The Processes Involved In Printed Circuit Board Fabrication

By Author: jazzjessika
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Over the years electronic devices have become smarter. Reduction in size and increased capacity to do complex tasks effectively made electronics to be used in many places for better functionality. One of the biggest inventions, which aided this process enormously are Printed Circuit Boards. PCBs revolutionized the internal mechanisms of a wide range of devices. It enabled the devices to get sleek and slender. They gave a chance to fix multiple chips, resistors and circuits in a limited space. PCBs are made up of insulating material like glass of reinforced plastics and fiber glass etc. copper tracks are infused into PCBs ensure electricity pathways. PCBs are actually flat boards some times in multiple layers with a coated surface. This held the entire components firm. The most complex thing about PCB is its fabrication.

Printed Circuit Board Fabrication involves quite a few processes. The manufacturing begins when the design is ready. The different processes include:

The designs are read into PCB CAMs. Without PCB CAAAAM it is not possible to manufacture PCBs. The CAM are manages infusing the data, ...
... the Gerber data prepared during the designing purpose. It also verifies and compensates the deviations if any during the fabrication process. Besides, CAMs are also used for panelizing and digital tool output.

Panelization Process:

This process is used to make tiny PCBs. Under this process multiple tiny Circuits are made at once. Similar PCBs are printed on a large board. All these will be separated into individual boards after manufacturing by depanelling . Sometimes they separate on their own some other times physically mechanically they are separated.

Inner layers Etching Process:

The process of infusing Copper tracks into the board is called Copper Pattern. Quite a few methods are used to do this. This is generally done by removing the unnecessary copper from a complete copper coated board. The methods include Silk Screen Printing, Photoengraving and PCB milling etc. these can also done by Volume method and chemical methods.

Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) of inner automated layers:

once laminated the changes can't be made to inner circuits, it is imperative to put these to rigorous testing. So various automated as well mechanical tests are done to ensure its proper functionality before laminating/

Lamination Process:

Since most of the PCBs are multi layered they have to be properly Laminated. In the lamination process it is made sure that the components are placed properly and the traces of them properly has to be so as to complete connections and

The other processes include in the Printed Circuit Board Fabrication are plating, Coating, Solder masking, component designators printing and assembly.

This article is written by an expert content writer, who is pretty much familiar with different aspects of Printed Circuit Board Fabrication.