Wonders of PCB in the World of Electronics
The world is fast and furious. Businesses are always moving forward, and the technology we use never ceases to amaze us. It seems like just yesterday we were using pagers and now we’re talking about smartwatches that can be used as calculators, cameras, or even walkie-talkies! But how do these devices work? What makes them tick? You guessed it: printed circuit boards (PCBs).
Printed circuit boards, or PCBs, are used in all types of electronics. They are an indispensable part of any electronic device you use on a day-to-day basis. From the garage door opener to your smartwatch and even the supercomputer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, they have been powering electronics for over 100 years. Let’s take a look at how printed circuit boards work and why they’re so important!
Did you know? – The First PCB
The first PCB was produced in the 1920s for use with radio equipment. It was created by a German scientist named Paul Eisler and it consisted of insulating material with copper foil on one side that allowed electricity to flow from component to component without being impeded by wires. Yes, you heard that right! The first PCB was not Copper. It was Brass. In those early days, building these boards required carefully manually assembling each layer of components by soldering them together on a metal sheet, die casting the boards, and then removing excess material from around each component.
So, What is a PCB?
A PCB or printed circuit board is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks, or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate.
Since a PCB holds all the components of your circuit (using solder paste), its design depends on the complexity of the circuit it will be powering. Whether simple single-layered boards are found in garage door openers, to six-layer boards packing 100s of connections like you’d find inside smartwatches, or 60 layers high density and high-speed boards that power supercomputers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Printed Circuit Boards have been powering our electronics for over 100 years!
Why PCB instead of Breadboards?
A breadboard is a device for making temporary electrical connections, used when prototyping or testing circuit designs. Breadboards allow users to connect circuits using components like switches and LEDs in addition to integrated circuits (ICs) without needing to solder any connections together.
The advantages of using a printed circuit board are that it is low profile and mechanically stable. It also allows for the components to be soldered into place as opposed to breadboards where they can easily come loose or disconnect from their electrical connections. In addition, the placement of solder points on a PCB will cause less damage to your circuit because you won’t have exposed contacts like what happens with breadboard jumper wires.
Did you know? The Phone you are Holding Right Now…
The average cell phone contains 40 to 50 individual printed circuit boards! That’s why your cellphone is so smart. It has all those mini-computers inside working together. Now think about how many times each of them goes through quality control during the manufacturing, testing, and shipping before they’re finally assembled into that tiny little device you carry around every day! It gives me chills just thinking about it! And if something DOES go wrong with any one of these parts or assembly steps along the way, there could be no second chances until a new batch of PCBs comes off the production line.
Why is PCBs Important?
You may not have realized just how widespread printed circuit boards are. You’re undoubtedly within touching distance of a device that employs one right now. You’re probably reading this from a device with a PCB inside! They’ve become an important part of contemporary technology.
Printed circuit boards are the foundation of electronics. They hold all your components neatly in place while providing easy access to power and connections between them. There is no other way that you could easily connect components without a printed circuit board! That’s why they’re so important!
How is PCBs Made?
Designing a PCB is not a complex process. It starts with the circuit board designer looking at your schematic diagram and creating what is called a copper trace lithography file, or Gerber files for short. These are computer-generated images of where the traces will go on the substrate (the non-conductive material) as well as other critical layers like solder masks, silkscreens, etc…
Designing a PCB for your Project – The Easy Way
I use Altium Designer to draw all my circuits and design the PCB. It is a powerful tool that can be used to design and create your own PCBs for your project as well as complex and multiplayer PCBs for industrial use. Here is the link to the Altium trial version. So make sure you check it out.
Once these files have been created they are sent to one of several types of automated photo etching machines which automatically create your PCBs! Printed circuit boards are made by printing the conductive tracks or traces of copper on a non-conductive substrate. The most common method is to first cover all bare areas with an insulating layer, then etch away exposed material through photolithography which removes both the insulator and underlying copper in one step. Finally, a solder mask (a green-colored paint) is applied over the top of everything for protection before enclosing it in a plastic case ready for use!
Did you know? The Auto Assembly Technique…
The auto-assembling technique, which allows for considerably faster PCB production, was developed by the Army Signal Corps. The development of more stream-lined printed circuit board manufacturing resulted in today’s exponential growth of consumer goods.
Advantages of PCBs
- Low profile and mechanically stable
- Allow components to be soldered into place instead of breadboards where they can easily come loose or disconnect from electrical connections
- Less damage is done because there are no exposed contacts like in breadboard jumper wires.
- Printed circuit boards hold all your components neatly in place while providing easy access to power and connections between them!
There is no other way that you could easily connect components without a printed circuit board! That’s why they’re so important!
Did you know? Apollo had a PCB Too…
NASA’s space program relied on printed circuit boards. PCBs assisted get the Apollo 11 astronauts to and from the moon, as well as safely returning them home again. PCBs’ lightweight and small energy demands allow for more complex electronics in a spacecraft’s tiny area.
PCB and Surface Mount Technology
Modern PCBs are commonly manufactured in multi-layer configurations of up to 18 or more layers, with six being the most common. Many electronic devices require high circuit density on one or several boards that can fit into a relatively small space. This is where surface mount technology comes into play!
Surface-mounted components do not have pins/leads that stick out like breadboard components, instead, they are soldered directly ONTO THE board. All SMD component packages are designed for reflow solder processes using dedicated equipment called rework stations which heat up all the pads simultaneously and then melts new solder paste so it wicks between the closely spaced lands (traces) turning them solid again while applying just enough force to ensure it stays in place.
Advantages of Surface Mount Technology
- Smaller, lighter, and more compact than the traditional through-hole components
- Allows for multiple circuit boards to be manufactured at once which saves time and money
- Cheaper because it requires less labor and material costs (no drilling holes in PCBs!)
- Improved reliability because the components are more secure in their solder joints
PCBs are getting smaller and more efficient every day. It is a highly competitive field with many companies looking to get their hands on the latest technology in order to stay ahead of the game. It only makes sense that they want this information for themselves and keeps it out of your reach!
Did you know? And There is a New 1!
Many people are currently working toward developing technologies like PCB-on-foil, which utilizes thin polymer foil instead of traditional rigid printed circuit boards (PCBs). This would make circuits lighter, more flexible, and easier to produce than ever before. Imagine how much faster we could advance electronics if every company did not have to reinvent everything from scratch after each new generation comes about! At least that’s what I’m hoping for anyway.
Ordering High Quality PCB for Cheap Price
I usually order our PCBs from PCBWay. PCBWay is a PCB manufacturer specializing in PCB prototyping, low-volume production, and neat and tidy PCB Assembly for a very low price. They have a very friendly customer support team and even perform a free PCB Design Review before payment and inform us if there is some issue with the design. Feel free to check out their website below.
Green Green Everywhere – Why is PCB Green?
Yes, green is the most widely used PCB color. Why? Let’s take a deeper look.
What Gives PCB its Color?
Both sides of the PCB are copper layers. The final layer is a smooth and unprotected surface. Copper has chemical properties that don’t make it as active as aluminum, iron, or magnesium. Pure copper will easily oxidize when there’s water and oxygen around it.
The surface of pure copper will oxidize quickly when exposed to air owing to the fact that there is oxygen and water vapor in the air. Because the copper layer on the PCB is so thin, oxidized copper becomes a poor conductor of electricity, resulting in a significant reduction in electrical performance throughout the entire PCB.
Engineers developed a special coating to prevent copper oxidation and separate the welded and non-welded components of the PCB during soldering, as well as protect the PCB’s surface. A solder mask is a layer of coating that is applied to the PCB’s surface to create a protective layer with a particular thickness and to block copper and air contact.
The color is due to the solder mask, which protects the copper circuits printed on the fiberglass core from short circuits, soldering mistakes, and other problems. The color of the solder mask influences the board’s appearance.
Why is all the PCB Green?
Generally, the green color is opted due to the following reason.
When PCBs were being used by the American military, the green hue was designated as the standard. It has since spread around the globe. The engineers and workers must look at the PCB for a lengthy amount of time in production or maintenance since it is less irritating to the eyes, as well as causing eye fatigue. Green is friendly to the eyes and causes little eye strain.
Green solder masks are environmentally friendly as they will not release toxic gases when soldering or used in high-temperature environments.
A green solder mask has the lowest viscosity and is easier to print on the PCB surface, supporting fine-pitch hybrid circuit designs.
Does the Color of PCB have to be always Green?
PCBs do not have to be green. Different colors can be useful to distinguish different PCBs or to customize them. Several manufacturers offer colored printed circuit boards. Standard colors include Green, Blue, Black, Red, and White. Customized hues or company colors can also be created according to need.
Marvels of PCB – Conclusion
Printed circuit boards are the foundation of electronics. They’re used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components through conductive pathways, tracks, or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. The complexity of an electrical design will determine how many layers it has, but there is no limit on the number that can be added as long as they fit within its size.
From simple single-layered PCBs in your garage door opener to six-layer PCBs in your smartwatch to 60 layer high density and high-speed circuits boards found in supercomputers – printed circuit board technology continues to evolve with new challenges ahead! If you would like help to develop your next project’s blueprint for success. If yes, let me know in the comments
