Aggravation with PCBWay panelization - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: typoknig
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2022, 03:58:46 pm
content: I submitted some gerber files to PCBWay which I had panelized myself based on the instructions of this PCBWay page:https://www.pcbway.com/blog/PCB_Layout_Software/Manual_panelizing_of_PCBs_with_tabs_and_mouse_bites_in_Kicad.htmlI used the EXACT footprints used in their guide, i.e. those found here:https://github.com/madworm/Panelization.prettyBut now when PCBWay is ready to start production of my boards they are telling me that the holes on those footprints are too close and they want me to change this:To this:I feel like I'm being told incorrectly, because based on what I've read, pretty much everyone is using the same mouse bite library for KiCAD, so I would expect they would get this problem a lot if the footprint was actually an issue. I also stumbled across this PCBWay page when I was writing this question:https://www.pcbway.com/pcb_prototype/PCB_Panel_Creation.htmlIt seems to give some better specs of what they actually want than the first page I linked to. Still, has anyone had issues with PCBWay panelization or mouse bites? What solution did you go with?

author: uer166
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2022, 08:36:41 pm
content: Quote from: typoknig on June 19, 2022, 03:58:46 pmHow can your fab house telling you something abouttheir own processbe, by definition, incorrect? It's certainly possible that they have issues with whatever blog post you linked, but if they're telling you to fix your design in your specific situation/stackup/factory process, then it ought to be the ground truth.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 19, 2022, 08:46:33 pm
content: Quote from: typoknig on June 19, 2022, 03:58:46 pmdunno which footprint you have used but visually it does not look like exactly the same as used in that guide.

author: typoknig
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2022, 04:35:41 am
content: Quote from: uer166 on June 19, 2022, 08:36:41 pmMy line of thinking is that the article was correct and the person telling me my design was not up to par was incorrect, but I don't have anyone else at PCBWay to ask about the situation to confirm that, hence the question here. I always get directed back to the same person at PCBWay. The answers they give aren't clear because their English isn't great, and my Mandarin is non-existent.

author: typoknig
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2022, 04:38:16 am
content: Quote from: wraper on June 19, 2022, 08:46:33 pmThird pic on that page. Footprint named "mouse-bite-2mm-slot". Literally the exact same foot print. The pic I attached to my OP is from whatever review software PCBWay uses.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2022, 05:23:06 am
content: I can't help with this immediate problem, but will say that that whole panelisation process looks like a massive PITA.Have you tried the thisisnotrocketscience gerber panelizer tool? It works quite well (but I havn't used it with PCBWay or kiCad, or lately actually).https://github.com/ThisIsNotRocketScience/GerberTools/releases

author: 48X24X48X
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2022, 02:56:39 pm
content: But the distance between the 2 rows of holes look so small to me.With JLCPCB (I'm sure PCBWay would be more or less the same), the minimum tab gap is 2 mm. With drill hole size of 0.5-0.8 mm, your tab gap doesn't look anywhere near 2 mm (or larger).

author: typoknig
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2022, 04:00:14 am
content: Quote from: sleemanj on June 20, 2022, 05:23:06 amI'd never heard of it. I'll check it out on my next panelization project. Thanks!

author: typoknig
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2022, 04:02:35 am
content: Quote from: 48X24X48X on June 20, 2022, 02:56:39 pmYeah, the distance between the holes was very small, I just thought that was acceptable because it is in the footprint lib made by Madworm which everyone seems to use (or at least reference).The numbers you mentioned are the same ones that PCBWay wanted me to use. I just went ahead and changed my panel and resubmitted my files. I guess the Madworm lib from GitHub is just wrong.