Frequently Asked Questions

What does Gorilla Circuits do?

We offer turnkey manufacturing: PCB Design, Fabrication, Assembly & Test of Rigid Printed Circuit Boards at our facilities in Silicon Valley. All services are controlled by our highly experienced Gorilla Circuits staff. Gorilla can seamlessly take your prototypes to mass production with our high volume fab partners.

Why Gorilla Circuits?

Gorilla’s quality and capabilities are what stands us apart. We are still a small company when it comes to service and we stand by everything we manufacture.

Gorilla’s success and growth are a direct result of our turn-key PCB fab and assembly capabilities and quality. Our personalized service and flexibility is what truly differentiates us from other manufacturers.  We employ some of the top Process Engineers in Silicon Valley and we have the best equipment on the market today.

How long has Gorilla Circuits been in business?

Gorilla Circuits was formed in 2002. For over 17 years, the company has achieved phenomenal growth and is well-known for its high reliability, customer service, and quality of product.

With divisions in San Jose, CA and the greater Boston area, Gorilla Circuits is a leading US turnkey PCB manufacturing offering in house PCB Design, Fabrication, Assembly & Test. We serve Silicon Valley’s largest OEMs and specialize in the high-reliability, military/aerospace/defense, medical, and high technology marketplace.

Where is Gorilla Circuits located?

Gorilla Circuits’ headquarters and manufacturing facilities are in San Jose, CA. We also have a sales office in Nashua, NH.

Where did the name Gorilla Circuits come from?

Gorilla Circuits was born during the tech boom crash of the early 00s when the thriving American tech manufacturing market had become a cutthroat industry. Many struggled to compete with overseas competition. A joking reference that Silicon Valley had become like guerilla warfare was made at a dinner with the founding members. Trying to set our company apart from the rest, guerilla turned into Gorilla and the offbeat moniker stuck. Gorilla continues to set itself apart with its dedication to product quality and service.

Is Gorilla Circuits registered to ISO 9001?

Yes, our PCB fabrication and assembly are ISO 9001:2015 certified.

Does Gorilla Circuits have any other certifications?

MIL-PRF-55110, MIL-PRF31032, ITAR Registered. We are working on AS9100, NADCAP, ISO 13485.

What happens if I have a problem?

Every Gorilla Circuits customer has an assigned Project Manager and Account Manager. If you experience any issues with your order, please reach out to your Account Manager.

The Gorilla Circuits Team

What is Gorilla Circuits Warranty on PCBs?

How large is your facility?

We fabricate and assemble in San Jose CA. Fabrication Site: 80,000 sq/ft Assembly Site: 40,000 sq/ft Inventory Warehouse: 15,000 sq/ft

How many people does Gorilla Circuits employ?

Around 325+

What quality assurances do you have in your Fabrication process?

Gorilla Circuits performs 100% AOI on all cores (signals and planes). We test all boards 100% against the netlist using Flying Probe. We also have a state of the art lab for cross-sectioning and IST Testing.

What quality assurances do you have in your Assembly process?

Gorilla Circuits state of the art Assembly facility offers Advanced Screen Printing, Self Sufficient Liquid Nitrogen Generators, Flying Probe Tests, and Parametric Bench Tests. We offer quick turn NPI with a dedicated team, SMT and PTH lines as well as a Process Control Plan implemented through the entire process flow. Our experienced Front end engineers service DFM reviews. We have Pick and Place with Inline SPI (solder paste inspection), AOI (Automatic Optical Inspection) for SMT operation. BGA/hidden solder joint inspection with real time 3D X-ray and solder joint failure, first article inspection with 2D/3D X-ray.

What about a chemical lab?

We have a full Chemical Analysis Lab that is DoD Qualified. We perform IST Testing and cross-sectioning.

What are your cycle times for Manufacturing?

Schematic Generation: Approximately 3-5 days

Layout / Design: Lead times typically vary between 5-15 days. Expedites available down to one day on simpler designs.

Fabrication:
Single lamination

  • Standard: 5-10 days
  • Expedite: 1-4 days

Dual lamination

  • Standard: 12 days
  • Expedite: 5-7 days

3+ lamination cycles

  • Standard: 15-20 days
  • Expedite: 8-12 days

Assembly: Standard leads times range from 3-5 days. 24 hour expedites are available.

Where should I send my files to get a printed circuit board quote or place an order?

Click Here to upload your files or email your files to

What is Gorilla Circuits’ Environmental impact?

Gorilla Circuits is proud to have an Environmental Improvement plan. We also have both a waste and energy minimization/ reduction policy. We comply with Industry codes of practice in relation to Environmental, Health, and Safety matters.

Who is responsible for import fees and custom charges on international order (outside the US)?

All International customers are responsible for their own customs charges, tariffs, and import fees.

How does Gorilla Circuits’ prevent counterfeit materials?

Gorilla Circuits only sources components from trusted mainstream distributors.

What files do you need to manufacture my printed circuit board?

We require gerber files or ODB++. However, we can provide a budgetary quote for your project with a simple PDF FAB drawing. Please send any non-gerber formats to [email protected] for review.

Does Gorilla Circuits manufacture flex pcbs?

Gorilla Circuits works with a partner who fabricates high reliability flexible and rigid flex pcbs. Our Assembly line regularly processes flex and rigid flex.

What isthe thickest printed circuit board you can process?

.350″/ with conventional processes.

What is the thinnest printed circuit board you can process?

.012″

What is the largest pcb Gorilla Circuits can fabricate?

22″ x 28″

What is the thickest copper capability?

4oz

What is the best way to have my pcb panelized in array format?

Gorilla Circuits will create a panel that both maximizes pcb fab and assembly efficiency.

Can you build RF boards?

Yes. We have very tight process control in both etching and plating to meet the most demanding RF applications. We also work closely with material suppliers to keep up with the latest cutting edge materials.

To what acceptability standards do you build?

IPC A600 Class 2, 3 through IPC 6012 Class 3/A

What materials are approved?

The following materials are approved. Hybrid constructions are available.

  • Insulectro: FR408HR, 370HR, P95, Zeta Lam, ASTRA MT, Tachyon, Terra Green, I-Terra
  • Nelco: N4000-13EP, N4000-13EP-SI, N4000-13, N4000- 13SI, N4000-6, N4000-11, N4000-29, N4800-20.
  • Rogers: 4003, 4350, 3003, XT Duroid, RT Duroid, Ultra Lam, Theta. Arlon: 85N, 25N, CuCLAD 522, Arlon 44N.
  • Panasonic: Megtron 6, Megtron 4
  • Nanya: NP170, NP175
  • Hitachi: EMC-370
  • Farad Flex: MCXX Series
  • ITEQ: IT180A
  • Ventec: VT47
  • Dupont: HK04 1mil Polyimide cores
  • Omega Ply and Ticer: Buried resistors 25, 50, & 100 ohm

What are your capabilities?

Analog / Mixed Signal / High Speed Digital / RF / Microwave Schematic Capture with Netlist Generation

Fine Pitch BGA’s (multi-site .3MM & .4MM pitch BGA)

Design of Blind and Buried via HDI Constructions

Critical Controlled Impedance

Signal Integrity / Cross talk analysis

Component footprint library development and maintenance

Experience across all major Tester platforms from Teradyne, Eagle, Advantest, Nextest, Verigy, LTX/Credence

I/L trace width .5oz Cu .0025”

I/L trace to trace space .5oz Cu .002”

Up to 60 layers

34:1 Aspect Ratio (.006” diameter / .200” thick)

75:1 Aspect Ratio using Sintering Technology

Fine Pitch Back-drilling down to .35mm Pitch

2.5mil Minimum Laser Micro Via

3mil Minimum Mechanical Drill up to 30 mil thickness

0.3 mm Pitch on ATE, Daughter Cards, & Motherboards.

3mils per inch warp & twist on balanced constructions

5% Impedance Control Tolerance

Maximum 5 Lamination Cycles

HDI Build-up to 4+N+4

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