HDI PCB RFQ Checklist

Send one identifiable technical baseline

Create an archive with a board identifier, revision and issue date. Include the fabrication drawing, layer data, drilling information, netlist where supported and a file manifest. Separate assembly files when the inquiry is for bare boards, so the supplier does not have to infer the purchasing scope.

Give each open question an identifier. An early feasibility RFQ can contain unresolved items, but label them clearly and ask which assumptions the quotation uses. Avoid silently mixing a conceptual stackup with a released drawing.

Describe the features that drive construction

Show every via start and stop layer, the intended stacked or staggered arrangement and any filling or capping requirement. Identify critical thickness, impedance, material and mechanical constraints. Where alternatives are acceptable, describe the required performance and the approval route.

IPC distinguishes rigid board qualification and performance requirements from visual acceptability guidance. An RFQ should name the applicable documents and revisions agreed for the project rather than relying on an isolated class number or a vague request for high quality.

Request a comparable commercial response

List prototype and expected production quantities separately, with delivery location and required documentation. Ask the supplier to identify tooling, testing, engineering and freight assumptions without assuming how they will price them. State whether the request seeks feasibility feedback, a budget estimate or a release ready quotation.

• Construction and via map matched to the artwork revision.
• Quantity scenarios and the basis of the requested delivery date.
• Acceptance, coupon and report requirements identified explicitly.
• A written list of proposed changes and quotation exclusions.

Close questions before purchase release

Compare quotations in a matrix of assumptions, not only unit prices. A lower price may use a different material, report scope or test plan. Route those differences to the responsible engineer and retain the accepted response with the order baseline.

Before authorizing manufacture, issue the final archive and ask the supplier to confirm its identifier. Superseded files should remain in your internal history, but should not remain ambiguous candidates inside the active purchase package.

Common questions