PCB Design Instructions for Edge Plating

Edge plating, also referred to as side plating or castellation, is a specialized technique employed in PCB manufacturing to enhance the durability and protection of the circuit board's edges. At JLCPCB, we utilize the ENIG surface treatment method for side plating.

Here are the corresponding instructions for your reference:

1. If plated edges are required, supply an annotated diagram or a separate layer showing which edges to plate, select Edge Plating option when ordering, and describe in the PCB Remark.

2. PCB Remark example: "Plated edge area refer to XXX(file/layer name)."

3. Selective edge plating can be applied to the walls of large rectangular slots, as indicated by the blue and red arrows in the diagram above.

4. Selective edge plating can be applied to pads surrounding rectangular slots if the pads have at least 2mm spacing, as indicated in purple above.

5. If  all four edges of the PCB are plated, 3 to 4 short segments (at least 3mm spacing) must be left unplated to allow for panel support tabs, for example at the positions marked A, B, C, and D above.