Assembly
The Assembly tab records which process steps a product goes through: paste printing, wave or hand soldering, press-fit, cable assembly, mechanical mounting, washing, conformal coating, inspection and test. It follows the PCB and Panel tabs and does not use the canvas.
Detected and manual values
Every process starts as Detected: Gerbtrace reads the project data and suggests a value.
| Process | Detected when |
|---|---|
| Solder paste printing | The project contains paste layers |
| Wave soldering | THT components use the Wave assembly type (the default on the THT tab) |
| Hand soldering | THT components are assigned the Hand assembly type |
| Cable assembly | THT components are assigned the Cable assembly type |
| Mechanical mounting | THT components are assigned the Mounting assembly type |
| Conformal coating | Dip coating is selected, or at least one include region is drawn on the Coating tab |
| X-ray inspection | At least one populated component matches a BGA package |
Press-fit, washing, visual inspection, AOI, CAI and electrical test have no detection rule and are off until you switch them on.
A short evidence line next to each switch explains the detected value ("2 include regions", "3 BGA components"). Flipping a switch away from the detected value marks it Manual; the detected value stays visible so nothing is hidden silently. Setting a switch back to the detected value returns it to detection. Use detected values clears every manual setting at once.
What the declaration drives
The effective process set is used consistently across the viewer:
- Tab visibility – the Jetprint and Coating tabs are shown only while their process is on (Jetprint additionally needs the paste technology below set to Jetprint). Switching a process off hides the tab but keeps its data: paste layers and coating regions are still there when you switch it back on.
- Pricing – coating cost and labor lines are included only while coating is on.
- Summary – the coating line and the BGA warning text follow the declaration.
- Exports – the ERP Assembly Specification export writes the effective values.
Paste technology
While paste printing is on, the SMT section offers the choice between Stencil (solid paste through a laser-cut stencil; the paste layers are shown as imported) and Jetprint (dots deposited by a jet printer). Selecting Jetprint shows the Jetprint tab, where dot size, spacing and the program export live. The technology follows the Jetprint tab's lock in team projects.
Depanelization
How boards are separated from the panel after assembly: none (delivered in the panel), break-out, shearing, saw cutting, routing or other. Depanelization is never detected; it stays at None until set.
Locking
The Assembly tab edits the same record as the Summary tab and shares its lock. When Summary is locked, Assembly is read-only.