DownStream Techonolgies - Solutions for Post Processing PCB Designs
Download Evaluation

Optional functionality

Advanced Feature ToolKit

Adds additional functionality such as coordinate dimensions to the basic tool pallet and tool bar, BluePrint Reference Designator text box generator and blind buried via support in layer stack up, PCB views, and drill charts. Also enables search functionality.

Assembly Drawing ToolKit

BluePrint's Assembly Drawing Toolkit allows PCB views to be displayed by variant, variant manager, variant lists, variant status in parts list and variant legend. It also enables side and sectional view wizards. This flexibility gives you more control over how you display and organize your documentation. Assembly Drawing Toolkit allows the parts list to be displayed by variant in the parts list manager. It also enables the importation of variant lists via CSV format. It enables displaying of PCB Views by process step, process step manager, process step chart, display of process, steps in parts list manger.

Click to Enlarge

Assembly Panel ToolKit

Designers often panelize single boards into arrays or sub-panels. Documenting the finished panel and adding features such as pinning holes, fiducials, score lines and breakaway tabs can be difficult and time consuming in today's CAD and CAM tools. BluePrint has panel drawing elements and tools that simplify the panel documentation process.

This feature allows you to:

  • Automatic array creation (step and repeat) of PCBs on a panel drawing in either spreadsheet mode or auto-calculate which fits as many PCBs as possible on a panel using imported intelligent PCB design data.
  • The tool pallet allows the user to quickly place top, bottom, drill pattern, or custom panel arrays on a drawing, as well as drill charts, note blocks, mill and V-score details. Greatly reducing the time needed to produce an assembly panel document.
  • Panel level Drill and Coordinate charts allow the user to place a drill and coordinate charts reflective of all the PCBs contained in a panel to define all components, hole sizes, locations, symbols, and quantities for the entire panel. All of the formatting capabilities of the single instance PCB drill and coordinate chart are also supported for panels. In addition, any pinning holes added to the panel are automatically included in the drill chart. Coordinate charts or the panel can be exported in CSV format to drive pick and place machinery.
  • Automatic NC milling definition allows the user to define the route path around a PCB within a panel as well as the break out tabs. Once defined the user can automatically apply the NC milling to all the PCBs within the panel as well as merge together route information for one unified NC milling path.
  • Panel Drawing Detail Wizards use the existing PCB and NC milling data to automatically depict Mill tab and V-score details.
  • Exportation to CAM350 feature allows a user to export a panel definition to CAM350 for further post processing of the panel for Gerber, and/or NC Drill and Mill extraction.



Release Package Management

The core of BluePrint is its single electronic release package database. The release package stores imported data as well as supports exporting functions so that documentation and machine files (Gerber, ODB++, NC, Centriod, etc) can be exported and stored right in the release package database. This creates a single data file that contains all design information, Gerber files, NC files, PDF and DXF files, and related PCB documentation for distribution to document control, procurement, and manufacturing.

Single Release Package database stores all deliverables in one electronic file.

  • Fabrication drawings, assembly drawings, variant drawings, panel drawings, unit assemblies, rework
    instructions, assembly process drawings, bills of materials
  • Gerber files, NC drill files, MC milling files, Test files, ODB++ outputs
  • Schematic database, PCB layout database, reports
  • PDF Files, DXF files, MS Office documents, plus multi-media elements


Easy Release Package Distribution and Viewing

The Release Package database can be shared in a variety of ways to ensure accurate, comprehensive content while maintaining IP security. The Release Package can be sent "as is" with all available data, or it can filtered to only distribute the files necessary for a specific process (i.e. procurement, fabrication, assembly, etc).

DownStream supports a number of methods to view Release Packages:

  • DownStream's stand-alone free viewer
  • Pack and Release where the viewer is packaged with the Release Package
  • And via the web by publishing the Release Package as an HTML file


Because the database is an electronic "Release Package" file, this same file can now be used to disseminate PCB data from Engineering to downstream procurement, fabrication, assembly, and QA/QC processes. Using DownStream's free Release Package viewer all the content created by engineering, Outputs; reports, documents, and associated files are stored in the Release Package, can be accessed, viewed, and extracted by manufacturing. Greatly reducing the chance that data may be missing or incorrect. In addition, any hyperlinks created within the documentation are supported, allowing manufacturing to quickly find information relevant to the fabrication and assembly process.