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.
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.
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 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.
When applying etching solution, steps are taken to stop it eating away copper which has to be left on the board. Many approaches involve printing onto the copper which has not to be etched away, with ink designed to protect it. The main method for this is silk screen printing.
Although various advanced techniques are now used in etching, one basic approach would be applying the protective ink to the board in the desired configuration and then submerging it in etching chemicals. The copper then dissolves, leaving the required circuit connections. Manufacturers make this process faster with methods which help to remove the copper as it is eaten away, for example by using sprays. In spray etching, the etching fluid is actually sprayed at the PCB. The manufacturer can direct the spray, as well as the type of jet and its temperature, for the best results.
After the laminate and the conductors have been prepared, it is time to make holes for the electrical components. Laminate boards will quickly wear out a steel drill bit, leading to damage of the intricate conductors, and so extremely hard tungsten carbide drill bits are important to this stage of the process.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
When applying etching solution, steps are taken to stop it eating away copper which has to be left on the board. Many approaches involve printing onto the copper which has not to be etched away, with ink designed to protect it. The main method for this is silk screen printing.
Although various advanced techniques are now used in etching, one basic approach would be applying the protective ink to the board in the desired configuration and then submerging it in etching chemicals. The copper then dissolves, leaving the required circuit connections. Manufacturers make this process faster with methods which help to remove the copper as it is eaten away, for example by using sprays. In spray etching, the etching fluid is actually sprayed at the PCB. The manufacturer can direct the spray, as well as the type of jet and its temperature, for the best results.
After the laminate and the conductors have been prepared, it is time to make holes for the electrical components. Laminate boards will quickly wear out a steel drill bit, leading to damage of the intricate conductors, and so extremely hard tungsten carbide drill bits are important to this stage of the process.
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.
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