Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/942744
FEBRUARY 2018 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 71 Figure 2: The fabrication house must convert disparate unintelligent data back into intelligent data. This is a waste of time and the client ends up paying for it indirectly. • Drilling data: Through-hole, blind-buried holes and back drill • Artwork: Images for all layer structures, plus conductor, masks, silkscreen and documents layer • BOM: For board stack-up and assembly, also includes variant BOM • Netlist: Both logical and physical netlist (like IPC-356D) for testing • Component placement: XY location and top, bottom, or embedded • Spec element: A special item in the format used to attach notes or other details to geometry, layers, nets (such as impedance) or components This comprehensive information contained within the IPC-2581 data virtually eliminates the risk of interpretation errors. IPC-2581 is designed to grow as technol- ogy grows and as processes improve. Driven by a cross-section of design centers, tool ven- dors and manufacturing representatives, the format continues to evolve while minimizing impact to older processes and data sets. Only an open format, like IPC-2581, can provide vis- ibility into the data structure of the format and expansion capability. Benefits of using IPC-2581 include: • An intelligent data handoff – Faster for manufacturing partners and saves time at setup – Greatly reduces risks for both OEMs and manufacturers in data and version mismatches • Driven by the industry, for the industry (no one company controls its development) • A single source of truth (no room for manual errors), with the ability to send a subset of data to appropriate partners – Only bare board data to PCB fabricators in one file – Only assembly data to assembly houses in one file • Also includes any combination or subset of data that is appropriate for the partner that is receiving the data