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.
Electrical appliances which rely on printed circuit boards (abbreviated as PCBs), include computers, mobile phones, televisions and microwave ovens, although nearly all electric devices utilize PCBs in some form. While there are alternatives to using PCBs, over the years they have become known as the most time and cost effective solution.
All PCBs have a few basic purposes in common, namely to provide a surface for components to be mounted on, and also to provide the appropriate conductors which connect them together. The two most popular basic starting points for PCBs are called laminates, and copper-clad laminates.
To make a PCB, cloth or paper are layered with resin to create rigid, slim boards. During this process, the materials are warmed and pressurized for optimum results. These boards are called laminates, and by themselves they cannot conduct electricity. For this purpose, either the entire board is coated with copper (as in the copper-clad laminate), and any that is unwanted is subsequently removed, or else the user adds copper only as desired.
The process where copper is added only as required is quite elaborate. The more popular method utilizes PCBs which already have a copper layer. In this approach, the unwanted copper is eaten away by chemicals, leaving only the conductors needed by the user. Removing the copper in this manner is 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.
Before components can be added to the PCB, holes must be drilled for each one. Due to the properties of the laminate board, steel drill bits would be blunted very quickly, resulting in tearing of the fine copper connectors. This problem is overcome by using special tungsten carbide drill bits.
The techniques discussed here represent some of the most popular used by the modern printed circuit board manufacturer. Since PCBs have been manufactured since the forties, a great many techniques have been tried in that time, and so it can be seen that the laminates and tungsten carbide drill bits used, and techniques like etching and silk screen printing, have truly earned their place.
Electrical appliances which rely on printed circuit boards (abbreviated as PCBs), include computers, mobile phones, televisions and microwave ovens, although nearly all electric devices utilize PCBs in some form. While there are alternatives to using PCBs, over the years they have become known as the most time and cost effective solution.
All PCBs have a few basic purposes in common, namely to provide a surface for components to be mounted on, and also to provide the appropriate conductors which connect them together. The two most popular basic starting points for PCBs are called laminates, and copper-clad laminates.
To make a PCB, cloth or paper are layered with resin to create rigid, slim boards. During this process, the materials are warmed and pressurized for optimum results. These boards are called laminates, and by themselves they cannot conduct electricity. For this purpose, either the entire board is coated with copper (as in the copper-clad laminate), and any that is unwanted is subsequently removed, or else the user adds copper only as desired.
The process where copper is added only as required is quite elaborate. The more popular method utilizes PCBs which already have a copper layer. In this approach, the unwanted copper is eaten away by chemicals, leaving only the conductors needed by the user. Removing the copper in this manner is 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.
Before components can be added to the PCB, holes must be drilled for each one. Due to the properties of the laminate board, steel drill bits would be blunted very quickly, resulting in tearing of the fine copper connectors. This problem is overcome by using special tungsten carbide drill bits.
The techniques discussed here represent some of the most popular used by the modern printed circuit board manufacturer. Since PCBs have been manufactured since the forties, a great many techniques have been tried in that time, and so it can be seen that the laminates and tungsten carbide drill bits used, and techniques like etching and silk screen printing, have truly earned their place.
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 .
No comments:
Post a Comment