Troubleshooting
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      1. MacroFab Platform Help
      2. Troubleshooting

      PCB Errors

      If the Design Viewer is notifying you of issues with your PCB you will need to fix the problem or dismiss the issue if everything is fine. Think of the PCB Issue tracker in the PCB Viewer as a Design Rule Check for your PCB's manufacturing files. Before your PCB Assembly can be ordered all PCB Errors should be resolved. The PCB ready check in the platform will block you from ordering till you have acknowledged the PCB Errors.

      design_viewer_PCB_Errors_0-1 (1)

      PCB Error Types

      Boundary Errors

      When a element of the PCB on any PCB layer is outside of the Board Outline this error will be thrown. The MacroFab platform automatically trims and crops the elements that extend past the board outline. This may indicate a problem with your PCB design or it could be that your PCB layers (gerber files) are not correctly aligned with each other. Use the Design Viewer to check each PCB layer that is effected before dismissing this error.

      Missing Board Outline

      The MacroFab platform needs a board outline to properly calculate the size and render the PCB. You must provide a valid board outline file prior to verifying part placement or ordering the PCB. Check the knowledge base article, Board Outline, for more information about PCB board outlines.

      Missing or Unsupported Apertures

      Sometimes EDA tools produce invalid gerber layers or the gerber files are missing required aperture information. If you get this error check your EDA tool to see what kind of options there are for gerber output and see if we have instructions for your EDA tool. Otherwise, contact our support team so we can get your files sorted out.

      Drill Errors

      If the MacroFab platform trims and crops the drill layers this error is displayed. Usually there are two reasons drills got cropped.

      1. The drill file has a different offset then the PCB layer files. See if there is an option in your EDA tool to set the origin of the Excellon Drill File to match the PCB layer gerber files.
      2. The drill file is missing the normal Excellon Drill File header which tells the MacroFab platform the unit type and precision of the drill file. Some EDA tools put this information in a separate file that currently the MacroFab platform does not use. Check your EDA tool for an option to include this meta data. If not our support team can fix your drill file.

      Drill errors should be considered serious and should not be dismissed without finding out the root cause.

      Error Loading Source File

      If the MacroFab platform does not recognize what the file is and fails to load the file it will display this error. Please contact our support team for help.

      Additional Support

      If you still have questions or can not resolve your PCB Error please contact our support team. They will get back to you as quickly as possible with a solution to your problem.