Pre-production approval

CAN I VERIFY THE PRODUCTION DATA BEFORE EUROCIRCUITS STARTS MANUFACTURING?

Pre-production approval – a customer request for reassurance

Not sure about your artwork or how our engineers will interpret it? Sometimes your data files may contain features that our automated PCB Visualizer process cannot recognise. Or you may be worried that your first layout is not quite right. Whatever your concern, we can give you the reassurance you need. Set up an approval step for the production-ready data for your board just before it goes into physical manufacture. As soon as our engineers have completed their checks, we will send you an e-mail to advise you that the production files are ready and waiting for your approval.

To set up a pre-production approval: go to “running orders” in your account and select a “request pre-production approval”. You can do this for every order in your running order list that has not yet reached the status “panelise” (from status panelise on it’s too late).

The order will now also be listed under “pre-production approval overview” in the main menu (left column) in your account. The item is still in analysis, so not yet ready to verify the data.

After preparation, the production-ready job goes into the customer’s pre-production approval (PPA) folder – “items ready for your approval”. You will receive our e-mail and need only 1 click to send the job on for manufacture. How?

  • Go to “preproduction approval” – the status of your order is “waiting for your approval”.
  • Click the orange button “review for approval
    • Have a closer look in PCB Visualizer: our production data of your PCB or customer panel is displayed on your screen (especially check technical options like internal milling, customer panel layout and other specifics).
  • Then you decide to “approve” or “reject”:
    • If approved, the order will be moved directly to our production panel section, no changes are possible after that.
    • If rejected, do the following of two options
      • write clearly why in the comments section and our people will receive your message and will check how to proceed next
      • or upload a new data set after which your order is processed further through the exception flow
        PPA

WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH MY DATA?

We have always run 100% pre-production checks on customer data. That way we can be sure you will get the board you want on the day you want it.

Our online check software, PCB Visualizer, has significantly reduced the number of exceptions but there may be remaining data or order issues.

Our engineers use their know-how to make the most logical correction to the order or the data where possible. This results into two possibilities:

  1. Logical corrections by our people are possible and we only need customer approval:
    The production-ready job goes into the customer’s pre-production approval (PPA) folder. He gets our email and needs only 1 click to send the job on for manufacture. How?

    • Go to “preproduction approval” – the status of your order is “waiting for your approval”.
    • Click the orange button “review for approval” – the document with the repair details/proposal/corrections will open automatically on your screen (if not, click on the grey button “repair details” to open it).
      • Check our proposed “repairs” in the document.
      • Have a closer look in PCB Visualizer: our production data of your PCB or customer panel (including the repairs) is displayed on your screen (especially check technical options like internal milling, customer panel layout and other specifics).
    • Then you decide to “approve” or “reject”:
      • If approved, the order will be moved directly to our production panel section, no changes are possible after that.
      • If rejected, do the following of two options
        • write clearly why in the comments section and our people will receive your message and will check how to proceed next
        • or upload a new data set after which your order is processed further through the exception flow
          PPA

Nearly 90% of jobs are authorised right away and go straight into production. No delays – and the customer doesn’t have to spend time making the corrections – a win-win result: the right board on the right day with minimum disruption to the designer.

See our video.

2. A logical correction was not possible and we need the customers input:

    • If the detected PCB data issue is not “repairable” by Eurocircuits and no solution can be proposed, then we will raise an “exception” as we have always done.
    • Go online to “exception overview” – check the problem, correct your data and upload your new complete PCB dataset.
    • The delivery date will be recalculated at the moment when you upload your dataset. Do this as fast as possible to avoid any delay in delivery.