Read a PCB capability table without combining incompatible limits

PCBVerified Editorial · Updated 2026-09-20

A useful shortlist starts with the construction you intend to buy. The smallest number on a supplier’s website may belong to a different copper weight, layer structure or production stage. Treat a capability table as the beginning of an engineering conversation.

Start with one process column

Keep standard production, advanced production and development figures separate. Sunshine’s process page, for example, has different standard and advanced columns and separate sections for computing, communication, thermal management and industrial products. Record the section title and column beside every extracted value.

Keep width and spacing as separate fields

A supplier can publish a narrow trace without offering the same minimum gap. The Sunshine AI data-center advanced column lists 3.0 mil outer-layer lines and 3.5 mil spaces. That does not satisfy a requirement for both features to be 3.0 mil. In this directory, the trace/space filter requires both recorded values to fit the entered limit.

Write down the conditions

For each quoted limit, record copper weight, layer position, board thickness, material system and any relevant process note. Ask the supplier to confirm that the proposed stack-up supports all of them together. Leave a value blank if the source does not define it; substituting a typical industry value produces a misleading match.

Resolve the hole definition

Keep a tool diameter, laser microvia diameter and finished plated-hole diameter distinct. The drawing and quotation should agree on the finished aperture, tolerance and measurement basis. A number with an unclear definition belongs in the questions list, not in a finished-hole filter.

Turn the shortlist into a release decision

Send the required stack-up, copper weights, critical features and acceptance criteria. Request a marked-up manufacturing review, not merely a reply saying “yes, we can make it.” Record approved exceptions and the final production revision before releasing files.

What to save with the quote

Keep the dated source sheet, supplier’s written confirmation, proposed production site, accepted stack-up and list of deviations together. This makes it possible to compare the scope of two quotations and identify what changed during engineering review.