Questions tagged [silkscreen]
The silkscreen on a PCB is the printed layer on top that often shows component values or designators along with outlines to assist in hand assembly. On mass-produced boards they are also common to highlight test points and the designation of external connections.
1
vote
0answers
30 views
Correct use of Silkscreen Layer and Documentation Layer
I'm looking to understand how correctly design my board silkscreen. I usually used to draw silkscreen of exact size of my package, especially for SMD parts, to easly know their dimentions and allow me ...
2
votes
5answers
157 views
Minimum Silkscreen Designator Size
I'm working on a fairly dense PCB at the moment and I'm having trouble fitting in all the component labels.
What is the minimum readable standard size for component designators on the silkscreen?
...
1
vote
0answers
97 views
Female symbol on PCB silkscreen?
You can see the symbol on the upper right hand side of the board, what appears to be a pictogram of a woman wearing a dress, similar to a bathroom sign (?)
Wondering what this is.
2
votes
1answer
210 views
Can Silkscreen Go Directly Onto Copper PCB Layer? (No SolderMask)
Hi I am wondering if a PCB silkscreen layer can be printed directly onto a copper layer without a solder mask. I don't see this often but I have a design for which this would be useful. Has anyone ...
1
vote
0answers
77 views
Reversed silk screening on EasyEDA
Just a quick one. I'm not sure if the text should be mirrored on the bottom layer of EasyEDA. It seems okay in the 3D preview, but when I upload the gerber to JLC their preview shows it still reversed....
2
votes
0answers
78 views
silkscreen artifacts on pcb
I often see silkscreen prints between pads on pcbs. Especially I noticed this on "high voltage" designs (SMPS). What is the reason for that? Maybe it is to
improve automatic inspection
prevent for ...
3
votes
1answer
509 views
How to print value of variable on PCB into String feature in Altium Designer?
I'd like to print value of Revision variable that can be set in Project Options - Parameters (not Document Options on Parameters tab) into silkscreen of PCB. How could I do this?
0
votes
2answers
2k views
Acceptable Silk to Solder Mask Clearence
I am running DRC in Altium Designer and Im getting tons of "Silk to Solder Mask Clearence" Errors. I searched for acceptable values, but without luck. Altium is set to 10mil. I have most values around ...
1
vote
3answers
341 views
Altium silk screen carried over into copper layer
My PCB vendor informed me today that a silk screen feature that is carried over into the copper layers, lands on traces and causes shorts (yellow box on the right).
The yellow box is a connector and ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
How to specify what is printed to silkscreen layer in Eagle? [closed]
I am finishing up a PCB design for the first time in Eagle, and I need to know how to print the component names onto the silkscreen layer, how to I set the layers up so the right things are printed?
0
votes
2answers
96 views
How to get text in svg2poly for Eagle?
I'm working with Eagle 7.7.0 and trying to import SVG files using svg2poly to put a logo on the silkscreen. To aid in the process, I've downloaded the current version of Inkscape, which is 0.92. I'm ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
1980's Transistor ID & Silkscreen (German Automotive)
From the circuit board of a 1985 Volkswagen engine control unit...
I can't find the device itself based on the markings. Does the silkscreen help?
6
votes
2answers
937 views
Which “silkscreen” process for home-made PCB prototypes?
For hobby and learning purposes, I do some PCBs at home, using photo-resist positive development (mainly just single/double layer).
Obviously, I realized that most professional PCBs have silkscreen ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views
Two different silkscreen colours on the same PCB
Has someone seen or used two different silkscreen colours in the same PCB? If so, can you describe the use of them or how the manufacturing process was?
Just thinking about improving the aesthetic of ...
5
votes
1answer
524 views
Acrylic vs. Epoxy Silkscreen?
I have been doing hardware design for years but never really cared which process was used for the silkscreen. Now I have a manufacturer asking for a blanket approval to use acrylic silkscreen on all ...
2
votes
1answer
206 views
Altium Arrow To Designator
I am just wondering what the convention is for putting designators for tightly packed areas. It is best just to put arrows to the designators, make the designator smaller and put it inside the ...
0
votes
1answer
264 views
Symbol on silk screen of design
This is the circuit diagram I used to make my line follower robot. I don't understand the symbol at the right side down corner, the one that is a circle with 3 dots inside. As this is my first PCB ...
5
votes
2answers
6k views
Altium hide component designators in fabrication ourput gerber
As the title says, is there a way to hide the component designators in the fabrication ourput in Altium AD15?
I have a very tight board with 0402 parts very close, so there is no room for the ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the typical PCB fabrication process in a professional PCB house?
I have been etching my own boards as part of my hobby interest into electronics, and I can't help but wonder how exactly is the typical printed circuit board manufactured? Unfortunately, details on ...
11
votes
2answers
3k views
Silkscreen versus assembly layer
Is there any example, preferably by photos, how does assembly layer on PCB differ from the silkscreen? I understand, that silkscreen reference designators should be left visible after the parts are ...
4
votes
3answers
6k views
Move silkscreen text from component on EAGLE CAD
How can I move a silk text from a component? I cant use the button move to the text and when I click smash nothing happend. I need to move the number 8 inside the board
Edit1
I try to smash but ...
2
votes
1answer
550 views
Should courtyard information be included in gerber files for manufacture?
I just used 4pcb's free DFM checker and it doesn't like the fact that the courtyard line widths on my board are 1.968mils (what Altium generated in the IPC component wizard).
It's also complaining ...
2
votes
0answers
994 views
How to remove silk screen from PCB?
Last batch of PBCs I got from a manufacturer had some silk screen splashes (dots) all over the board ruining the design. I don't have and don't want to have any silk screen on the board. The whole ...
3
votes
1answer
505 views
Altium place string (letter with macron)
I am looking for a way to place a macron in top of a letter on the silk screen. in Altium i have only 3 fonts to chose from default??, Sans Serif and Serif non of them supports macron for capital ...
2
votes
2answers
505 views
Altium silkscreen art
I'm trying to design a logo in silkscreen in Altium without importing an image. I find that when I import a design it is made up of a huge number of primitives making it very difficult to work with. ...
0
votes
2answers
416 views
Silkscreen covering pads
Im prepparing my 1st pcb for manufacturing, and before i generate the gerbers i wanted to ask some things here fist,
What happens when i put a silk screen like this? a logo big enough to cover the ...
0
votes
1answer
991 views
Solder Masking Ink
I am trying to make a complete PCB with solder masking and silk screening, for creating a small PCB fabrication house of my own later.
I choose the process of screen printing for fabricating my pcb, ...
1
vote
1answer
3k views
Altium, it is possible to mirror the silk screen?
I am trying to build a simple PCB at home. It is a single layer PCB, and I would like to transfer the silk screen on the back side, mirrored. But for that, I need to mirror text, etc.
To design the ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
Kicad: Switching front Silk for Back Silk
I'm making a circuit using kicad and I want to add the silkscreen to it. It is a 1-layer board that I created using the front copper layer (red) of Pcbnew. The problem is that now the silkscreen doesn'...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Typical minimum silkscreen-pad spacing
What is a typical industry figure for the minimum spacing between silkscreen and pads? When I look at a manufacturer's general list of capabilities, sometimes this number isn't even listed. I haven't ...
3
votes
4answers
6k views
Can a permanent marker be used on a PCB without damaging it?
I need to cover up a line of text on the silkscreen of some PCBs and I'm not sure of the best way to do it. I've read that removing the printed text with a chemical will likely damage the boards, so ...
0
votes
2answers
2k views
Kicad - Module refernces are being rendered, but don't show up on gerber plots
I am working on an open source design. I can view all the layers in PCBNew. The module references show up on the screen. They are visible even when I deselect Front Silk Screen (F.SilkS) in the layers ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
Simplest device for mini operating system
I have been developing an operating system off of this video and I want to begin building a device to support this os. All it really does is print to the screen. I want to build a small device with an ...
23
votes
1answer
9k views
Why is “silkscreen” called that way?
Why is the set of white labels on a PCB called the "silkscreen"?
8
votes
5answers
2k views
No silkscreen on board? How common is that? What are the advantages?
I'm a young engineer and I just started at my second job. I was surprised to see that the PCBs have no silkscreen. I'm currently working on the redesign of a PCB currently on the field and I'm ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
Silkscreen labels for components - what could Y?? be?
Components on PCBs are usually labelled using silkscreen markings and most of the markings seem to be quite intuitive:
C?? - capacitor
D?? - diode
FB?? - ferrite bead
J?? - jumper wire
L?? - inductor
...
