Ordering Your PCB Using JLCPCB

Owned by Rayyan Mahmood
Last updated: Jul 20, 2024
3 min read

This page is intended to explain and describe the ordering process of your PCB. You should be reading this page once you have completed your design and it has gone through thorough design reviews - meaning you can now order your PCB!

1. Uploading Files to JLCPCB

The video below shows all the steps needed in placing your order to JLCPCB, ensuring everything aligns with team standards.

 

How To Order a PCB.mp4

 

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2. Common Issues Encountered When Ordering Your PCB

Majority of common issues encountered will be resolved while you’re designing your board through our design rule checks. However, some will slip through and these will be issues you may encounter with placing your order on JLCPCB.

  • Drill Hole Sizing

    • Tolerance and Precision:

      • Manufacturers have specific tolerances for drill sizes. Ensure your design accommodates these tolerances.

        • Standard tolerance for mechanical drills is usually around ±0.1mm.

      • Ensure the distance between vias adheres to the manufacturer’s minimum spacing requirements to prevent electrical shorts.

  • These are general issues that can come up with drill hole sizing. There are other potential issues pertaining to drill hole sizing, but these are often the most common ones.

  • Via Sizes/Constraints

    • Ensure the distance between vias adheres to the manufacturer’s minimum spacing requirements to prevent electrical shorts.

    • Similar to drill holes, the aspect ratio of vias should be manageable. Microvias can have a higher aspect ratio but require more advanced manufacturing techniques.

  • These are general issues that can come up with vias. There are other potential issues pertaining to vias, but these are often the most common ones.

These are the two primary issues you may face, if any, when ordering your PCB. However, it is still entirely possible that you may encounter an issue not covered by our design rule check and from what’s not mentioned above. If that’s that case, keep on reading!

 

3. All Other Possible Issues You Can Encounter When Ordering Your PCB

It is entirely possible that you may encounter an issue not covered by our design rule check and from what’s not mentioned above. Fortunately, JLCPCB does a great job communicating with customers and will contact you if there is an issue. For example, in the image below, a board that was being ordered had an issue where the a solder mask pad was missing. JLCPCB contacted us regarding the issue directly, and after communicating with JLCPCB, they fixed the issue for us themselves, without us doing any redesign - though, it isn’t always the case the JLC will resolve the issue themselves. But just goes to show that generally, JLCPCB is very easy to work with.

image-20240711-162530.png

So if you encounter a situation where JLCPCB contacts you directly to discuss an issue with your board, contact appropriate team leads to figure out what the best course of action should be to resolve the issue.

 

4. All Set

At this point, all issues regarding your design should be resolved and you should not have any issues unless otherwise contacted by JLCPCB or the delivery party. Now you just wait for your board to come in!

 

Feel free to also search up standards and requirements JLCPCB has for ordering boards from them. You can easily find their pages and this information online if you are interested in learning more.