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42 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2021 is a time-consuming and error-prone manual process in which both sides must keep track/ document what they discussed, what was over- ridden, and what was decided. is article examines the various PCB man- ufacturing handoff formats, such as Gerber, ODB++, and IPC-2581, and highlights why IPC-2581, the only standard that solves both the design-to-manufacturing handoff and the DFM issues, is becoming widely adopted. Design-to-Manufacturing Handoff Challenges ere has been much debate in the PCB industry recently about the need for more modern, automated file formats for send- ing board designs to fabricators. e popular Gerber-based package, invented in the 1980s, is still the backbone of the industry because it is familiar and workarounds for its shortcom- ings, such as EDA library "hacking," have been devised in-house to produce Gerber-based handoff packages. For engineers, the problem with using Ger- ber-based packages is that there is no efficient way for the design house to receive feedback from the manufacturing partner. At every stage that the data is handled by the manufacturing partner, feedback is sent via electronic paper, and because the feedback is shared in multiple pieces, those on the manufacturing side must reverse-engineer the design, hope they make the right decisions, and spend additional time asking questions to verify the accuracy of the data. It is time consuming and risky for design divisions to produce and manufacturing divi- sions to consume, because so many files are being produced that it is difficult to ensure they are all in sync when changes are made. ere are too many formats, the data is split into too many incoherent pieces that are not easy to digitalize, and it isn't possible to do smart pro- cessing. If an error is made during handoff, the design house is responsible for the cost, and, conversely, if an error is made during manu- facture, the manufacturer is responsible for the cost (Figure 1). Figure 1: Smart processing is impossible with the many files needed using the Gerber format.