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.
Just a few everyday items using printed circuit boards (otherwise known as PCBs) are microwave ovens, televisions, computers, and mobile phones, although few electrical items don't contain PCBs nowadays. Arrangements other than the PCB do exist, but PCBs are the most economical and have the lowest production time.
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.
The laminate is the rigid physical medium that the circuit and components are mounted on. To make it, layers of cloth or paper are combined with a special resin under heat and pressure to produce thin, flat boards. The laminate board itself is not electrically conductive, and so copper is either added to the entire surface, as in the copper-clad laminate mentioned, or else the copper is added specifically and only where needed. The copper provides the electrical connection between the components, which will be mounted later.
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.
During the application of etching chemicals, any copper which is not to be removed must be protected. In most cases, silk screen printing is used to apply an ink which will resist the etching process, thus protecting the copper.
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.
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.
Just a few everyday items using printed circuit boards (otherwise known as PCBs) are microwave ovens, televisions, computers, and mobile phones, although few electrical items don't contain PCBs nowadays. Arrangements other than the PCB do exist, but PCBs are the most economical and have the lowest production time.
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.
The laminate is the rigid physical medium that the circuit and components are mounted on. To make it, layers of cloth or paper are combined with a special resin under heat and pressure to produce thin, flat boards. The laminate board itself is not electrically conductive, and so copper is either added to the entire surface, as in the copper-clad laminate mentioned, or else the copper is added specifically and only where needed. The copper provides the electrical connection between the components, which will be mounted later.
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.
During the application of etching chemicals, any copper which is not to be removed must be protected. In most cases, silk screen printing is used to apply an ink which will resist the etching process, thus protecting the copper.
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.
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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