Key Techniques Employed By The Printed Circuit Board Manufacturer
Most people are unaware of what a printed circuit board really is, never mind how they are created by a printed circuit board manufacturer. With most household appliances and many other common items containing them, it is interesting to look at what they are and how they are created.
Some examples of products containing printed circuit boards (PCBs for short) are televisions, computers, microwave ovens and mobile phones, although most electric appliances nowadays contain some sort of PCB. Electrical goods can be made without using PCBs, but this technique has proved to be the cheapest and fastest way.
PCBs are completely integrated into the electrical circuits in appliances. Components are fixed to the board as desired, and wired up via appropriate electrical conductors. The most common PCBs are those known as laminates, and copper-clad laminates.
A PCB looks like a thin, stiff sheet of material with electrical components mounted on it. The sheet itself is called a laminate. It consists of layers of cloth or paper, impregnated with resin under precise temperature and pressure conditions. In copper-clad laminates, copper will be applied to the entire laminate, to later be stripped away, leaving whatever conductive path is required. Alternatively, users may add copper to the bare laminate only as required.
The process for removing unwanted copper is far simpler than where it must be added as required, so most PCBs are made using copper-clad laminates. Here, unwanted copper is dissolved by a special solution, in a technique known as etching.
The copper required for the circuit is protected from the etching chemicals in various ways, but the most popular method involves depositing special ink, which is resistant to the chemicals, on the areas to be kept. This is usually done using silk screen printing.
Etching at its most simple could consist of marking out the copper connections needed on the laminate board with the chemical resistant ink, and then steeping the board in an etching solution, which will eat away the unwanted copper. In practice, this method is slow, and various refinements have been devised to speed things along. Mainly this involves agitating the solution and the board to help remove the dissolved copper. The main method of this nowadays is spray etching. Sprays are used to apply the etching chemicals, while the temperature, spray configuration and direction can all be controlled to allow optimum efficiency.
Once the conductors have been prepared, holes must then be drilled for the components. The key to this stage in the process is using the right drill bit. A steel bit will become dull quickly due to the toughness of the laminate. Tungsten carbide drill bits are therefore used, as they will stay sharp, avoiding the risks of a dull bit tearing the fine copper tracks.
The processes looked at here are some of the most common practices used by the printed circuit board manufacturer. PCBs have been made industrially since the 40s, and through the decades many manufacturing techniques have been explored. But after all that time, laminates, etching, silk screen printing and the use of tungsten carbide drill bits still remain at the forefront of PCB manufacture.
Some examples of products containing printed circuit boards (PCBs for short) are televisions, computers, microwave ovens and mobile phones, although most electric appliances nowadays contain some sort of PCB. Electrical goods can be made without using PCBs, but this technique has proved to be the cheapest and fastest way.
PCBs are completely integrated into the electrical circuits in appliances. Components are fixed to the board as desired, and wired up via appropriate electrical conductors. The most common PCBs are those known as laminates, and copper-clad laminates.
A PCB looks like a thin, stiff sheet of material with electrical components mounted on it. The sheet itself is called a laminate. It consists of layers of cloth or paper, impregnated with resin under precise temperature and pressure conditions. In copper-clad laminates, copper will be applied to the entire laminate, to later be stripped away, leaving whatever conductive path is required. Alternatively, users may add copper to the bare laminate only as required.
The process for removing unwanted copper is far simpler than where it must be added as required, so most PCBs are made using copper-clad laminates. Here, unwanted copper is dissolved by a special solution, in a technique known as etching.
The copper required for the circuit is protected from the etching chemicals in various ways, but the most popular method involves depositing special ink, which is resistant to the chemicals, on the areas to be kept. This is usually done using silk screen printing.
Etching at its most simple could consist of marking out the copper connections needed on the laminate board with the chemical resistant ink, and then steeping the board in an etching solution, which will eat away the unwanted copper. In practice, this method is slow, and various refinements have been devised to speed things along. Mainly this involves agitating the solution and the board to help remove the dissolved copper. The main method of this nowadays is spray etching. Sprays are used to apply the etching chemicals, while the temperature, spray configuration and direction can all be controlled to allow optimum efficiency.
Once the conductors have been prepared, holes must then be drilled for the components. The key to this stage in the process is using the right drill bit. A steel bit will become dull quickly due to the toughness of the laminate. Tungsten carbide drill bits are therefore used, as they will stay sharp, avoiding the risks of a dull bit tearing the fine copper tracks.
The processes looked at here are some of the most common practices used by the printed circuit board manufacturer. PCBs have been made industrially since the 40s, and through the decades many manufacturing techniques have been explored. But after all that time, laminates, etching, silk screen printing and the use of tungsten carbide drill bits still remain at the forefront of PCB manufacture.
About the Author:
Discover the best printed circuit board manufacturer for your budget by visiting our official website at www.becman.com today. To know more about our capabilities and our prices, check out http://www.becman.com .
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