Surface Finish
Surface Finish: HASL: also called Leaded Solder: 63/37 Tin/lead solder application.
Immersion Gold: 3-10 microinches of gold over electroless nickel (ENIG).
This is also a lead-free finish.
Number of Holes
Number of Holes Per Board: This is important because a board with too much hole density is complex and takes a lot of resources on the drilling machine. If your board has more than 80 holes/square inch on the average, you may not get an automatic quote on this product promotion, and a sales person may need to get involved.
(Per Board)
Electrical Testing
Electrical Testing: Electrical testing is mandatory for all boards. This is the only way for any PCB manufacturer to ensure the product shipped has zero shorts or opens.
Visual inspection can never be 100% effective. Especially, if the defect is under the solder mask, electrical test is the only way to catch it.
Is your design restricted by ITAR or EAR export control?
ITAR: The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), issued by the Department of State, control the export of defense-related articles and services, including technical data, ensuring compliance with the Arms Export Control Act. EAR: The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) is a set of United States government regulations on the export and import of most commercial items. The U.S. Department of Commerce is responsible for implementing and enforcing EAR. PCB Fab Express is not accountable for any violation if the customer missed mentioning the ITAR or EAR Export Controlled upfront.
Are your boards set up as an Array?
Arrays: In some cases, a PCB designer will put together multiple images of the same PCB together into one image. Such grouping of circuits is called an Array. This may be done to facilitate easy assembly of the PCBs, etc.
The individual boards may be separated by tabs (made using Route & Retain OR Scoring processes). For an Array, you must tell us overall Array dimensions, and also Number of Boards in the Array. You must also specify the dimensions of the individual PCB (which combined together make up the Array).
Note that for quoting, you must specify how many individual boards you need (NOT how many arrays). Example: Say each Array has 5 boards and you need 4 Arrays, then during quoting you must specify a quantity of 20.
How many boards per array?
Route and Retain
Route and Retain: (Also known as Tab-rout) Tabs routed between each PCB for break-a-way. Unless otherwise noted, we use 100 mil (0.1") spacing between boards
Scoring
Scoring: V-groove cut into both the top and bottom of the boards for break-away