What is Plated Through Hole or PTH?

When fabricating 2 sided boards, often the top/bottom pads are connected using a special copper plating process commonly referred to as Plated Through Hole (PTH). This would allow interconnectivity between layers on all holes.

What is 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.  

Do I really need soldermask?

It depends - for hobbyist through hole boards - soldermask is more for esthetic than functionality . But for SMT boards, we highly recommend soldermask to facilitate neat soldering. Soldermask was created primarily to facilitate wave soldering used in mass assembly. 

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

Yes you may, but only for production run (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 boards 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.

Not all PCB Prototype fabricators go the distance to make your boards SMOBC. This is a nasty little extra, often unnecessary and costly process if boards were to be hand soldered. Those who use infrared soldering equipment, you will know the difference in our SMOBC boards. 

What is Silkscreen or Legend Print?

Silkscreen is actually a process of screening ink using a stencil prepared by lithographic method. Purpose of this is to apply a nomenclature to aid in assembly. It is those little white labeling of component that makes manual assembly significantly easier. Although not an absolutely needed feature, it is nice to have when you have hundreds of holes to figure out which component goes where.

What is Immersion Silver plate?

Immersion silver plating is used to apply 1 micron thick layer of silver on copper surface. Purpose of this silver plating is to protect the copper from tarnishing as well maintaining its solderability.

What are the advantages of Immersion Silver plating over the conventional Solder plating (HASL) ?

• Silver is most electrically conductive metal available thus forming excellent interconnect surface.
• Immersion Silver process produces a really flat surface. This is advantageous for SMD assembly.  
• Excellent solderability, comparable to solder plating
• Environmentally friendly lead free finishing. 

Do you offer Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold finish (ENIG)?

Yes. Only for production run jobs. We go by a USD 0.50 per sq inch formula for the plating itself. Plating area is all exposed area after soldermask application. The soldermask positive Gerber is a good indication of area to plate (multiply that with 2). Minimum applicable cost is USD 500.00 because each setup involves 1 oz of gold valued at USD 350.00 itself. And these baths requires it to be used within 3 days. So we cannot offer this for prototypes - nor it is within reasonable cost unless done in larger scale.

Don't you offer Hot Air Solder Levelling (HASL) ? Why not?

We used to do HASL. But recently upgraded to lead free finish to comply with lead free finishing requirements by 2006 (we are already light years ahead of competition). We use a proprietary silvering method that gives good planarity, highly sought after for SMT boards. In fact our R&D in this method makes HASL look like dinosaur technology by comparison. Our silver plated finish solderability is comparable to that of tin/lead solder.

Can I still get HASL if I choose not to accept silver finish?

No, we sold all our HASL equipment and vowed never to use lead in our processes again. But if you absolutely definitely must have HASL, we can send it to our partner factories to have it HASL-ed. This option is for production run only and will cost extra.

I need my PCB made from special purpose material (Arlon, Rogers, Polyimide and the likes) Can I send the laminate to you for fabrication?

We can work from supplied laminates at no additional handling charge. NOT all laminates can be plated through so it is best to request for advice from our engineers about the feasibility. 

Please request assistance from our engineers regarding this special order and sending instructions. PDF datasheet of specified material would be helpful. 

Can I have multiple jobs shipped under one package?

Yes you may. All you need to do is to place the order for each PCB layout separately. After getting all your order numbers, just e-mail sales@custompcb.com and request that all order numbers in your list to be shipped together. Order number is sent to your specified e-mail immediately after order placement.

To order by Purchase Order, please follow the approach as follows. 

To Do

Step 1 - Request a quote from us. Please state that it is for purchase order so we can send you back and official quotation (otherwise we will just literally quote you).

Step 2 - Submit to your purchasing officer for approval.

Step 3 - Place order online. Note that we do not need the credit card information immediately.

Step 4 - We will approve the order and send you a link to proceed with Credit Card payment. 

Step 5 - Forward the link via e-mail to your purchasing officer and quote them the Purchase Order number.

DO NOT 

1. Do not fax or e-mail us the P.O. We will not deal with it directly, it is your job to facilitate the process with the purchasing officer.

2. We only accept Credit Card as P.O. payment. And all purchases must be prepaid. We do not offer credit term.

Return/Redo Policy

Upon receiving your PCB and find that it is not satisfactory you may have 2 options to proceed. 

1. Request for a redo on your PCB

E-mail sales with a complain about the flaw. A digital photo showing the flaw would also be helpful. This should be done within the first week upon receiving the PCB. When a request is agreed - we will fabricate and ship another set for you within 48 hours at no additional charge.  

2. Request for a return.

Within the first week - e-mail sales with intention of returning the PCB for a refund. All returns must satisfy this conditions 

• PCB must NOT be soldered on. Any trace of solder voids any refund possibility.
• The parcel can be mailed back at most economical method - but must be postmarked no later than 1 week after receipt. 
• Please include the original invoice in the return.
• Only Credit Card orders can be refunded.