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  Author : Jim Usery
  Website : http://www.icimfg.com
  Date : Tue Jan 23 06:54:23 2007
  Status : pending approval
   

The process of manufacturing printed circuit boards follows the steps below for most applications:

Basic Steps for Manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards:

1. Setup - the process of determining materials, processes, and requirements to meet the customer's specifications for the board design based on the Gerber file information provided with the purchase order.

2. Imaging - the process of transferring the Gerber file data for a layer onto an etch resist film that is placed on the conductive copper layer.

3. Etching - the traditional process of exposing the copper and other areas unprotected by the etch resist film to a chemical that removes the unprotected copper, leaving the protected copper pads and traces in place; newer processes use plasma/laser etching instead of chemicals to remove the copper material, allowing finer line definitions.

4. Multilayer Pressing - the process of aligning the conductive copper and insulating dielectric layers and pressing them under heat to activate the adhesive in the dielectric layers to form a solid board material.

5. Drilling - the process of drilling all of the holes for plated through applications; a second drilling process is used for holes that are not to be plated through. Information on hole location and size is contained in the drill drawing file.

6. Plating - the process of applying copper plating to the pads, traces, and drilled through holes that are to be plated through; boards are placed in an electrically charged bath of copper.

7. Second Drilling - this is required when holes are to be drilled through a copper area but the hole is not to be plated through. Avoid this process if possible because it adds cost to the finished board.

8. Masking - the process of applying a protective masking material, a solder mask, over the bare copper traces or over the copper that has had a thin layer of solder applied; the solder mask protects against environmental damage, provides insulation, protects against solder shorts, and protects traces that run between pads.

9. Finishing - the process of coating the pad areas with a thin layer of solder to prepare the board for the eventual wave soldering or reflow soldering process that will occur at a later date after the components have been placed.

10. Silk Screening - the process of applying the markings for component designations and component outlines to the board. May be applied to just the top side or to both sides if components are mounted on both top and bottom sides.

11. Routing - the process of separating multiple boards from a panel of identical boards; this process also allows cutting notches or slots into the board if required.

12. Quality Control - a visual inspection of the boards; also can be the process of inspecting wall quality for plated through holes in multilayer boards by cross-sectioning or other methods.

13. Electrical Testing - the process of checking for continuity or shorted connections on the boards by means applying a voltage between various points on the board and determining if a current flow occurs. Depending upon the board complexity, this process may require a specially designed test fixture and test program to integrate with the electrical test system used by the board manufacturer.


Jim Usery
Sales and Marketing Director
Innovative Circuits Inc.
311A S Parkway St
Corinth, MS 38834
office 662-287-2007
toll free 866-887-7381
fax 662-665-9275
email jusery@icimfg.com

At Innovative Circuits Inc., we assemble a variety of surface mount and thru-hole boards each day for our customers. We also provide printed circuit board layout design services along with conversions from thru-hole designs to surface mount designs for our customers. We do not manufacture bare printed circuit boards ourselves but we do work with a number of board houses to produce the bare boards that we use every day to assemble our customers' products. As a result, we have become very familiar with the board manufacturing processes and we wanted to share our knowledge with others who may not have our level of exposure to printed circuit boards.



 

 

 

 

article keywords: Circuit , Electronic Manufacturing Services, Printed Circuit Board Assembly

 

Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent the views of Managed Links and/or its partners.

 

 

 
 
 
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