Hi Barry,

One of the most important things to keep in mind when designing a panelization is how good your panel fits in the pcb-suppliers production panel, as this determines how efficient the material is used, and thus the price. With programs like KwickFit  (www.micromeg.com, trial version available) it is easily demonstrated how large the differences can be. 
The main problem I see is that as for an assembly guy it's hard to tell where the breakaway-tabs should be, as you need to inspect all the board layers (you'll want no tab where there's tracks close to it) which may take lots time. However, leaving it to the pcb vendor sometimes results in unpleasant surprises.  I'd like to hear how other deal with this.....  


Daan Terstegge
http://www.smtinfo.net



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Barry Gallegos 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 6:45 PM
  Subject: [TN] Board Panelization


  Good day folks.
  If a guy who has never been involved in board panelizations wanted to get in
  and really
  learn the how too's. Where and how would I go about this?

  Thanks to all for your undying commitment to a better Industry by the way.

  Barry.

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