The PCB manufacturing process is very crucial for a person involved in the electronics industry. Printed circuit boards are widely used as the base for electronic circuits. It is used to provide the motorized basis on which the circuit can be built. Hence all circuits use PCB and they are designed and used in millions of numbers.
The PCB production process can be achieved in several ways and there are a number of alternatives. Despite the many small differences, the main stages in the PCB manufacturing process remain same.
PCB components
Printed circuit boards can be made from a range of substances. The most widely used is in a form of glass fiber based board which is known as FR4. This provides a rational degree of constancy under temperature disparity and is does not collapse badly, while not being extremely expensive. Other low cost materials are available for the PCBs.
In order to make a PCB with tracks for the mechanism, copper clad board is obtained. This consists of the substrate fabric, typically FR4, with copper cladding usually on both sides. This copper cladding consists of a slight layer of copper sheet connected to the board. This bonding is generally very good for FR4, but the nature of PTFE makes this more difficult, and this adds complexity to the processing of PTFE PCBs.
Basic PCB manufacturing procedure
With the bare PCB boards selected and accessible the next step is to create the needed tracks on the board and remove the surplus copper. The manufacturing of the PCBs is usually obtained using a chemical etching process. The most ordinary type of etch used with PCBs is ferric chloride.
To gain the right pattern of tracks, a photographic procedure is used. Usually the copper on the uncovered printed circuit boards is enclosed with a thin layer of photo-resist. It is then exposed to light through a photographic film. In this way the reflection of the tracks is passed onto the photo-resist. With this process, the photo-resist is positioned in a developer so that only those areas of the board where tracks are required are covered in the resist.
Read More : Importance of Professionally Manufactured PCB
The next phase in the process is to put the printed circuit boards into the ferric chloride to engrave the areas where no track or copper is needed. Knowing the attentiveness of the ferric chloride and the thickness of the copper, it is placed into the etch froth.
Although, most of the PCB boards are manufacturing using photographic process, but other methods are also available. One is to use a specific highly accurate milling machine. The machine is then controlled to mill away the copper in unnecessary areas. The control is clearly automated and driven from files created by the PCB design software. This type of PCB manufacture is not suitable for large quantity but it is an ideal option where very small quantity of PCB prototype is needed.
Although PCBs form the base of almost all electronic circuits, hence they are likely to be taken for granted. However technology in this area of electronics is moving ahead. Track sizes are diminishing, numbers of layers in the boards is escalating to put up the increased connectivity required, and the design rules are being enhanced to make sure that smaller SMT devices can be handled and the soldering processes used in manufacturing can be accommodated.
The PCB production process can be achieved in several ways and there are a number of alternatives. Despite the many small differences, the main stages in the PCB manufacturing process remain same.
PCB components
Printed circuit boards can be made from a range of substances. The most widely used is in a form of glass fiber based board which is known as FR4. This provides a rational degree of constancy under temperature disparity and is does not collapse badly, while not being extremely expensive. Other low cost materials are available for the PCBs.
In order to make a PCB with tracks for the mechanism, copper clad board is obtained. This consists of the substrate fabric, typically FR4, with copper cladding usually on both sides. This copper cladding consists of a slight layer of copper sheet connected to the board. This bonding is generally very good for FR4, but the nature of PTFE makes this more difficult, and this adds complexity to the processing of PTFE PCBs.
Basic PCB manufacturing procedure
With the bare PCB boards selected and accessible the next step is to create the needed tracks on the board and remove the surplus copper. The manufacturing of the PCBs is usually obtained using a chemical etching process. The most ordinary type of etch used with PCBs is ferric chloride.
To gain the right pattern of tracks, a photographic procedure is used. Usually the copper on the uncovered printed circuit boards is enclosed with a thin layer of photo-resist. It is then exposed to light through a photographic film. In this way the reflection of the tracks is passed onto the photo-resist. With this process, the photo-resist is positioned in a developer so that only those areas of the board where tracks are required are covered in the resist.
Read More : Importance of Professionally Manufactured PCB
The next phase in the process is to put the printed circuit boards into the ferric chloride to engrave the areas where no track or copper is needed. Knowing the attentiveness of the ferric chloride and the thickness of the copper, it is placed into the etch froth.
Although, most of the PCB boards are manufacturing using photographic process, but other methods are also available. One is to use a specific highly accurate milling machine. The machine is then controlled to mill away the copper in unnecessary areas. The control is clearly automated and driven from files created by the PCB design software. This type of PCB manufacture is not suitable for large quantity but it is an ideal option where very small quantity of PCB prototype is needed.
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