Artwork is the set of layer images, copper, soldermask and legend, that the fabricator turns into phototools or feeds to a direct imager, and by extension the Gerber data that carries them. The word comes from the large hand-taped drawings that were photo-reduced onto film. Fabricators talk of artwork compensation, deliberately widening traces in the data to make up for etch loss, and of artwork scaling to match material movement in lamination.
Fab adds their own artwork compensation for the half-ounce, so send the traces at nominal width.
Also heard as
- layer artwork
- art
Related terms
Gerber
Standard file format describing each board layer as a 2D image, sent to the fabricator to build the board.
Aperture
Shape and size used to draw or flash a feature in Gerber data, named for the opening in a photoplotter's aperture wheel.
Etching
Chemical removal of unwanted copper from a board, leaving only the protected circuit pattern.