iTeadStudio and PCB cutouts

[pcbnewb]

I'm looking to have 55 1.5" x 3" PCBs made with two cutouts (0.5" x 2" strips one from each long side of the PCB) but I've never placed an order before and am not up on the lingo.

On the iTead site it says, "Drills line and long slot can’t be accepted".

Does that mean they won't/can't do cutouts and that I can't place dozens of holes where I need the cutouts to break them out myself?

Sorry if it's a dumb question but English isn't their first language and board fabbing isn't mine. All emails to iTead have gone unanswered.

Thanks.

[DrGeoff]

I'd suggest using pcbcart for this. They can accept your slots and cutouts. Price might be better for 55 in a panel with V-groove scoring.

[dimlow]

From memory, don't they say that just below where they say panelling the board is not allowed, the long slots / drill lines for snapping the boards is not allowed. I'm sure they can do the slot you ask for although i have not made a board with slots. Emails from then can take a day or two due to time differences.

[pcbnewb]

I'd suggest using pcbcart for this. They can accept your slots and cutouts. Price might be better for 55 in a panel with V-groove scoring.

Thanks for the suggestion, they were cheaper, oddly though only if I didn't panelize. That's no problem though, I don't care if the boards come loose or panelized, makes no difference for this project.

I have a possibly even dumber question, do they generate the cutting path from my PCB Edges layer? I don't need some special way to signify what cut is to be used where or anything? My board needs to be shaped like a capital I ( ][ - in case someone's font doesn't distinguish an i from an L) and so if my edges layer depicts that ][ shape, that's what I'll get?

I'm very nervous I'll mess up my first order and I literally can't afford for that to happen. I don't want to be affected by one of Dave's often mentioned "trap for young players".

[Jon Chandler]

The silk screen layer should include the board outline.  If it's just a I-shape, they should have no problem figuring it out.  If you wanted slots or cutouts in the middle of the board, making extra effort to clarify would be worthwhile.

Speaking of ITead Studios, I submitted a board that will be a demo for a PCB tutorial.  The top of the board has various packages including SMTs but no traces.  The bottom of the board has just a few lines to show trace and space width.  I got an email "There's something wrong with your Gerber Files.  Please check them and re-send." This was immediately followed by an email the said "There are no lines on your top" and a few more words which I translated into "Oh, there are no traces on your top layer.  We get it now.  Never mind."  I replied that I didn't even think about the fact there were no traces on the top and that I should have mentioned it when I submitted the files.  The boards have been shipped so we shall see   I'm impressed that even at the cheap price, somebody is paying at least some attention. 

[Psi]

I recently got 200 pcbs done using pcbcart (uploaded as a signal pcb, not a panel).
I wanted rounded corners on the pcb (routed) so what i did was...

* Renamed mechanical layer 1 to "BoardOutline" and placed tracks on this layer to show the outline, (4 lines and 4 arcs as my pcb was a rounded rectangle).

* Renamed mechanical layer 6 to "FabNotes" and put an arrow on this layer pointing to one of the corners and added the text "Rounded corners"

* In the "Special requirements" textbox on the pcbcart online order system i put something like "PCB with rounded corners (machine routed)"

* Generated my gerbers and ncdril (making sure to include the two mechanical layers above) and uploaded to pcbcard order

When i got the boards back they all had nicely rounded corners

Note: i don't think the rename actually serves any purpose, pretty sure the name isn't saved in the gerber, it's just for ease of identifying the layer in altium

[DrGeoff]

I tend to use Mechanical 1 as the board outline and have that output on each gerber layer.
Keep Out layer is also commonly used as the board outline.