Engineering360: "3 Reasons to Use PCB Panel Routing Techniques"

Caviiat emptor! Agreed there are mechanical and financial benefits to panelization, but beware the depanelization process. Most board houses will offer panelization "design" as a courtesy, however one must study the proposed configuration very carefully. Things that the board house may not or cannot see are component edge overhang which can interfere with adjacent board components and make utilization of a "pizza cutter" depanelization tool (very fast) impossible. Mouse-bites can create other problems such as delamination (IPC-A-610 allows for .09" max with .005" space to an internal plane). Sometimes this is mechanically impossible breaking by hand (flexing, also adding undue stress to nearby components) and difficult using "nibbler" type equipment or hand tools. Thick boards can be especially challenging!