Electronic Contract Manufacturing Review: PCB Design Services

Early in the 1850s, the advancement in electronic network systems paved the way for the changes that leads to the creation of printed circuit boards. Electrical parts that were large and taking up space were hooked up to one another by strips of metal, which were subsequently replaced by wires connected to screw terminals. The substrates upon which these parts were placed were originally made of wood, and were later replaced by metal framework. Further advancement in the development of new designs called for the creation of miniature elements to be seated on an increasingly constrained area of the board. This lead to the increasing use of the PCB assembly.
In 1925, Charles Ducas of the US initiated a patent application for a method of making an electrical trail directly onto an insulated surface by stencil printing with electrically conductive links. Widespread use of Eislers methodology didn"t arrive till the 1950s when the transistor became integrated in production. With the coming of transistors, however, the electrical elements became miniaturized, and manufacturers turned to made printed circuit boards to scale back the overall size of the electronic devices. The resulting maximising in element density and densely spaced electric trails started a new market in PCB design.

One-sided boards have the parts on one side of the base. When the quantity of elements becomes too much for a single-sided board, a double-sided board might be used. The 3rd type, a multi- layered board, has a surface made from layers of revealed circuits separated by layers of insulation.

Electronic Parts on a printed circuit board are electrically connected to the circuits by two different processes : the older through hole technology and the newer surface mount technique. With through hole technology, each electrical component has thin wires, or leads, that are pushed through little holes in the base and soldered to connection pads in the circuits on the other side. Gravity and mutual friction between the leads and the sides of the holes keeps the elements in place till they are soldered. With surface mount technology, stubby J-shaped or L-shaped legs on each part contact the printed circuits directly. A solder paste composed from glue, flux, and solder are applied at the point of contact to hold the components in place until the solder is soft, or reflowed, in a cooker to make the final connection. Though surface mount technology requires greater care in the placement of the components, it saves the time-intensive drilling process and the space-consuming connection pads inherent with through hole technology. Both technologies are used today.

Two other types of circuit assemblies are in resemblance with the printed circuit board. An integrated circuit, commonly called an IC or microchip, executes similar process to a printed circuit board aside that the IC contains many more circuits and electrical components that are electrochemically positioned in place on the face of a little chip of silicon.

The modern designs of electronic products continues to pave the way for printed circuit board designs towards smaller and more densely packed boards with more demanding electronic capacities. Future designs beyond the boards described here include 3 dimensional moulded plastic PCB boards and the increased use of integrated circuit chips. These and additional advancements will ensure the construction of printed circuit boards a dynamic field for many years to come.

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The writer to this article is a factory manager of a firm offering PCB assembly services and related contract manufacturing expertise.

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