RPS PCB and Assembly Specifications

Summary

Our RPS enables ultimate speed and convenience for your Assembly prototyping.

PCB Fabrication: Instantly quote and order standard technology, rigid PCBs up to 8 layers, with standard materials and finishes. These are single lamination PCBs (i.e., no blind/ buried vias allowed). PCB Fabrication will be done to IPC-6012 Class 2 - No Coupon specification.

PCB Assembly: Instantly quote and order Consigned, Turnkey and Partial-Turnkey assembly though the RPS. (Get instant BOM pricing also!). Assembly of Rigid PCBs only, not flex or rigid-flex! PCB Assembly will be done to IPC-A-610 Class 2 specification.

Data

For PCBs: We prefer 274X Extended Gerber format. If your file is not in 274X, send an Aperture file. Please see FAQ below for what files to include.

For Assembly: You will need to upload your BOM (excel format) online for quoting. In the final package we will need Assembly Drawing and XY data also.

Turn-time

2,3,4,5 and 10 business days from order date. When will my boards ship if I order today?

Cut-off time

5PM PST

Minimum Order Quantity/ Maximum Order Quantity

From 1 PCB to 100 PCBs. Some restrictions may apply for large quantities on Quick Turns.

Maximum board size

Maximum Area allowed for a board is 150 square inches

Maximum X or Y dimension allowed is 15.9" and minimum dimension allowed is 0.5"

Materials

FR4 and FR4-Lead Free Standard materials are instantly quoted online. Exotic materials may be quoted by a Customer Service Agent offline.
Please note that RPS is for Rigid PCBs only. For Flex or Rigid-flex PCBs or for any advanced technology PCBs (like HDI, Metal Core etc), please load your gerber files and get a custom quote here

Thickness & Thickness Tolerance

Almost all standard thicknesses including 0.125", 0.93", 0.062" and 0.031". (certain layers may be limited to certain standard thicknesses)

The tolerance for thickness in RPS is +/- 10% of nominal thickness for boards down to 0.031 thick For boards less than 0.031 thick the Thickness Tolerance is constant at +/- 0.003 (+/- 3 mils).

Arrays

Arrays are allowed in RPS product. But we will NOT create the arrays for you- your file has to have the array as a single-up image! When quoting, you will have to enter the Array dimensions, how many boards per array, and Individual board dimensions.
For PCB quotes purpose always enter the quantity of individual boards (NOT the quantity of arrays).

Arrays may have Scoring or Route and Retain.

Minimum trace & space

Down to 4 mils (0.004") minimum trace/space!

Preferred Manufacturing Criteria

Minimum air-gap of 0.004" (space between any two copper features)

Minimum annular ring 0.005" (applies to both plated and non-plated holes)

Minimum inner layer drill to copper spacing .013" (applies to both plated and non-plated holes)

Standard Copper Overplate

Surface pattern: Nominal 1 oz./sq foot. (0.0013" to 0.002") (33 microns to 51 microns)

Copper Plating

Inner layer copper: 0.5 oz. or 1 oz.

Outer layer (finished) copper: 1 oz. or 2 oz.

Plating on Hole walls

0.0008" to 0.0012" (20 microns to 30 microns)

Surface Finish

HASL(Solder), Lead-Free HASL, Hard Gold, Bondable Gold, Immersion Gold, Immersion Silver.

Gold Fingers

Gold Fingers allowed on HASL finish only

Standard Gold Thickness

Gold Finish	Gold Thickness	Nickel Thickness	Palladium Thickness
Soft Bondable Gold	30 μin (0.76μ)	-	-
Immersion Gold	2-5 μin (0.05μ - 0.125μ)	125 μin - 250 μin	-
Hard Gold	31.5 μin (0.80μ)	-	-
ENEPIG	1-2 μin (0.025μ - 0.5μ)	125 μin - 250 μin	4 μin - 8 μin

Minimum Hole size

Down to 6 mils (0.006") finished hole size allowed.

Maximum Hole size

Plated holes: 246 mils (.246"). Non-plated holes: 199 mils (0.199").

Maximum Hole Density

Instant quote may not be available if hole density exceeds 100 holes/sq inch (Total holes on a board/Area of board) Our Customer Service Agent may ask for more details before quoting designs with such high hole-density.

Minimum width of annular rings

6 mils (0.006") (We need this minimum annular ring width on your design to ensure there are no "breakouts" on the pads in the manufactured board)

For more details on Annular Ring requirements click here.

Controlled Dielectric

Allowed but only for standard available thicknesses.

Controlled Dielectric

Allowed but only for standard available thicknesses.

Counter bores/ Counter sinks

Available

Internal Cutouts/Slots and Notches

Up to 3 plated slots allowed per board

Up to 10 non-plated slots allowed per board

Up to 10 cutouts allowed per board

Up to 10 notches allowed per board

(If any of the above allowances are exceeded in your design, we can still process it for a minimum $100 extra lot charge on your order. We will get your approval before doing so.)

Minimum Inside Radius (for any notch, cutout or slot) = 20 mil (0.02")

Minimum Width (of any notch, cutout or slot) = 40 mil (0.04")

Multiple Parts

We expect to see a single image of a single PCB, and the vast majority of the orders we see comply with this. However if your files do have more than one part on it, we will charge you $100 extra on the order.($100 Lot charge)

Soldermask process

Solder Mask is available in following colors: Green, Blue, Red, Black, White and Clear. It is allowed on both sides. In our Web PCB service, we only offer LPI solder mask. Please follow the guidelines given below. LPI Solder Mask (Green, Blue, Red and Clear Color) LPI Solder Mask (Black or White Color) Note We only offer LPI solder mask in our Web PCB service. If your design forces us to use Laser Direct Imaging LPI (LDI-LPI) solder mask, we will contact you and get approval for a $500 extra charge on your order. In such case, please see design guidelines for LDI-LPI Solder Mask LDI-LPI Solder Mask (Green, Red and Blue Color) LDI-LPI Solder Mask (Black Color)

Silkscreen/ Legend

Legend Colors available: White, Black, Yellow. Both sides allowed.(Legend should have minimum 5 mils (0.005") trace width).

Logo

UL Markings: We will put UL marking for any FR4 material jobs ordered through RPS. The PCBFABEXPRESS logo is generally applied on all PCBs and it is on silkscreen/legend. If your PCBs do not have silkscreen/legend, then the PCBFABEXPRESS logo may be put in copper.

Electrical Testing

Electrical 100% Net-list testing.

Shipping options

FedEx, UPS, Will Call. You can use your own Fedex/UPS Account number. International Shipments allowed. All duties/customs are responsibility of the customer. See shipping charges here.

Payment terms

Credit Card (Purchase Order allowed only for select customers who have set up credit terms)

Additional requirements

For 4 Layer or more orders, please include stack-up information. Please be available to clarify any discrepancies by providing your 24 hour contact number. IMPORTANT NOTE: RPS are manufactured to IPC-6012 Class 2 - No Coupon specifications. (RPS are not appropriate for ITAR, Mil-spec, Class 3 jobs-- please get a custom quote for those).

RESTRICTIONS (for some special boards, instant pricing is not available, we will send you a custom Quote instead)

For PCBs, special features like Milling, Blind/Buried vias, Mixed Copper layers, etc., cannot be instantly priced online. However, please use the online price matrix anyway and press the CLICK HERE link. A Customer Service Agent will contact you and get you a quote as needed.

For Assembly, our online labor quote is for RIGID boards only. Furthermore, It does not include the following:

1. Assembly of Flex or Rigid-Flex boards.
2. Assembly of special items like PEM nuts, Turrets Terminals, Rivets, and Press-Fit connectors.
3. Special assembly processes like: Wire-Bonding, Conformal Coating, Underfills, Staking, POP assembly, wires & cables assembly.
4. Assembly Rework like cutting traces, soldering wire jumpers & cables onto the boards.

This Rapid Prototype Service(RPS) works for most of boards and assemblies typically prototyped.
If you know that your boards have special features (buried vias, metal core, special materials etc) that do not meet the RPS restrictions, you can ask for a custom quote here

OUR RIGHT TO REFUSE AN ORDER

PCB FAB EXPRESS reserves the right to refuse any RPS order within 1 business day. This rarely ever happens, but may happen, say, if the board design has special complexities that are not commensurate with the price paid online.