Panel Utilization Estimator

Calculate how many PCBs fit on a manufacturer panel and explore how small dimension changes shift the board count.

Inputs

Working Panel

Manufacturer / preset

Max board size 500×500 mm; 20 mm tooling strips top/bottom assumed. Check JLCPCB panelization guidelines for current limits.

Working panel dimensions (mm)

Width

Height

Edge margin (mm)

Clear border on all four sides (rails, fiducials).

placed on panel

Board / Sub-panel (product)

Enter the dimensions of what gets placed on the working panel — either a single PCB or a customer sub-panel (array) that itself contains multiple boards.

Dimensions (mm)

Width

Height

Gap between boards (mm)

Horizontal (X)

Vertical (Y)

Try 90° rotation and use better orientation

Results

boards fit · 4 col × 5 row

Board utilization

75.7%

board area / panel area

Effective utilization

78.3%

grid footprint / panel area

Wasted area

515 cm²

panel − boards

Usable area

470 × 450 mm

after edge margin

Panel preview

Edge marginUsable areaBoardsWasted space

What-if sensitivity

±1–15 mm presets · custom rows accept any offset

gain loss baseline (0 mm)

Board width changes(current: 100 mm)

Width change	Fit count	Δ boards	Utilization
mm	enter Δmm offset
W -15 mm	25	+5	80.4%
W -10 mm	25	+5	85.1%
W -5 mm	20	—	71.9%
W -3 mm	20	—	73.4%
W -2 mm	20	—	74.1%
W -1 mm	20	—	74.9%
W 0 mm	20	—	75.7%
W +1 mm	20	—	76.4%
W +2 mm	20	—	77.2%
W +3 mm	20	—	77.9%
W +5 mm	20	—	79.4%
W +10 mm	20	—	83.2%
W +15 mm	20	—	87.0%
mm	enter Δmm offset

Board height changes(current: 80 mm)

Height change	Fit count	Δ boards	Utilization
mm	enter Δmm offset
H -15 mm	24	+4	73.8%
H -10 mm	24	+4	79.4%
H -5 mm	20	—	70.9%
H -3 mm	20	—	72.8%
H -2 mm	20	—	73.8%
H -1 mm	20	—	74.7%
H 0 mm	20	—	75.7%
H +1 mm	20	—	76.6%
H +2 mm	20	—	77.5%
H +3 mm	20	—	78.5%
H +5 mm	20	—	80.4%
H +10 mm	16	-4	68.1%
H +15 mm	16	-4	71.9%
mm	enter Δmm offset

How to use the panel utilization estimator

Board cost at volume depends on how many boards fit on the fab's production panel. Pick a manufacturer preset (JLCPCB, PCBWay, Eurocircuits, Würth, OSH Park, MacroFab, WUS, TTM, Tripod) or enter a custom working area. Then enter the board width and height, the gap between boards in X and Y, and the edge margin kept clear for rails and fiducials. Turn on rotation to also try the board turned 90°; the tool keeps whichever orientation fits more boards.

The result shows the grid (columns × rows), the board count, the utilization and the wasted area. The sensitivity tables below show what happens if you make the board a few millimetres bigger or smaller, which is often the cheapest cost reduction available before layout is frozen.

Formulas

Usable area: usable width = working width − 2 × edge margin (same for height)
Boards per row: columns = floor((usable width + gap X) / (board width + gap X)). N boards need N × board + (N − 1) × gap, so one gap is added back before dividing.
Rows: rows = floor((usable height + gap Y) / (board height + gap Y)), and count = columns × rows
Utilization: count × board area / usable area. The effective utilization also counts the gaps inside the grid.

Limits

Rectangular grid fit only: no polygon nesting and no mixed orientations on one panel.
The sensitivity tables use the board as designed (not rotated) and change one dimension at a time.
Preset working areas are approximations. Tooling holes, fiducials, coupons and the fab's own panel rules can reduce the usable area further.
The tool counts boards; it does not price them. Ask your fab for a quote per panel.

Designing the board itself? Start from a tested KiCad design block, or have an engineer check it before you order through the Hardware Clinic.

Frequently asked questions

Are the manufacturer panel sizes exact?

No. They are typical working areas (panel minus tooling rails) collected from public documentation, and every preset carries a note. Fabs change panel formats and differ between factories, so confirm the working area with your manufacturer before you commit to a board outline.

Does the tool nest irregular board shapes?

No. It fits the bounding rectangle of the board in a regular grid. Irregular outlines that could interlock, or mixed orientations on one panel, can fit more boards than the tool reports.

What gap should I use between boards?

It depends on how the panel is separated. V-scored boards can butt together with almost no gap, while tab-routed boards need a routing channel for the milling bit, often around 2 mm. The default is 2 mm in both directions with a 5 mm edge margin.

Why does shrinking my board by 1 mm sometimes change nothing?

The count only changes at breakpoints, where one more column or row fits. The sensitivity tables show the board count for changes from −15 mm to +15 mm in width and height and highlight the rows where the count changes, so you can see how close you are to the next breakpoint.