The standard remaining thickness that HADCO recommends is .012" (+/-.002") for .062" thick boards. The +/-.002" tolerance implies that the vendor is using simultaneous rather than flip scoring. With simultaneous scoring, two blades with spacers do the cutting from both top and bottom of the board at the same time. A flip score (where one side is done and then flipped over and the other side is scored) cannot keep such tight tolerance because the actual board thickness comes into play for the remaining thickness. Since most .062" thick boards are spec'ed out at +/-.007", any boards from .055" - .069" thick are within spec, and flip scoring would cause as wide a variation on remaining thickness. Such a wide variation can cause problems when depanelizing. We also use a 30 degree cutter, and advise our customers to keep any metal features (traces, pads, thieving, etc.) a minimum of .025" from the edge(s) of the board which are scored. More and more of our customers have moved to scoring for the following reasons: o Zero Clearance - oftentimes better panel utilization, consequently lower cost o Solid Array - eliminates sagging and solder splashes during assembly o Ease of Separation - snapping vs. shearing or cutting o Smoother Edge - vs. hole and slot "nubbies" Perhaps someone from the assembly side could better answer how far away from score lines components should be kept. Regards, Tom Coyle Field Services Engineer HADCO Corporation [log in to unmask]