PCB post-processing represents a set of activities, performed after the full PCB design stage, destined to obtaining of reports, technical documentation and manufacturing files for a PCB electronic project in order to create professional technical documentation and to drive peripheral equipment destined to perform the processes necessary to fabricate printed circuit boards and electronic modules.

 

The post-processing files can produce the following categories of formats:

· Artwork  – high quality file format for technical documentation and manufacturing;

· Checkplot – low quality file format for checking the design and verifying various layers of the layout;

· Power and ground plane - high quality file format for generation of power and ground planes used in ML-PCB (Multi Layer PCB);

· Drill Drawing - high quality or low quality file format for specifying the map of drills in a layout;

· N.C. drill – post processing files destined to drive the full automatic numerical control drill equipment.

 

The files from above are created for the following types of equipment:

· Pen - Plotters;

· Photo - Plotters;

· PostScript Laser Printer;

· N.C. drill machine.

 

 

Block diagram of PCB post-processing