All About Pcb Boards

The basis of many types of electronic and computer components is the printing circuit boards. These boards generally consist of anything between 1 to 2 conductive layers. Each of these layers is separated by a substrate or an insulating layer. These are then laminated together to form a printed circuit board. The conductive layers are generally made out of copper and the holes which are drilled on the board are called "vias". These vias help in making the board electrical.

The manufacturing process

When the manufacturing process of these boards start they are done with a substrate and a copper layer is laid over it. After that the etching takes place to get rid of the extra copper. A needed amount of copper layer is left on the board for the application. After that the vias and the holes which are needed are drilled in. These are done with a tungsten carbide drill or a laser. The places on the board where a component will be placed are plated. With screen printing the text is printed on the board wherever needed. After that the boards go for testing and then the board gets ready for the components of the desired application in a process called populating. The process of printing these boards must be done with extreme care since there is a lot of minute work which goes in this type of plate making. The boards have to be etched exactly according to the measurements of electronic lasers used. Nothing on the board is hand done due to the heavy accuracy which it needs. There are also copper tracings which are placed with protective metal to ensure that no environmental damage takes place. This also insulates the etchings. The pad areas are coated within a thin solding layer by applying voltage at different parts of the board. The flow of current through the board is checked during the final inspection and testing.

Uses of PCBs

In the beginning, these boards where only used in military and industrial applications. However they are nowadays used for a number of different components, hardware and devices. These devices include everything from computers, cell phones, radios to televisions. Every electronic device used nowadays has to have a PCB inside it large or small. The use of these boards became really popular due to research and the low cost of manufacturing. Nowadays the printed circuit boards are made in mass quantities. This was not the case when it first started. Due to the huge increase in the productivity it has become much more cost effective and nowadays it can be used in any electronic gadgets. Changing PCBs are also extremely easy and can be found easily as well. If you are looking for a particular type of PCB you can find that at your local electronic store unless it is an extremely rare type of PCB. More info can be found at Pcbcart.com. The PCB board has changed the manufacturing method of electronic devices and has made it affordable for the masses.

About The Author

James Whitehall is an expert when it comes to printed circuit board manufacturing and design. He loves writing interesting articles and blogs about the topic and recommends PCBCart.com as the name to trust if you are looking printed circuit board fabrication services and support.