fine edge finishing should be a part of every pcb maker's qa program. the need for edge face trimming of bare printed circuit boards is not widely appreciated. if the dangers of raw panel edges were clearly understood, however, fine edge finishing would be mandated immediately as part of every pcb maker's quality assurance program. in some cases, the troubles resulting from unfinished panels are not recognized. in other cases, when attempts to properly finish a board have been inadequate, the continuing quality problems may be ascribed to culprits other than rough edges. although this article explains the various methods of bare pcb edge finishing, some attention must first be directed to diagnosing problems that eventually indict rough edges of printed circuit panels contamination from unfinished edges should be suspected if one is experiencing any of these problems' the resist lifts off the panels: there are a significant number of opens due to screen problems: there is silkscreen damage: there are sliver-type shorts: there are plating difficulties. the contamination occurs because pcbs are made of fibrous base materials, for example, composite paper or fiber-glass, and the panels are cut and trimmed