To Panelize or Not to Panelize – That is the Question

The majority of board manufacturers create boards in large panels. These panels can include different designs or simply one design repeated many times. Depending on the end client’s requirement, manufacturers can cut the panels into individual boards. If you would like more control over what the manufacturer does with the boards, we recommend panelizing printed circuit boards yourself. Though this may require more upfront work, if a design is going to be mass-produced and assembled, panelizing boards is a good idea. While the basic principle is that of playing Tetris with your boards, there are several variables to think about when deciding whether or not to panelize and how best to implement it.