PCB Layout CAD - Panelization

PCB Layout CAD : Panelize (Imposition)

Panelization

A panel sheet allows defining a panel of the same or different board designs.

Panelization

Things that are Imported for Panelization

For panelizing PCBs, there is various work such as adding waste boards, creating router/perforation/V-Cut , and placing fiducial marks.
Quadcept delivers strong support to make it easy to panelize PCBs.

- Waste Board
Generally, the width is approximately 10 mm. For waste boards, planes are placed for each layer in order to suppress board warpage.

- Router/Perforation/VCut
Router/Perforation/VCut, etc., are added so that the board can be divided into single products.

- Fiducial Mark (Also referred to as a Recognition Mark)
This is used for alignment when mounting components. These are placed diagonally or at the four corners of the board.

- Location Hole
A Non Through Hole with a diameter of φ3.0 to 4.0 at the edge of waste boards. It is used when setting a location pin to a component mounted device.

- Alignment Mark (Also referred to as a Reference Mark, etc.)
This is used for alignment and for confirming size.

- Board Outline Text
Text placed for each layer and displayed when executing Gerber Print, etc. This is used for confirming Gerber data.

Panelization

The following explains various operations related to panelization.

Creating Panel Sheets
Placing Panels
Updating Panels
Extracting PCBs from Panels

Creating Panel Sheets

A panel sheet can be created in the following two ways.

Adding a Panel Sheet into an Existing Project
Creating a New Panel Project

Adding a Panel Sheet into an Existing Project

The following explains how to add a panel sheet to an existing project.

(1)	After right-clicking on a project in the Project window, select [Create New] and then [Add Panel Sheet].

	A panel sheet will be added to a project file and open in the design area.
*	In addition, there is a method to add from the upper menu. For details, refer to Adding Panel Sheets.

Creating a New Panel Project

The following explains how to add a panel sheet by creating a panel project.

(1)	Select [File] -> [Create New] -> [Panel Project].

A panel project will be created and a panel sheet will open in the design area.

Place Panel

The following explains how to place a board to a panel sheet.

Place Panel

The following explains how to define the board array and place the boards on a panel sheet. A panel is organized by selecting a PCB file and configuring the panelization settings such as the number of boards, angle and spacing.
* You can define a panel of different board designs by repeating this operation.

(1)	Select [Panel] -> [Place Panel].

(2)	On the "Place Panel" dialog, configure the panelization settings and then click [OK] to place PCBs.

For the "Waste Board" portion, same as for the PCB Sheet, an arbitrary shape can be created as a "Board Outline" on the Panel Sheet.

Place Panel Screen Description

Target File

Item	Content
Target File	Click "..." to select the source PCB Sheet for executing Panelize (Imposition) to the Panel Sheet. The selected targets are "Projects", and it is determined using [OK]. * When there are multiple PCB Sheets in the "Project", after executing [OK] for Project selection, the "Select Target File" dialog will be displayed. Select the target PCB Sheet.

Panel Settings

Item	Content
Angle	Specifies the angle of the PCB (Panel) placed on the Panel Sheet.
Mirror	Specifies mirror for the PCB (Panel) placed on the Panel Sheet.
Number	Specifies the number of placed PCBs (Panels) in the X Axis/Y Axis directions.
Interval	Specifies the Interval from the Origin Point to the Placement Origin (XA/YA) and the Interval between PCBs (Panels) (XB/YB).
Placement Origin	Specifies the position of the PCB (Panel) as the Origin Point for aligning with the Panel Sheet Origin Point.

Option

Item	Content
Place the Characters outside Board	Specifies whether to place text for each layer that is displayed when executing Gerber Print, etc.
Place the Alignment Mark	Places alignment marks on a panel sheet. When checking the checkbox, the following settings will be enabled. Reference : Allows setting a reference for the alignment mark. Shape : Allows selecting a footprint used as an alignment mark. Number : Allows setting the number of number to be placed. * By default, there are prepared footprints in the "12_AlignmentMark" directory.
Place the Fiducial Mark	Places fiducial marks on a panel sheet. When checking the checkbox, the following settings will be enabled. Reference : Allows setting a reference for the fiducial mark. Shape : Allows selecting a footprint used as a fiducial mark. Number : Allows setting the number of number to be placed. * By default, there are prepared footprints in the "13_FiducialMark" directory.

Location

Item	Content
Location	Specifies either "Place to Origin Point" or "Place Manually" (placed at an arbitrary position using the mouse) for the previous setting.

Update Panel

The following explains how to perform "Update Panel" to reflect design changes made on a source board in the panel.

(1)	Select [Panel] -> [Update Panel].

(2)	The panel will be updated, and a message stating "Updated." will be displayed.

If design changes are found on a source board when opening a panel sheet, a message will appear to confirm whether to reflect the changes in the panel. You can also update the panel by selecting "Yes" for that message.

Extract PCB in the Sheet

The following explain how to perform "Extract PCB in the Sheet" to extract PCB designs placed on a panel sheet. The extracted PCB will be added as a PCB sheet to the same project. By saving PCB designs with this command, you will be able to edit the designs even when you do not have its source PCB data.

(1)	Select [Panel] -> [Extract PCB in the Sheet].

(2)	When the extraction is done, a message stating "Extracted." will be displayed. * The PCB designs will be extracted in the same project as the panel sheet in the "Project" window.

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