuit boards for me?

Gerber data for at least the single layer or the top and bottom layers of your design. If you require soldermasks, legends or are ordering a multi-layer design, then additional Gerber data will be needed for those layers as well. Gerber file & Excellon drill data for the board. Gerber and Excellon data files are needed for the output from your CAD program. We prefer RS274X Gerber data if possible, and Excellon files with imbedded tool lists are also preferred. A way to contact the board's designer just in case there are design or production issue that need clarification. We welcome any questions in regards to understanding or changing some specifications.

How do you ship my boards?

We ship via FedEx. We try to accommodate any special shipping requests.

How can I pay for my printed circuit boards?

We accept all major credit cards payment (VISA or MASTERCARD) or a PO number if you have an approved Net 15 day or 30 day account with us.

Can I order larger or smaller quantities at any time prior to production?

Because we do not have a minimum or maximum order size, we welcome your differing order quantities.

Will I ever have to pay a tooling or punching charge?

You will only have to pay a tooling charge if you go straight to production.

What CAM software do you use?

GC-CAM, View200 and TEAM EFA Genesis2000s CAM software.

Can I get an electrical test?

We provide 100% electric testing on your mass production PCB.

What is the maximum thickness of PCB that you can process?

2.0mm

What is the thinnest board you can process?

0.8mm if ordered with HASL plating finish. We will manufacture down to 0.6mm, if other plating options are used. Contact your salesperson for details.

Do you process special dielectric requirements?

Yes, we can process all types of sequential stackups. Just send us your core and stackup details.

Can Standard PCB do Immersion Tin production?

We have the capacity in our new facility to handle your production requirements. Contact our sales personnel with your files and requirements.

What is the largest PCB you can fabricate?

18 x 24

How do I get custom color soldermask? What about custom color legend print?

You can opt for that but only for production run of minimum USD 500 value. We have a selection of blue, red, white, and 7 shades of green to choose from. Each color can be either the soldermask or silkscreen.

What is SMOBC and why is it important?

SMOBC stands for Solder Mask Over Bare Copper. It is an industrial standard set to facilitate automated assembly using wave-soldering technology. Soldermask on PCBs, which are not SMOBC, tend to wrinkle when wave soldered. This happens because the solder 'slapped' on the surface is at the same melting point as solder under the soldermask, melting it and wrinkling the soldermask in the process.

What is Soldermask? Do I really need soldermask?

Soldermask is the greenish film covering most of the copper area except the pads. If you have access to any electronics devices, you will see that the copper circuit is actually protected by a greenish lacquer-like layer; this is the soldermask. It importance depends upon what type of PCBs you are using. Soldermask is more for aesthetics than functionality and is created primarily to facilitate wave soldering used in mass assembly.

What is Silkscreen or Legend Print?

Silkscreen is actually a process of screening ink using a stencil prepared by lithographic method. The purpose of this is to apply a nomenclature to aid in assembly. Specifically , it is that little white component labeling that makes manual assembly significantly easier. Although not an absolutely necessary feature, it is nice to have when you have hundreds of holes to match with the appropriate component.