Uploading Your Board

Once you've finished designing your board it's time to let FlashPCB take over. Upload your designs here. We support Autodesk Eagle, Fusion 360, KiCad, and Gerber files at this time. We are working to support other CAD programs natively in the near future.

Required files

Autodesk Eagle / Fusion 360

• Board file ending in .brd
• Schematic file ending in .sch

KiCad

• The .kicad_pcb board file
• All .kicad_sch schematics associated with the project
  • Note that we cannot work with .sch (EESchema Schematic File Version 4) files. Please convert your schematics to the latest schematic file format.

Gerber files

• The following gerber files are required
  • Profile (board edge)
  • Copper layers
  • Soldermask layers
• The following gerber files are optional
  • Solderpaste layers
  • Silkscreen layers
• You may submit multiple drill files. We accept drill files in either the Excellon / NC formats or gerber format.
• Optionally you may upload a BOM and Pick and Place (PNP) file. If you choose to upload a BOM, a PNP file will also be required. We accept files in the Microsoft Excel .xlsx and comma-separated values .csv formats.
  • We will ask you to identify the following columns in each file:
    • Reference designator column (BOM and PNP)
    • Manufacturer's part number column (BOM)
    • X position in millimeters (PNP)
    • Y position in millimeters (PNP)
    • Rotation in degrees (PNP)
    • Mount side. Mount side should be specified as Top or Bottom. If your format does not meet our expectations, the mount side will default to Top. (PNP)
  • Optionally, identifying the manufacturer and value text column in your uploaded BOM enables better part matching.

Running design rule checks

We run a suite of design rule checks against your board to try to determine if your board is manufacturable. Design rule checks can have three results:

• ✓ Passed: The design rule check completed successfully with nothing to report.
• ⚠️ Warn: The design rule check completed successfully but there may be some cosmetic impacts to your board. See individual warning messages to understand how your board may have been impacted.
• ❌ Error: The design rule check completed unsuccessfully.

Board previews

We generate a series of preview images of your board to give you visual confirmation of the board design. We generate a top and bottom preview that appear the same way as they would if the board were in your hand. We also generate a series of previews from the various layers of your board. These layer previews all have the same orientation, from the perspective of the top of the board.

Bill of materials

Our interface allows you to search for any part that is generally available from the major distributors. We ensure that the parts you select are in stock and available so that once you complete your order we can assemble your board within the quoted lead time.

Consignment parts

We offer the option to use consigned parts when completing your bill of materials. If you have a specific part on hand that you would like us to use when assembling your board, you may add this part as a consigned part, specifying whether the part will require a stencil (if it is a surface mount part) and how many through hole joints it requires. We use this information to price the assembly of the board.

Getting a quote

Most of the time we will be able to provide an instant quote for you once you have approved your bill of materials. This quote is final and does not change until it expires, which for instant quotes is after three days. However, there are certain cases where we will not be able to provide you with an instant quote and will instead need to manually quote your design. If your board fails any of our design rule checks you can request a manual quote and we will review your design.

Custom quotes

If we determine, or you indicate via the "special requirements" checkbox on the quote, that your board cannot be instantly quoted, you can request a custom quote. A FlashPCB engineer will look at your design and the notes you have submitted to provide a quote for your board. Once we have quoted your board, you will be notified via email and can accept the quote and purchase it. The quote has an expiry and if you do not purchase the board before the quote expires, you can request a new quote.

Quote expiry

Custom quotes, and instant quotes that have been added to one's shopping cart, are locked in at the price you saw when you accepted the quote. If the part you selected is in our inventory, we will allocate it to your project while the quote is still active. When the expiry date is reached, your quote will leave your shopping cart and if you received a custom quote, this custom quote will be reset.

Lead time

Orders must be placed before 3pm Eastern time (local time in Philadelphia, PA) in order for the lead time to start that day. See our capabilities page for a list of holidays and other office closures that will not count towards the lead time.

Design rule check errors

If your board has design rule check errors, these may impact your lead time. Please email quote@flashpcb.com to see how your lead time may be impacted.

Consignment parts

If your bill of materials includes consignment parts, the lead time for your board will only begin once all parts are received. See our mailing instructions here.

Ship date

The lead time you select for your board is used to calculate your board's ship date. Only business days (Monday through Friday not including holidays and other closures) are included in this calculation. See our capabilities to see examples of our ship date calculations.

Orders containing multiple lead times

If you place an order containing boards with different lead times, then your board will only ship when the last board is completed. If you have selected local pickup as your delivery option, then you can pick up your boards at they are completed.

Checkout

This is the final step of the ordering process. In this stage you will be able to see your board quote and select the type of shipping you would like for you order. Your board will be ready to ship within the lead time you've selected.

Using coupons

You may have coupons available to your account. You can apply a coupon during the checkout process and each coupon can only be used once. You can only apply a single coupon to your order.

Tax exemption

Customers who intend to use our circuit boards for further manufacturing purposes may be eligible for a sales tax exemption. To facilitate this, we require that eligible customers submit the appropriate exemption certificates or forms, as mandated by their respective state or jurisdiction. Scan or take a clear photograph of your completed forms. Email the digital copies to quote@flashpcb.com. After your exemption status is confirmed, it will be applied to all eligible future purchases automatically. Please ensure that your account details remain current and notify us if any updates are needed.