Features

See the whole fabrication story.

FabStrata is under development, but below are the features we are proud to show off.

The review loop

Import, inspect, verify, compare, report.

01
Import and interpret
Every predicted role, position, and parser reading is shown before Apply, with the measured evidence behind it. Ambiguity stays visible and operator-controlled.
02
Inspect
Exact 2D and physical-stackup 3D from the same geometry and the same physical layer order.
03
Verify connectivity
Nets extracted from physical copper and plating, highlighted or isolated across every layer involved, and compared against an IPC-D-356 reference.
04
Compare
Pair the canonical layer matrices of two revision steps and step through added and removed regions with both source layers visible.
05
Report
Save the project, then export an HTML report, a composite PNG, per-layer check films, or a GLB of the physical stack.

Input and interpretation

Read the deliverable package the way it was actually written, and see the reasoning before anything is committed to the project.

Current limitsODB++ broader-producer validation and PDF raster/reference fidelity remain open. Any format table must show the limits adjacent to the format, not only on another page.

Show the actual reviewed import UI, its prediction summary, preview, target step, and stack placement. — Reviewed import: predicted role, stack position, and confidence for every file, with the evidence-aligned package preview and the target step beside them.

Gerber X1/X2 and Excellon/XNC: Loose files, folders, and ZIP packages, including drill and route data and Gerber job metadata.
ODB++Design, with open limits: Native product-model import from a directory or a TGZ package: declared matrix, steps, layers, profile, graphic features, symbols, drill tools, polarity, and spans. Broader-producer validation is still open, import is guarded to a fresh job, and unsupported sections stay visible.
DXF and PDF, in reference context: Mechanical drawings and native PDF vector and text pages enter through the same reviewed import path. PDF raster fidelity, clipping and transparency, source-font outlines, and scanned-page OCR are not complete.
Evidence-driven prediction: Each predicted role and position keeps its source, location, original value, method, and confidence. A normalised interpretation never overwrites the source observation.
Operator-controlled parsing: Per-file or per-type overrides for units, coordinate format, zero mode, polarity, and side, with the board preview refreshing from that exact reading.
Deliberate apply: Choose New job, New step, or a named existing step; approve every overwrite of an occupied row. Cancelling an import leaves the current job untouched.

Exact 2D and physical 3D inspection

One document, two views. Switching between them does not create a second interpretation of the board.

Show exact 2D artwork together with the real layer matrix and visibility controls. — Exact 2D artwork with the live layer matrix, per-row visibility, and the board overview.

Exact 2D artwork: Pan, zoom to cursor, fit, coordinate readout, and a top/bottom flip that uses the correct physical paint order for the side you are viewing.
Physical-stackup 3D: Copper at physical Z, dielectric and soldermask, plating, realistic holes, routed scrap, and cross-sections — built from the same geometry as the 2D view.
Real hole and route geometry: Drill and route features cut visible openings; a plated slot is a walled channel through the board rather than a flat marker.
Presentation controls: Dielectric visibility, feature-class filters, layer colour, opacity, polarity, conformal drape, Z exaggeration, and exploded-stack spacing that preserves authored thickness.
Correctness before cosmetics: Level of detail, culling, tiling, and caching may change cost — never board meaning, connectivity, or picking accuracy.

Cross-section tool

Place a cut line and inspect the board through its depth.

Choose Section from the main toolbar and pick two points on the 2D board. FabStrata calculates the copper, dielectric, plating, holes, and routed geometry along that cut.

Place the cutPick two endpoints directly on the 2D board.

Show the real 2D board viewport while an operator places the two endpoints of a board cross-section.

Inspect the stackRead the physical bands, holes, and measured stack.

Show the calculated FabStrata board-section panel produced from the selected cut line.

Stackup and layer matrix

The physical build is an editable, inspectable object, not a static list of files.

Named layer matrix: Rows carry the source filename by default, a material swatch, a display colour, visibility, and per-row colour, opacity, polarity, and context controls.
Editable physical stack: Reorder layers, change type and material, set thickness, place dielectrics at their real positions, and review the calculated cross-section.
Interactive board section: Open Build → Physical → Board section, place two points on the 2D board, and inspect the copper, dielectric, plating, holes, and routed geometry along that cut.
Drill and route spans: A compact span rail on every drill and route row: drag the endpoints to set the first and last conductor reached, with exact values and the method behind them in the detail popover.
Steps, nesting, and regions: One job-global stack across many steps, with step-and-repeat panelisation, nesting, regions, and profiles.

Connectivity and netlist

Nets that follow the copper, so the board tells you what it is actually connected to.

Show a selected physical net highlighted in context across the visible board stack before isolation is enabled. — The selected net stays bright while the surrounding board remains visible.

Show the same physical net isolated across the relevant stack layers after isolation is enabled. — The selected net stays bright while the surrounding board remains visible.

Physical net extraction: Connectivity is derived from resolved copper and plating. A plated slot unites the layers it touches; routed scrap falls out of the net because it falls out of the board.
Highlight and isolation: Search, highlight, isolate, GOTO, and deterministic previous/next traversal across every layer involved. Large planes participate as full copper regions.
IPC-D-356 comparison: Import a reference netlist and compare it against the extracted physical connectivity.
Honest staleness: A span, plating, or geometry edit marks connectivity stale; the rebuild is deferred until a connectivity-dependent action asks for it, then the derived netlist refreshes once.

Revision and layer comparison

Show exactly what moved between two releases of the same board.

Canonical layer pairing: Choose or import a revision step and pair the two canonical layer matrices before the comparison runs.
Geometry difference: Added, removed, moved, and resized geometry in distinct A and B colours, with both involved layers visible when you navigate to a difference.
Navigable findings: Step through differences region by region without losing the tool or workspace you started from.

Measurement, analysis, and review workspaces

The checks a front-end engineer runs on incoming data, in the same session as the artwork.

Measurement: Aligned, horizontal, vertical, baseline, chain, ordinate, leader, angle, radius, and diameter dimensions with snapping, tolerances, notes, and supported one-way driving constraints. The constraint solver is sequential and one-way.
Drills and tools: Tool rows reconciled to exact visible hits, including route and slot operations, plating, span, count, and warnings, with select and GOTO from any row.
Apertures: D-code and symbol usage for the active layer.
Impedance: Selected-trace analysis with a stack-aware calculator, target values, and an audit of what the result was derived from.
DFM: Author supported rules, run checks, filter findings, navigate and select the implicated geometry, and persist waivers.
Quote and fab notes: Extracted declarations with their method, confidence, and reconciliation, and a GOTO back to the source. Measured, structured, declared, reconciled, and experimental data stay visually distinct.

Projects, reports, and exports

Review work that survives the session and travels to people without FabStrata.

Project persistence: Source names, roles, contexts, polarity, units and coordinates, spans, physical order, and every operator decision survive save and reopen in a .fabio project.
Undo, redo, and history: Every document mutation is a journaled command with an explicit history class, plus an action history you can read.
Review exports: A self-contained HTML report, a composite PNG, per-layer check films, and a GLB of the physical stack.
Bounded recovery: Renderer or device loss, stale derived data, partial imports, and unsupported project versions produce a bounded recovery path and an actionable error rather than undefined state.

Review exports

HTML reportSelf-contained review report that opens without FabStrata installed.
Composite PNGThe 2D composite as currently presented.
Check filmsPer-layer check film images.
GLBThe physical stack as 3D geometry. It approximates some macro pads and omits semantic text geometry.

These are review outputs. FabStrata does not write fabrication Gerber, NC, ODB++, or IPC-2581 data.

Why FabStrata

Built so the answer is checkable.

Evidence, not guesswork

Names, extensions, and headers are evidence. Content and geometry confirm or contradict them, and the confidence, method, and original observation stay attached to every interpretation.

One kernel below the interface

Exact geometry and manufacturing state live in a headless kernel, so the 2D view, the 3D view, and a connectivity query cannot disagree about the board.

Board work stays on your machine

Import, geometry, connectivity, rendering, projects, and review exports are computed on the operator’s computer. Customer fabrication data is not uploaded to FabStrata.

Who it is for

People who are accountable for the data.

CAM and front-end engineers

Interrogate an incoming package, reconcile drill tools to real hits, and resolve contradictory declarations with the evidence in front of you.

PCB designers

Confirm the deliverable you are about to release says what you think it says — stackup, spans, polarity, nets, and fab notes included.

Contract manufacturers and board houses

Run the same incoming-data and revision review on every job, and hand back a report that shows what you found.

Engineering and quality teams

Verify connectivity against an IPC-D-356 reference and keep a durable, exportable record of the review.

Product focus

Built for fabrication review.

FabStrata stays focused on understanding and reviewing manufacturing data. These adjacent workflows are intentionally outside that focus.

PCB design and schematic capture: FabStrata reviews the fabrication deliverable. It is not a design tool.
Broad CAM authoring and fabrication output: FabStrata reads manufacturing data; it does not export fabrication Gerber, NC, ODB++, or IPC-2581 output.
Components, BOM, and assembly: Component placement, bills of material, and assembly workflows are outside its focus.
IPC-2581 and STEP input: Neither format is currently imported.
Path-traced production rendering: The 3D view is an inspection view. Offline photorealistic rendering is reserved for a later renderer.
Silent resolution of contradictions: FabStrata will not quietly pick a winner when manufacturing declarations disagree. It shows you the conflict.