What are the Fundamental Differences between Standard Spec and Custom Spec PCBs

What are the Fundamental Differences between Standard Spec and Custom Spec PCBs

Printed circuit board manufacturing companies develop a client’s order based on the designing specifications (specs) and the board tolerances. When you set out to order for a PCB from any manufacturer, you will either need to pick standard (pre-defined) specs or custom specs. Thus it is essential to understand the difference between a standard spec and a custom spec PCB.

Lets us first understand both these terms:

• Standard (Pre-defined) Spec
  The designing specifications for a standard spec PCB are pre-determined, thus you get limited options under this category. Such PCBs are inspected to IPC Class 2 Standards.
• Custom Spec
  In this category, you can specify the designing requirements as per the pattern of your PCBs. Your options are considerably more in this case. Custom spec PCBs are inspected to IPC Class 2 or IPC Class 3. This choice depends upon the chosen option.

What are the basic differences between Standard Spec and Custom Spec PCBs?

Some of the fundamental differences between pre-defined spec and custom spec PCBs are:

• For a standard spec PCB, you need to have a fixed minimum size for plated holes. Whereas for a customized option, the holes can be plated or non-plated
• For standard spec, the solder mask is green in color while for custom spec, it can be of different colors
• The silkscreen in case of standard spec PCB is white legend but for a customized spec PCB, there is no pre-determined color for the silkscreen (multicolor options)
• Rout Tolerance is of +/- 0.010” in case of a standard spec PCB and it can be of +/- .005″ upon request for a custom spec PCB

High-end Standard Spec and Custom Spec PCB’s

Twisted Traces, a credible name in the market for manufacturing superior quality printed circuit boards, specializes in standard spec PCBs as well as custom spec PCBs. Our unparalleled quality checks and fabrication techniques remain the same for both these types of PCBs. You can rely on us for same turnaround time regardless of the type of PCB you order.