Did you know that many of your favourite gadgets have printed circuit boards inside of them? A lot of time and effort has been put into creating these devices from the design stage to the manufacturing stage and there are many people involved. Keep reading to hear about the manufacturing process.
Design
Before the PCB gets manufactured, a PCB designer will work through the various stages of the design process. They will come up with the schematic and use special software that allows them to create their design in 3D. They will figure out the components that will be used and they will add copper traces. Once the design process is complete, they send the design and requirements on to their manufacturer.
Step One
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The first step of the PCB manufacturing process is the data transfer from the customer. The manufacturer will need to figure out what the requirements are and ensure that they meet these. They will then go through the data prep stage and work on the cores and laminate.
Step Two
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Once this first step is completed, the manufacturer will work on the coating. This is usually a dry film resist coating and it is added to the outside of the PCB.
Step Three
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The next step in the process is in placing the artwork on the PCB. This usually goes on the top, but it can depend on the design. In this stage, the manufacturer will also expose the panels on the PCB to ultraviolet light. Then, they’ll develop the panels and work on the resist removal.
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Step Four
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Step four in the manufacturing process involves etching. The manufacturer will get to work on etching the design and the different components onto the printed circuit board.
Step Five
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Once the PCB has been etched, the manufacturer will need to add the strip resist. Next up is the oxide coating which will be added to the PCB on the outside of the main board. They will then add the multi layer lamination and the primary drilling.
Step Six
Step eight involves the debugger and clean stage of the process. They will also work to besmear and add the copper deposition. The manufacturer will also add a dry film photo resist coat. They will then expose and develop the PCB.
Step Seven
The next stage is the part where they will add the copper pattern plate and then add a strip resist. Once this is complete, the PCB will be etched and then a solder mask and cure will be added.
Step Eight
The final stages of the PCB manufacturing process involve adding a hot air solder levelling, surface finishes and a legend and cure. Once this is complete, the fabrication and routing will be done, and the PCB will be tested and inspected.
Now that you know about the different stages in the process, you can appreciate how complicated these circuit boards are inside each of your tech products.
