How an Assembled Circuit Board Is Used in Consumer Electronics
Assembled Circuit Board Is Used in Consumer Electronics
A circuit board is the key element that holds an electronic device together. Once the domain of large-scale industrial electronics, printed circuit boards (PCBs) have now found their way into the small consumer devices we rely on to make our lives easier. As a result, PCBs are now found in everything from the computer in your home to the mobile phone that connects you with the world. As consumers demand increasingly miniaturized products, the size of the components that power those devices have also reduced. This has created unique challenges for contract manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers that build the finished electronics products.
The first step in creating a PCB is the design phase, where a schematic diagram is used to lay out the layout for all the different components and connections. The layout is then converted into a set of manufacturing files known as Gerbers that contain all the data needed to create the physical circuit board. The Gerber files include the size and shape of the board, the location and size of holes and the layout and placement of traces.
The information in the Gerbers is translated into a physical PCB by a manufacturer using either an additive or subtractive process. In the additive method, a bare laminate is covered with a photosensitive film that’s then exposed to light through a mask to create the desired pattern. This exposure exposes the areas that will be plated with copper and makes them “sensitive” to the metal ions. After the photoresist is stripped, the conductive paths of copper are electroplated onto the bare laminate.
How an Assembled Circuit Board Is Used in Consumer Electronics
After the conductive pathways have been plated, the remaining portions of the bare laminate are coated with epoxy to protect them and prevent solder from leaking from the surface. If the assembled circuit board is double-sided, a second layer of conductive copper is then deposited on the other side of the substrate. The layers of the PCB are then bonded together with a special type of glue under high temperature and pressure, ensuring that the adhesive doesn’t allow air to get trapped between the layers.
Rigid PCBs are solid, inflexible boards that can’t be bent or flexed and are typically used in applications where the PCB must be rugged and durable. They are most commonly used in consumer electronics such as desktop computers, laptops and tablets and in home appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators.
Single-sided PCBs have one layer of conducting material, usually copper, on one side and another side that’s used for incorporating the different electronic components into the circuit. They’re used in low-cost, low-complexity electronic devices such as toys and basic control systems. However, they aren’t able to offer much routing density or space for components and thus aren’t suitable for more complex electronic devices. Double-sided PCBs have conductive pathways on both sides of the substrate, which allows for higher routing density and component placement. They can also be paired with through-holes and vias to connect the conductive pathways on each side of the substrate to those on the other.