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The Necessity and Benefits of ECAD-MCAD Collaboration for PCB Design

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When it comes to creating high-quality printed circuit boards, ECAD and MCAD collaboration is essential. PCB designers use ECAD or electronic computer-aided design for the circuit design. Whereas MCAD or mechanical computer-aided design is used for the mechanical design. By combining these two disciplines, PCB design can ensure that their products meet both the electrical and mechanical requirements of the application.

Designers should also conduct thermal and structural analyses to evaluate temperature and stress levels that might affect the performance of the Printed Circuit Board. This information helps designers to determine the optimal placement and routing of the components. It also accounts for any potential constraints caused by physical environmental conditions.

What is ECAD (Electronic Computer-Aided Design)

ECAD stands for Electronic Computer-Aided Design, and it refers to the use of computer software to create electronic designs. You can use ECAD to design components such as integrated circuits, printed circuit boards, and semiconductor devices. With ECAD, engineers can model their circuit designs digitally before they move onto the physical prototyping stage.

ECAD also helps in the automation of various design processes, such as simulations, signal analysis, and device layout. Ultimately, ECAD tools help engineers optimize the design of their circuits to achieve higher performance, faster development cycles, and cost savings.

However, ECAD alone does not provide a complete design solution for PCBs; mechanical elements must be there for the board to function correctly and meet its intended purpose. That’s where MCAD comes in.

What Are The Benefits Of ECAD-MCAD Collaboration? 

ECAD-MCAD collaboration is necessary for successful design. The combination of both software help to improve product development, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Using the collaboration between ECAD and MCAD to create a comprehensive product design helps to ensure that the finished product will meet all requirements, both mechanical and electrical.

The combination of ECAD and MCAD also helps to minimize development time. By understanding both the electronic and mechanical aspects of the design, engineers can make decisions about components and designs without spending time on redesigns. Moreover, it can help reduce costs by eliminating the need to produce multiple prototypes or use more expensive materials.

Moreover, ECAD-MCAD collaboration can also be beneficial when creating drawings for a PC Board layout. The 3D model created by MCAD provides a better understanding of the overall PCB design and allows engineers to optimize their layouts more effectively. This ensures that the finished product meets all requirements and reduces the development time.

How Does ECAD-MCAD Collaboration Improve Design?

One of the primary benefits of ECAD-MCAD collaboration is that it allows designers to quickly check for any potential interferences between components that could cause problems in the final product. This makes the design process much more efficient since you can detect the problems before they become costly issues down the line.

ECAD-MCAD collaboration also allows designers to accurately predict the performance of the PCB by simulating its behavior in a virtual environment. By running simulations, designers can determine how their design will react to different environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and electrical noise. This helps to ensure that the design will function properly in its intended application.

In addition to providing performance insights, such collaboration can also improve the manufacturability of printed circuit boards. By incorporating mechanical parts into the design, designers can ensure that all components fit together correctly, reducing the need for manual adjustments during production. This not only saves time and money, but it also helps to ensure a higher quality end product.

Such collaboration is essential for producing successful PCB designs. By combining the two design processes, manufacturers can easily create efficient and effective products with minimal risk of failure. With the help of simulation and analysis tools, designers can also accurately predict the performance and manufacturability of their PCBs before committing to full production.

Thermal and Structural CAD-CAE Integration

By combining the ECAD and MCAD, engineers can gain an understanding of how electrical components interact with the physical environment. This is easy to accomplish through CAD-CAE integration, where complex system simulations and analysis are possible by using both ECAD and MCAD data. You can conduct thermal and structural analysis to evaluate temperature and stress levels that might affect the performance of the PCB. This information helps designers to determine the optimal placement and routing of the components. It also helps to explain any potential constraints caused by physical and environmental conditions.

Overall, the ECAD-MCAD collaboration offers improved accuracy, reliability, and efficiency when it comes to designing a PCB. By combining the capabilities of both ECAD and MCAD systems, engineers can create sophisticated designs that will meet both the mechanical and electrical requirements of their applications. Through CAD-CAE integration, designers can also perform tests on the PCB to evaluate its performance in the actual environment. Ultimately, ECAD-MCAD collaboration is essential for successful PCB design.

Collaboration between Altium Designer and Solidworks

If you are looking for an easier and more efficient way to design PCBs, consider combining Altium Designer and SolidWorks. These two powerful tools can help streamline your design process, helping you to create intricate PCBs with greater speed and accuracy. We will discuss how to effectively use Altium Designer and SolidWorks together to optimize your PCB design process.

The Benefits of Using Altium Designer with Solidworks

Using Altium Designer and SolidWorks in tandem can help streamline the PCB design process. Altium Designer is an industry-leading PCB design platform, offers a range of powerful features for the design, simulation, and output of schematic drawings, layouts, and more. SolidWorks is a powerful 3D CAD modeling program that provides tools for creating realistic 3D models of your boards.

By using Altium Designer and SolidWorks together, designers can reduce time spent on the manual entry of data, ensure a greater level of accuracy throughout the design process, and maximize design efficiency. With Altium Designer, you can easily create schematics and layouts based on existing 3D models created in SolidWorks. The software also allows designers to add components directly to the board layout, making it easier to quickly build out complex boards.

Altium Designer also offers advanced simulation capabilities, allowing you to simulate your boards in both static and dynamic scenarios. This makes it easier to troubleshoot potential problems before committing to the physical design. Additionally, the software provides a comprehensive set of tools for generating manufacturing files from the design, making it easy to bring the board into production.

Overall, by combining Altium Designer with SolidWorks, designers can benefit from a faster, more accurate design process with fewer opportunities for errors. This streamlined process can save time and resources during the design process, helping companies get their products to market faster.

How To Set Up The Collaboration Between The Two Software Programs

Setting up a collaboration between Altium Designer and SolidWorks is easy, and it can provide significant benefits to your design process. You should have both programs installed on your computer. Then follow the below steps which will help you set up the collaboration between Altium Designer and SolidWorks:

  • Launch both programs and open the documents that you want to collaborate on.
  • In SolidWorks, go to Tools > Add-Ins > Altium Designer Interface.
  • Click “Connect” to begin the connection process.
  • Select which components of the SolidWorks document you want to export to Altium Designer.
  • In Altium Designer, go to File > Import > 3D Models from SolidWorks.
  • Select the model that you want to import and click “Open”.
  • The model will be imported into Altium Designer and you can begin designing your PCB layout with the imported model.

Using these steps, you can easily set up a collaboration between Altium Designer and SolidWorks, allowing you to streamline your design process and take advantage of the features offered by both programs.

So, such collaboration offers numerous benefits to PCB designers. It helps to create comprehensive product designs that are functional and aesthetically pleasing, while also reducing development time and cost. By utilizing the collaboration between ECAD and MCAD, designers can create better PCB layouts that meet all requirements and optimize the product design process.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to designing printed circuit boards, the collaboration between electrical computer-aided design (ECAD) and mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) is essential for success. By integrating ECAD and MCAD, engineers can ensure the PCB design is accurate, efficient, and cost-effective.

ECAD provides the electronic schematic diagrams and component placements, while MCAD takes care of the mechanical parts of the design, such as housing dimensions and materials. By combining these two disciplines, the designer can create a complete product that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Through CAD-CAE integration, designers can also perform tests on the printed circuit board to evaluate its performance in the actual environment. Ultimately, ECAD-MCAD collaboration is essential for successful PCB design.

Would like to know more about the ECAD and MCAD or Circuit board fabrication? Email us at sales@pnconline.com

High-Frequency PC Board

High-Frequency PC Board Applications, Specifications, and Challenges

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Some electronic products need special signals for which you have to make a high-frequency PC Board. Such a circuit board can provide 500 MHz to 2 GHz frequency that is ideal for microwaves, a radio frequency, and certain mobile applications that involve high-speed designs.

Several electronic components and switches are complex and need to transfer signals at a fast speed which is provided by high-frequency PCBs. Such boards need special materials because ordinary materials can affect signal transmission due to a poor Er value. Designers have to consider certain factors while designing the high-frequency Printed Circuit Board that we will discuss below.

Understanding a High-Frequency PCB

PCB involves connections of different components through conductive paths to run a specific electronic item. Designers use copper to develop a conductive path in a PCB. Circuit boards also help in signal transmission in the case of Wi-Fi and other satellite systems. In other words, you need a high-frequency circuit board to connect multiple objects through signals.

High-Frequency PC Board
High-Frequency PC Board Applications, Specifications, and Challenges

Which Factors Affect The High-Frequency PCB?

The design of a high-frequency PCB is not that easy because certain factors influence it and you have to consider them. Such boards have complex fabrication due to high-frequency laminates. Besides, the circuit board has to manage different applications’ thermal heat transfer.
You can’t use any material for high-frequency PCBs because it influences signal transmission that can be fast or slow, depending on the material. Moreover, the change in a material’s Er value also affects a PCB’s impedance.
Similarly, the dielectric material also plays a role in the design of high-frequency boards. Manufacturers use different dielectric materials as mentioned below:
1. Roger’s
2. Teflon
3. FR4.
The Roger’s is not expensive, and its DF and DK values are also less than other materials. Besides, it is ideal for prototyping manufacturing and applications. Moreover, there is a minimum chance of signal loss due to this material.
Whereas Teflon is used due to its high frequency that is up to 5 GHz that enhances the speed of signals between different parts and objects.
On the other hand, the FR4 is ideal for RF applications that need a frequency from 1GHz to 10 GHz. But, the electric products having FR4 have certain drawbacks due to their limitations.
The best material for high-frequency PCBs is Teflon due to factors like water absorption, DK, and DF. Teflon is more expensive than other materials, but it is ideal for products that need more than 10 GHz frequency of signals.
What Are The Standard Specifications Of a High-Frequency PCB?
You have to consider certain materials to have a high-frequency board as mentioned above. Moreover, the change in a material’s Er value also affects a PCB’s impedance. PCBs are available in different frequencies and have certain specifications that we will discuss below.
PCB Size: It should be at least 6 mm x 6 mm, and can go up to 457 mm x 610 mm.
PCB Thickness: It ranges from 4 mm to 5 mm.
Type of Material. Generally, it should be RO4003C, Ro3003, RT5880, and Ro3010
Weight of Copper: It ranges from 0.5 oz. to 2 oz.
PP: It includes Domestic-25FR, Domestic-6700, and Roger’s 4450F.
Min Spacing: It should be at least 3 mils.
Solder Mask Colors: Some common colors, in this case, are yellow, red, white, green, and blue.
Sides of Solder Mask. They are according to the design files.
Silkscreen Colors and Size: The colors are mostly white, black, and yellow, whereas the sides are according to the files.
Impedance Clearance: It is either plus 10% or minus 10%, depending on the design.
High-Frequency PCB Finish: It can be immersion tin, gold, silver, or electroless nickel. All these finishes should be RoHS certified.
Annular Ring: It should be min 4 mil.
Diameter of Drilling Hole: It is a minimum of 6 mils.

All the above species are standard and may change according to the board design. Besides, most circuit boards are customized and designed according to your needs. It is hard to recognize the best high-frequency circuit board, however, the material and specifications can help you in this case. You can also get professional help from a qualified PCB designer and/or a circuit board manufacturer.

Top Tips To Develop The Best High-Frequency PCB

As you know high-frequency PCBs have a high density and integration than other PCBs, they need a thoughtful design and fabrication. Such boards are more scientific than traditional circuit boards, and we have some tips to help you create a reliable PCB.

1. The pins that exist between various layers of a high-frequency PCB should have minimal leads as an alternate. Besides, the lead between different pins should be small.
2. When it comes to high-frequency devices, there should not be more bends between their pins.
3. Make sure that loops don’t develop while wiring.
4. The impedance of signals should be compatible.
5. The power pins of an integrated PCB should have a high-speed decoupling.

Meeting the Challenges of A High-Frequency PCB

No matter how well-designed is your high-frequency circuit board, you have to face some challenges during its fabrication and assembly. Let’s discuss some common issues in this case.

Consider Scaling

A professional fabricator knows that the thickness of internal layers decreases during the lamination of a multi-layered PCB made if FR4. So, the manufacturer should evaluate the percentage of such a loss. This helps printed circuit boards manufacturers get the right dimensions after the lamination process is over.
Besides, the laminate material is not hard like FR4, so it reacts differently. You should know the behavior of each material. Besides, you should scale each thickness separately or it will affect the registration from drill to pad and layer to layer. The fabricator should know all the statistics in this regard.

Preparing Different Layers

A board with several layers is complex, as you have to prepare each layer to have a strong bond, especially in the case of Teflon. Soft material can get deformed during the aggressive preparation of a surface. Such a deformation results in wrong registration, turning a PCB into a scrap.
Replacing the Teflon becomes expensive and causes delays in fabrication. So, you must prepare the surfaces carefully to avoid such challenges.

Preparation of Holes

You need to prepare the hole before plating. Like, it should be free from debris or epoxy attached to its walls. A smooth surface helps have a well intact copper plating. However, ceramic or Teflon involves a different kind of hole preparation.
This process involves a lot of care like you should consider various parameters of the drill machine to avoid the smearing of the substrate. After drilling, the hole is treated through plasma that involves gases. Poor preparation of the hole before copper plating might result in poor signal transmission. Hence, a PCB should have clean holes to perform better.

Considering the CTE Rate

The designer also has to consider the CTE or coefficient of thermal expansion of different materials. Different materials have different expansion rates, besides this expansion can occur in any direction like x, y, or z, depending on the heat. You can have well-finished holes if the CTE is less.
The factor of CTE can cause issues during a hybrid PCB of several layers when you join the high-frequency materials with FR4. So, the CTE of the materials should be compatible, or different layers or materials will expand differently, creating an issue.
Other than layers, vias also have to face this issue. Hence, the plugging material of the vias should be compatible with other materials.

Compatibility

Some FR laminates are similar to the RF materials in terms of behavior, and you should understand it. For example, the ceramic impregnated boards are hard when you drill through the drill bits. The hit counts should be less, besides, the RPM and spindle settings should be customized.
Sometimes the holes have fingers, which are hard to remove, so the adjustment of drilling parameters is essential to reduce fiber.
So, you can meet all the above challenges if you design and fabricate a PCB carefully by approaching a prototype pcb manufacturer to verify your design.

Importance of a High-Frequency PCB

A high-frequency PCB is widely used in different industries, such as military, interchanges, gadgets, vehicles, PC, instrumentation, clinical, and other such fields. These circuit boards are more in demand than before, and 15% of circuit boards in the market come up with high frequency.

Final Words

Sometimes the electronic components and switches are complex and need to transfer signals at a fast speed which is provided by high-frequency PCBs. Such boards need special materials because ordinary materials can affect signal transmission due to a poor Er value.
You can’t use any material for high-frequency PCBs because it influences signal transmission that can be fast or slow, depending on the material. Moreover, the change in a material’s Er value also affects a PCB’s impedance. PCBs are available in different frequencies and have certain specifications.
Would like to know more about high-frequency PCB applications or pcb assembly services? Email us at: sales@pnconline.com

Printed Circuit Board Milling

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PCB milling involves the removal of copper from the PCB laminate to redevelop the structure, pad, and signal traces according to the layout design. In other words, you have to remove the PCB material through rotary cutters.

What Is Milling?

The milling machine helps in drilling, cutting, and boring materials in an array. So, the technique of removing material through the tool axis is what we call milling. The milling machines have a variety, and they are used in PCB and other industries, including aerospace and auto parts.

You need a machine to perform all milling functions to develop a prototype PCB involving vias and through-hole plating. The milling machine needs an AC, an outlet, as well as a vacuum.

Tools Required For PCB Milling

A milling machine is also known as CNC. You need several tools for PCB milling as only the right tools can get you good results. So, let’s discuss all these things in the below section.

Milling Machines Bits

The milling bits include engraving bits, and drilling bits, and end mill.

The bit is a vital part of a milling machine, so it should be fast enough to perform its function. A fine engraving bit can mill even little traces, and the bit having a thickness of 0.1 mm is ideal for PCB milling. It can carry out 8 to 10 tasks of medium level.

The drilling bit helps to drill the mounts and vias for through-hole components. You have to manually change the bit for each hole, but choosing a bit of size 0.8 to 1mm can drill multiple holes

The end mill is a bit to cut out the board from a large PC Board layer or clad, and it should be a minimum of 1 to 2 mm to perform well.

PCB Clad

The PCB clad has to be ready for milling, as the surface should be cut smoothly through a CNC machine. A single-sided PCB works fast in this case, whereas the double-sided PCB also involves good milling.

We will simplify here that PCB is a printed circuit board having a laminated material with copper layers. So, you have to remove copper traces from it with a milling machine.

Additional Tools
Other than the above tools, you also need some others, such as;
• You need a two-sided tape to help bind the PCB clad to your cutting board where you want to do milling.
• Then, you need a brush with hard metal bristles to finish the surface after milling. Lots of dust gathers on the board that you have to brush off.
• Sandpaper to clean the fine burrs that remain there even after brushing.
• In the end, you need alcohol for final finishing. Like, take a soft brush then soak it with alcohol and rub off the milled PCB.
All these additional tools help perform PCB milling perfectly. Even it can be a DIY process if you follow it the right way.
Preparation of a Mechanical Setup
The cutting depth should remain the same in this case. The V-bits are suitable for giving you a wide-cut throughout the board, providing precise engraving. Milling cannot be perfect without a right bit as it can result in thin traces.
Manufacturers do it through trial and error by using different cutting depths. In the case of V-bits, a size of 0.8 mm to 10 mm is suitable for an even depth.
Auto-Levelling Process
Then you have to prepare for auto-leveling through a software setup that also includes probing before you go for milling. You have to solder a wire to the PCB’s clad corner, binding it to an even piece of wood. It needs lots of taping, including with the two-sided tape.
After taping, both wood and milling bit are secured, then you have to attach the crocodile clips to the wire, finishing the probing successfully. The main purpose is to level the PCB to avoid milling errors as a Printed Circuit Board is often uneven in terms of height.
Using the software

It involves different steps, such as

1. Preparation of CAD Files

Initially, you need to prepare the CAD files, using the AutoCAD software. The three Gerber files, including the upper, lower, and drill are essential. You must follow all guidelines before proceeding with the design to enhance the milling process. Like, you should consider the following factors,

Selecting the right footprints: You have to select the footprints carefully because tiny footprints involve time traces that can affect milling. So, an expert designer should perform this task.

Take care of traces clearance: Your work will get affected if you don’t leave a proper clearance for the traces. The clearance from one trace to another should be double the bit width. Like, if the CNC bit is 0.1 mm, you should leave 0.2 mm of clearance.

Width of traces: The width of a trace should be larger than the bit width. As a thumb rule, double the bit width, making the trace width more than it. Like, if the bit is 0.1 mm, the trace width should be at least 0.3 mm on the safer side.

Leaving a pour clearance: A proper pouring clearance helps you to get a ground plane without much effort. There should be a minimum of 0.3 to 0.4 clearance from pour to trace. It also helps to reflow the PCB without using a solder mask.
All these steps help you to produce precise milling, however, professional milling involves minimum restrictions in this case.
2. Using The Flatcam
You need to turn the GERBER files to GCODE for a CNC to run it, and you can do it through FlatCam. This software helps to design a PCB’s 2D, and you can import the GERBER files to create different paths for multiple tasks, like from cutout to isolation, and milling, and other paths.
You only have to add some measurements regarding the drilling depth, and size of the bits. In the case of a single-sided PCB, you have to create the 3 GCODE files, including the drill, the upper layer, and the cutout.
3. Autoleveller
The process of auto-leveling is the last software task, where you process the GCODE file having a top layer. You need the software named Autoleveller that helps in probe spacing which is essential for a prob’s resolution.
After creating this file, you can replace the previous GCODE file having a top layer. After this, your board is ready for milling.
Now Comes Milling
• Now you have three files ready, including the top layer file along with probing, the second is the drill file, and the third is the milling file. You can start by milling the top layer file.
• This process involves 3 Axes and placement of the spindle that is a few millimeters on the PCB corner. Keeping the 3 axes zero. However, don’t lose the position of the X-Y planes during different tasks.
• You should place the probing circuit correctly, as a wrong position can affect milling. Then, after probing, the mill will start.
• After milling, the process of drilling comes does not involve a perfect re-leveling. You only have to put the drill bit flush against the PCB. This process involves drilling all holes.
• Finally, you have to cut the board from the PCB clad.
Board Finishing
In the end, you have to remove the dust with the brush as explained above. Then you can use the sandpaper for a final finish, and wipe off the surface with alcohol. Now, you can solder the components.
Even, some traces of the copper residue are still there, but they can’t affect the PCB function due to enough distance between the pours and traces.
You can do the same kind of milling for double-sided PCBs, but it involves a lot of practice to handle two boards.
Important Tips To Use A PCB Milling Machine
• Follow proper design rules to create perfect GERBER files to import them. Your design should have correct dimensions and clearances for better results.
• You must know how various end mills can cut through the PCB material. Such knowledge can help you correct your design in case of an issue.
• In the case of isolation cuts, you have to route signals from one point to another, including the ground and power. Understanding everything will help you create copper pours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Make My PCB?

Yes, but you must know how to use the right software for PCB design. Different software are available, including the AcadCam

What Is The Process Of PCB Etching?

Manufacturers use chemicals to remove material from the PCB surface, called etching.

Can I Design A PCB Online?

Yes, many PCB fabrication companies offer online services for a custom design of the PCB. You can create the GERBER files through available software and use them for custom designing.

Is PCB Milling Expensive?

It depends on if you do it yourself or get the PCB milling from a company. The most expensive tool is the CNC or milling machine.
PNC is providing the turnkey solution for your PCB and SMT Assembly requirements. Interested to know more? Just write us at sales@pnconline.com.

Printed Circuit Board Designing Issues

Printed Circuit Board Designing Issues

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Printed Circuit Board
Printed Circuit Board

PCB’s play the role of heart and soul for any electronic device. This is the skeleton of any electronic device that applies to almost every field’s tools. Such as telecommunications, big to small computers, hardware, and military equipment. In a nutshell, you can say that an electronic device is completely dependent on its skeleton structure (in other words, on a printed circuit board) in order to perform well. As the PC board is the way to connect the within components as well as it maintains a healthy communication with the outside world so the electronic device can perform its functions, a simple or a slight mistake can lead to complete failure of the circuit or device and malfunction also.

It’s not an easy task to manage the designing of the circuit board, its internal associations, components, and layers. The chances of catastrophe and failure of the circuit are high when the layout design of the circuit is bad. Although the modern tools are assuring the innovative designs as compared to past designs. These tools also ensure the better design at the proper cost because in some cases, bad designing of the printed circuit board can lead to an expensive manufacturing process of the board. With that being said it is obvious that errors are more likely if the circuit designing is not done properly or in a timely. That’s the reason designing should be done on time before the manufacturing process. Reviewing the designing process before prototyping is also crucial.

Once the designs are reviewed independently then the prototyping process should come forward. This will reduce the overall cost of the manufacturing process as well as the failure of the circuit. We will discuss the common errors and design issues that occur during the process and lead to system failure. Moreover, in this article, we will discuss a few things that need to be kept in mind while designing a PCB for any circuit board manufacturer.
Some of the most common issues that happen during the manufacturing and designing process are discussed below.

The improper layout of circuit board:

As we know that devices are becoming smaller and smaller. This smaller requirement forces the combination of complex and thin development of the devices. Designers are also forced to make the design using smaller components and minimizing the distance between these components. Similarly, it is appreciated that minimal footprints are being used in the designing process. The smaller components used in designing reduce the footprints in the layout. For this purpose, a designer usually selects a layout in which components are placed very close. But this may result in an inefficient layout which further causes non-compliance and connection issues. The connection may go wrong in an incomplete layout. To get the desired functionality it is important that the defined layout of the circuit suits its needs also.

Moreover, the other thing that needs to be considered is that there should be enough space in the circuit to add some additional components or any other alternatives. If there is no need to add additional components, then these can always be removed before the manufacturing process takes place. So, a suitable and maintainable layout is required when you are working on high pin count and small pitch.

The decoupling capacitor is not in the right position:

There is no hard and fast definition that strictly explains the decoupling of capacitors. But for better understanding, we say that decoupling of a capacitor refers to the functionality of a capacitor in an electronic circuit. The decoupling capacitor maintains the stability of voltage in the circuit plane. So, in a designing process, a designer needs to make sure that capacitors are placed in the right position so that the transient or oscillation is providing enough power supply to all the other components of the board. For this purpose, the capacitor should be placed in a parallel position. It is also necessary that the position of the capacitor is as close to the components as possible in your PCB design.

The power source that provides the actual power must be properly routed on a printed circuit board for decoupling of the capacitor and the pin which requires a stable voltage supply. If a circuit is unable to do so, then decoupling of the capacitor cannot work properly. A series of inductors is also added if the circuit has some sensitive components such as analog to digital converter. In this case, the supply noise needs to be removed. This is done by using LC filters.

Antenna layout:

The antenna layout is one of the most critical tasks if your designed product is based on wireless technology. As this is the most critical part of the circuit board design, it is done incorrectly by common electrical engineers.

Also, transceivers transfer the maximum power between the antenna terminals when the impedance is matched perfectly. The impedance means the complexity of the circuit and not the simple resistance. The transceiver and the antenna can only be connected by a proper transmission line.

Mostly it is said that a 50-ohm impedance is enough in the transmission line for maximum power transfer in the antenna. The microstrip (having 50-ohm resistance) is used to attach both the transceiver and the antenna. Some free tools and calculators are there that can determine the printed circuit board transmission line dimension so that a user can achieve maximum and proper impedance. These tools are recommended if the designer is supposed to handle multiple types of transmission lines.

Acid Traps:

Acid trap used for the acute angles in the circuit board. These acute angles can trap acid in the etching process of printed circuit boards. These acute angles can place the acid in a specific corner for more than desired time and this results in eating more acid than intended. The circuit can become more defective and can cause a severe issue and the connection can be compromised.

This acid can also remove copper from the blackboard. Acid traps are commonly occurring problems are most designers are aware of them. That’s the reason. Designers are trained to avoid them also. But mistakes are always there to happen. Most of the time, acid trap errors happen because of human errors. And some software designs are also used to set the circuit if the setting is not done properly.

Acid traps can easily be caught in the second review of work, but oversight is possible. Moreover, the recent circuit tends to have less acid trap ratio than the previous ones because fabrication is switched by photo activated etching solution during the PC Board fabrication process.

Starved Thermal:

In the printed circuit board, the plane is connected to the pad by thermals. These pads are surrounded by thermals in the circuit. Thermals are an important component in the soldering process and are helpful for the pads in dispersing more heat effectively. But sometimes an error can happen because of an incomplete connection between thermal pads or the rest of the plane. This reduces the effective heat release or transfer by the system. And as a result, the circuit can catch various function problems. Starved thermal is a problem that does not allow the transfer of heat from the pad to the entire plane. This is more problematic if the circuit is under heat and in the soldering process. The assembly process will be slowed down and the pad will take more time to reflow and in heat transfer. In the end, the circuits having starved thermal can go through heat prone, insufficient heat transfer, and heat damages.

Starved thermal happens because of the defect present in the manufacturing process. These thermals are connected correctly in the computer-aided design system, but they have a weak connection with the entire plane board. This results in over machining and improper modeling in the circuit. The problem can be solved by replacing the thermal, but this is time-consuming and cost-consuming. But these thermals can be spotted before they make severe damage to the circuit.

Silvers:

Some narrow wages of copper and silver are used in printed circuit board manufacturing and can cause some serious problems during PCB manufacturing. These silvers occur in one or two ways and are produced in the etching process. The first way to produce silver is by etching the long thin feature of copper and solder mask.

On the other hand, silver can also be produced when a section of the printed circuit board is cut down too low or too deeply. The only way to reduce silver is to avoid the chance of producing them. The section width should be minimum. The producer can check the silvering defect by DFM.

These were just a few issues that commonly happen during printed circuit board designing and can be checked by the manufacturing committee. But sometimes, these issues have been overlooked that cause the problem in the end. The functionality of the circuit board fails, and the company and the user have to pay the cost for it. The only way to avoid these issues is by understanding the design properly.

Get your PCB design sorted with PNC. PNC is providing a turnkey solution to sort all your PCB design issues under one roof. Just contact us now at sales@pnconline.com.

Laminate Material for PCB Board Fabrication

Laminate Materials for PC Board Fabrication

PC Board, PC Board fabrication, pcb assembly, pcb board assembly, pcb contract manufacturing, PCB Fabrication, SMT assembly, , ,

Printed circuit boards are now a common part of our daily routine. We are using PC Board Fabrication in almost every electronic device we are using for our work and entertainment purposes. Whether it is a mobile phone, or a screen, or a remote for television, every device consists of a printed circuit board. That’s the reason understanding its working is kind of crucial these days.

When we discuss printed circuit boards, we need to understand their layers. PCBs have various layers, and these layers are concerned with their working. These layers will vary according to their working. For example, most multilayer PCBs are used when the device is complex, and we need multiple functionalities. Now let us understand how we do lamination in printed circuit boards and how it is related to layers of PCBs.

What is Lamination in Printed Circuit Boards?

As we have discussed before, there are many types of printed circuit boards. They are both single-layer and multiple layers depending upon the functionality of the device. So, for multiple layers of printed circuit boards, lamination is required.
We can say that lamination is a process in which successive layers of materials are built and then binding those layers to strengthen those layers to protect different substances.
One of the important steps in building a printed circuit board is lamination. Circuit board manufacturers do the lamination process to make sure that copper is not conducting a current or signal inadvertently. There is a substrate in the printed circuit board that plays the role of canvas on which all the components of printed circuit board assembly are attached. Copper is laminated to that substrate. Lamination is an integral part of printed circuit board manufacturing. The lamination process will vary according to the requirement of the circuit board. The type of lamination you choose for your circuit board will decide its reliability and performance for the particular device.
Now we have understood what lamination is. Let’s understand the role of fabrication and then we will see how both these terms are related and how the lamination process takes place.

What is Printed Circuit board Fabrication?

Different layers of the circuit board are placed together on a particular surface pattern to be used in printed circuit board manufacturing. Fabrication is the method of assembly for circuit boards that are used in different electronic devices such as computers and phones. fabricated PCBs are used for customer special products. Sometimes the manufacturers fabricate the circuit board in the house or sometimes they hire a third party to do so.
It is being said that fabrication is the skeleton of any circuit board. Why is that? Fabrication is the process in which we give or transform the sketch of the circuit board into a structural existence. The specifications are provided for the circuit board and fabrication is a way to transform the sketch into the physical design. There are few techniques that are used for this purpose. We will explain those techniques later.
Lamination is the backbone of circuit board fabrication. For better understanding, let’s discuss the types of laminations.

Types of laminations:

If you are not aware of the types of printed circuit boards then you are more likely to face difficulties in designing the circuit board. Types of laminations in circuit boards will help you analyze the designing and the development stages your circuit will go through. Hence the type of lamination will decide the overall reliability, stability, and performance of the printed circuit board. There are four layers of a simple printed circuit board that are compulsory for basic performance. These layers are:
• Substrate
• Solder mask
• Copper
• Silkscreen
And then comes the lamination which is used to hold these layers together. The lamination is done under pressure and temperature. Thermoset resins are used in this process to create a uniform thickness that is required for the process. Typical numbers and letters are used to show the type of lamination which basically shows the characteristics of the product used in lamination. These characteristics are dielectric constant, the tensile strength of the product, shear strength of the material, loss factor, glass transition temperature, fire retardant, and the rate of change of thickness with temperature. For example, if you see FR-4 then it is sure that FR-4 is the most used product in the lamination process. There are different types of lamination that are done in printed circuit boards. The explanation is given below:

1. High TG epoxy:
High TG epoxy is used for multilayer printed circuit boards, and it is most suitable for them. as we already know that multilayer PCBs are used in complex devices from which we need higher functionality. For better epoxy rate in those PCBs, high TG epoxy lamination is used. There are certain characteristics of high TG epoxy. Such as high chemical resistance and increasing heat. TG epoxy is used when we are concerned with tolerating high heat. The temperature in this lamination is similar to the melting point. These characteristics will increase the rigidity of the circuit board and the performance. This Tg is best for ROHS PCB assembly.

2. FR-4:
You have probably heard FR-4 in the world of lamination before because it is the most widely and commonly used material for lamination. The reason for its popularity is its characteristics of a good trench to weight ratio. This material is flame-resistant which makes it more reliable. The mechanical, electrical, and physical properties of the material stay maintained when there is an increase in temperature because of flame-resistant properties.

3. High-performance FR-4:
As clear from the name, high-performance FR-4 is used when we are supposed to make a multilayer and multiform complexed purpose printed circuit board. TG is the temperature variation that is higher in high-performance FR-4. This increase results in high stability and maintainability. Also increase in TG performs better in high-frequency circuits because of low dielectric powers.

4. Polyimides:
Polyimides are also used in multilayered printed circuit boards. Polyimides are used in lamination where we need extreme environmental stability. Rigid, flexible, and high-density circuit boards require polyimides in the lamination process. Mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of the material can be increased by using polyimides. Due to these properties, polyimides are highly recommended for heavy applications such as military, aerospace, consumer electronics, and automotive.

5. BT Epoxy:
If you need high standard thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties in printed circuit boards then BT Epoxy is the best available choice among all. This laminate is designed to use in multilayer PCBs, and it helps in bond strength at high temperatures. BT epoxy is recommended and suitable for lead-free printed circuit boards.

6. Teflon:
There are particular issues with using Teflon in a printed circuit board that results in conventional board shops. But despite this fact, Teflon is highly recommended and suitable for high-frequency applications. Teflon is available in many different types. The most used type is woven Teflon with glass. This material is very flexible and makes SMT assembly a little more difficult.

7. Copper Clad:
Glass fiber and wood pulp paper are used in copper-clad laminators as a reinforcing material. High voltage circuits require copper-clad laminates. These circuits are mostly based on some kind of specific size, appearance, specification, chemical, environmental and physical performance.

We have understood the types of lamination. As we know that fabrication is done by the process of lamination. To better understand the process of lamination, we need to understand the techniques. There are certain techniques to perform lamination for fabrication in printed circuits boards. There is a stage in fabrication in which inner layers and foil are heated and pressed into the circuit board. Lamination is required for this stage. Different methods and materials will be used in circuit board fabrication depending on the requirement of the printed circuit board.

Teflon Microwave:

Teflon microwaves laminates are used in circuit boards where high-speed signal flow is required such as RF., they are ideal PCBAs for radio frequency applications because of their high properties of minimal electric loss, reliable dielectric constant, and tight depth tolerance.

Multilayer PCBA:

In this method of lamination, multilayer PCBA is fabricated in several layers. Thin etched boards and trace layers are used in this lamination that is then bonded. Internal layers are placed under high temperature and pressure and are heated intensely. The Circuit board is then laminated with dry photosensitive resistance as the printed board cools down slowly and pressure also releases gradually.

Sequential Lamination:

The most modern technique for PCB fabrication is sequential lamination. This technique is widely used for PCBs having two subsets. An insulating material is placed between the layers of PCB in order to create a subset of PCB. Then the standard lamination process of circuit boards is implemented. This method requires more time and cost for the process. But this is the fundamental technology that is being used for the fabrication process in multilayer PCBs.

High density interconnects (HDI) printed circuit boards are not possible to develop without sequential lamination. HDI is now the most advanced place for electronics so sequentially implementing lamination can ensure the benefit of manufacturers.

PNCONLINE is the market leader as a circuit board manufacturer and will assist in the overall assembling process.

Interested to know more about PCB laminate materials? Just write us now at sales@pnconline.com.