How to Create PCB Fabrication and Assembly Drawings in Altium Designer

 Printed circuit boards (PCBs) form the backbone of electronic devices and products. Designing PCBs requires attention to detail in order to produce a functional, high-quality board that meets fabrication and assembly requirements. A key part of the PCB design process is generating clear, accurate fabrication and assembly drawings that communicate all necessary information to PCB manufacturers.

Altium Designer is a leading PCB design software that enables designers to take ideas from concept through to fabrication and assembly. This comprehensive software includes robust tools for producing all needed PCB drawings.

This guide will walk through the complete process for creating professional PCB fabrication and assembly drawings in Altium Designer, including:

• Setting up output job files
• Generating fabrication drawings
• Mechanical layers
• Drill drawings
• Panelization drawings
• Creating assembly drawings
• Assembly drawings
• Pick and Place files
• BOM/Component information
• Final file outputs

Follow these steps to smoothly guide your PCB project from prototype through volume production.

Setting Up Output Job Files

The first step is to set up Output Job files within Altium to prepare for generating all your needed fabrication and assembly drawings. Output jobs allow you to easily configure and generate sets of outputs with just a few clicks.

Create New Output Jobs

Under the Project menu, select Add New to Project > Output Job. This will open the Add New to Project window — select Output Job then click OK.

This adds an empty Output Job file to the project. Double click on the new .OutJob file to open the OutJob editor.

In the Properties panel on the right side, name your Output Job file based on its purpose, such as “Fabrication” or “Assembly.”

Configure Output Containers

Within the OutJob editor, containers are used to configure sets of related outputs. Containers allow you organize all the drawings, files, documentation, and other data needed to manufacture your boards.

Under Outputs in the editor, right click and select Add New Output Container. Name the first container Fabrication and set the following properties:

• Description: Drawings and data needed for PCB fabrication
• Target Output Directory: Set to project folder/Fab (for example)

Follow the same steps to create a second container named Assembly for assembly drawings and documentation.

These containers will group all related fabrication and assembly files generated from the Output Job.

Add Output Generators

With output containers set up, the next step is to add output generators — these generators will produce the needed drawings, plans, and files related to fabrication and assembly.

Under each container, right click and select Add New Output to add generators. For the Fabrication container, add generators for:

• Fabrication Drawings
• Drill Drawing/Report
• Panel Drawing

For the Assembly container, add generators for:

• Assembly Drawings
• Pick Place Files
• Bill of Materials

For each generator, check the properties panel to configure settings as needed. For now, the default settings are fine.

Creating Fabrication Drawings

The configured Output Job will now generate all fabrication and assembly drawings and files needed to manufacture the PCB based on generators added. First we will walk through fabrication drawings.

Generate Mechanical Layers

Mechanical layers communicate key details on physical board characteristics needed for fabrication. This includes layer colors, materials, finishes, thickness, and more.

To output mechanical layer drawings:

1. Under Fabrication container, select the Fabrication Drawings generator
2. Set the Layers field to Mechanical Layers
3. Check that PDF format is selected
4. Click on the Run button

This will take the currently open PCB document and output a PDF drawing with all mechanical layer information. The PDF will be created in the Fab output folder.

Review the layers and details in the generated mechanical drawing PDF to ensure accuracy.

Create Drill Drawings

Drill drawings provide PCB drill information showing hole sizes and locations. Separate drawings are needed for plated and non-plated holes.

To create drill drawings:

1. Under Fabrication container, select the Drill Drawing/Report generator
2. Check Print drawing frame option
3. Set Drill Drawing Type to Plated
4. Click Run to generate plated holes drawing
5. Repeat steps changing Drill Drawing Type to NonPlated to generate non-plated holes

This outputs PDF drawings showing plated and non-plated drill locations and sizes need to precisely drill the PCB.

Generate Panelization Drawings

Panelization drawings are used to lay out PCBs efficiently on panel sheets for volume production. These drawings optimize space usage across panels.

To create panelization drawings:

1. Under Fabrication container, select the Panel Drawing generator
2. Check Print frame on all output formats
3. Click Run to output panel drawing PDF

Review the panel drawing to ensure proper alignment and spacing between panels and boards.

This covers key fabrication drawing requirements. Next we’ll look at generating assembly deliverables.

Creating Assembly Drawings

Well-documented assembly drawings and data enables smooth manufacturing and improves quality for assemblers. This includes assembly drawings, pick-and-place files, BOMs, and other specifics.

Generate Assembly Drawings

Assembly drawings illustrate how components are placed on the board from both top and bottom sides. This aids assemblers for high quality component population.

To output assembly drawings:

1. Under Assembly container, select the Assembly Drawings generator
2. Check boxes for Board Outline, Mechanical Layers, Top Overlay, and Bottom Overlay layers
3. Click Run

The resulting PDF contains clear views of top and bottom layers indicating precise component placements.

Output Pick and Place Files

Pick-and-place files provide assemblers with x/y location coordinates for automated component placement machinery.

To export pick-and-place info:

1. Under Assembly container, select the Pick Place File generator
2. Ensure file type is CSV
3. Click Run

The output pick-and-place CSV file contains key fields for assembly machines including Designator, Comment, Mid X, Mid Y, Ref X, Ref Y, and Rotation.

Export Bill of Materials

An up-to-date bill of materials (BOM) listing all components is critical to manage procuring and kitting parts for assembly.

To output BOM data:

1. Under Assembly container, select Bill of Materials generator
2. Set output format to CSV
3. Enable all columns in BOM Settings
4. Click Run

This exports complete BOM data into a CSV — including Designators, Description, Part Numbers, Quantities, Manufacturers, and Extensive Parameters.

Final Outputs

Once all output generators are configured, generating a full set of fabrication and assembly files is easy:

1. Select the top-level Output Job in the project pane
2. Click Generate Outputs or press F6
3. Browse generated folders to access all PDF drawings, CSV data, and other output documents

This single action will produce complete documentation needed by your PCB manufacturer and assemblers for prototyping through volume production.

Be sure to review all drawings for completeness and accuracy. Rerun generators if any changes are made to the board. Keep output folders up to date as the design iterates.

Conclusion

Altium Designer’s robust output generation capabilities helps designers seamlessly create detailed PCB fabrication and assembly documentation critical for manufacturing. Configuring Output Jobs streamlines exporting all necessary drawings and data needed for production.

With a properly configured Output Job file, high quality documentation to support PCB fabrication, testing, assembly, procurement, and other manufacturing functions is just a click away. Keeping output documentation synchronized with any design changes ensures smooth transition from prototype through volume manufacturing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key fabrication drawing requirements?

The most important fabrication drawings include:

• Mechanical layers showing board materials, finishes, thickness, colors
• Drill drawings detailing hole sizes and placements
• Panelization drawings arranging multiple PCBs on panel sheets

What assembly documentation is critical for PCB assemblers?

Vital assembly documentation includes:

• Assembly drawings illustrating component placement from top and bottom
• Pick-and-place files with x/y machine locations
• Bill of