PCB is a thin board made of fiberglass, which is laminated with copper because of its non-conductive nature. All the components are inter-linked without wires in a fast PCB assembly order.
PCB or Printed Circuit Board is a thin fiberglass-made board used in most electronics as the base. This board works as a physical support piece along with wiring space for the socket and surface-mounted components. It is non-conductive in nature as laminated with copper. All the components are internally connected without wires in a fast PCB assembly order. This board also helps to decrease the complexity of total circuit design, which is common in many electronics devices like Mobile Phones, TV, Digital Camera, Motherboard and Graphics Cards in Computer Parts.
PCB is further used in major fields of industrial machinery, medical devices, lighting, the aerospace sector, and automotive industries, among others. This board is used both on laptop and desktop computers. This circuit board found in mobile phones looks the same to those found in large electronics and desktop computers, which are generally thinner and incorporate finer circuitry.
Types of Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
There are different types of PCBs. And each of these boards are available with their specifications for the circuit, with distinct usage and material types. Out of these types of fast PCB assembly order, the following are the types of boards available-
1. Single-Layer PCB: This type of circuit board is simple and mostly preferred for their unique manufacturing style and designing. A single-side of this board is coated with layers of conducting material, like copper. It uses copper because this material has great conducting characteristics. A layer of solder mask is also used in it to protect this board from oxidation. One of the noted features of this PCB is only one side of the board is used to connect distinct types of electronics or electrical components like a capacitor, resistor, and inductor. These circuit boards are mostly used for bulk manufacturing at low-budget, like radio, calculators, solid-state drives, and printers.
2. Flexible PCB: This type of circuit board is made of simple plastic materials, which can be placed both twisted and folded. A flexible PCB contains various layers, like a double-sided flex circuit, single-sided flex circuit, and multiple-sided flex circuit, which is very complex. This circuit board is commonly used in flex solar cells, organic light-emitting diode, camera, cellular telephones, automotive industries, and complex electronic devices, like laptops.
3. Double-Layer PCB: This type of circuit board is designed with a thin layer of copper (conductive material), which is applied on both sides of the board. The holes drilled inside the board let the circuit connect one side with the other. That can be connected in two methods, either with a surface-mount or from a through-hole. These type of boards are used to make applications that need an interlevel of circuit complexity, like HVAC System, Industrial Controls, Instrumentation, Power Supplies, Amplifiers, Automotive Controls, LED Lighting, UPS Systems, and Vending Machines.
4. Flex-Rigid PCB: This type of circuit board combines the best of the flexible circuit and rigid circuit, which consists of multiple layers to form a single circuit board. This flex-rigid PCB is used mainly in digital cameras, cell phones, and automobiles, among others.
5. Multiple-Layer PCB: This type of circuit board is designed with more than two layers, which suggests it has around three conductive layers of copper. It has a very complex design, which is used in making large and highly-complicated electrical applications in a compact circuit and very-low space. It is also used in large applications like Satellite System, GPS Technology, File Server, Medical Equipment, and Data Storage.
6. Aluminium-Supported PCB: This type of circuit board is designed similarly alike the copper-supported PCB. However, aluminum-supported PCB uses an aluminum or copper substrate board instead of a fiberglass board. It is featured with thermally insulated metals, which offer low thermal resistance that results in low-production of heat. This type of board is non-toxic and environmental-friendly, which is available at low-budget. It is used in making of Automotive Lightning, Traffic Lights, Motor Controllers, Power Supplies, and High-Current Circuitry.
Designing Software for PCBs
The following are the list of common PCB designing software-
- Multisim
- Eagle
- Altium Designer
- EasyEDA
- CircuitMaker
- KiCad
Therefore, this Printed Circuit Board (PCB) has different types that are used for the manufacturing of several electronic devices and applications. The major element of this board is a dielectric substrate that can be either flexible or rigid, which is combined with conductive metal like copper. If you looking for making bulk production, double-layer PCB is the perfect option.
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