The gerber files will also contain drill files, showing us where exactly to drill the holes to make all the via connections we discussed earlier. They will also contain soldermask and nomenclature files — which are discussed later, as well as a file that shows us exactly how to cut out the perimeter of their board.
All PCB designers — whether rigid, flexible, or rigid flex — use these files to communicate to PCB manufacturers exactly how they want their boards built. They include one other item that is critical for the PCB fabricator — a fabrication print.
The fabrication print carefully details all the requirements of the boards, that are not in the gerber files. The fabrication print for example will detail what materials we are to use building their board, what size drilled holes they would like, any special manufacturing instructions or specifications we need to meet, and miscellaneous information like what color soldermask or nomenclature they would like.
As PCBs are highly customizable, they can be designed and manufactured to various flexibilities, sizes, and configurations to fit almost any application. The primary materials used in the manufacture of PCBs are fiberglass or plastic substrates, copper, solder mask, and nomenclature ink. Rigid PCBs often use FR4 or polyimide fiberglass, while flexible circuits and rigid-flex flexible layers typically use high-temperature polyimide films.
The purpose of the substrate is to provide a non-conductive base upon which the conductive circuits can be constructed and insulated from one another. Polyimide and LCP laminates are typically used in high reliability or high signal speed applications. Polyester and polyethylene napthalate laminates are primarily chosen for their low cost, and usually are just single layers of circuitry.
Due to its high electrical conductivity, copper is the most used conducting material for circuitry in PCBs. The laminates described above, all come with thin sheets of copper foil laminated to one or both sides of the plastic. The thickness and number of layers required are largely dependent upon the application for which the PCB will be used. Soldermask is a liquid, usually an epoxy material, that is applied onto the outerlayers of rigid PCBs.
Soldermask is primarily designed to insulate the copper circuits on outerlayers from oxidation from the environment. Soldermask is also designed to control and retain the flow of solder when the components are assembled to the PCB.
Without soldermask, the liquid solder could flow out onto the surface of the PCB, connecting two adjacent circuits and short out the board. The most common color for soldermask is green, but blue, black, red, amber, clear, white and many other colors exist as well.
Once the soldermask layers are completed, identifying information, marks and sometimes bar codes, are printed onto the soldermask. These marks are called nomenclature, and they will also be defined by files that were included with the other gerber layers.
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It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The ins and outs of PCB design are way too in depth to get into here, but if you really want to get started, here are some pointers:.
Finally, a few words on the utility of designing your own circuit boards. If you plan on making more than one or two of a given project, the payback on designing a board is pretty good- point-to-point wiring circuits on a protoboard is a hassle, and they tend to be less robust than purpose-designed boards. It also allows you to sell your design if it turns out to be popular. See our Engineering Essentials page for a full list of cornerstone topics surrounding electrical engineering. Take me there!
Need Help? Mountain Time: Shopping Cart 0 items. Product Menu. Today's Deals Forum Desktop Site. All Categories. Development Single Board Comp. Contributors: SFUptownMaker. Overview One of the key concepts in electronics is the printed circuit board or PCB. What's a PCB? Composition A PCB is sort of like a layer cake or lasagna- there are alternating layers of different materials which are laminated together with heat and adhesive such that the result is a single object.
Terminology Now that you've got an idea of what a PCB structure is, let's define some terms that you may hear when dealing with PCBs: Annular ring - the ring of copper around a plated through hole in a PCB. Designing Your Own! The ins and outs of PCB design are way too in depth to get into here, but if you really want to get started, here are some pointers: Find a CAD package: there are a lot of low-cost or free options out there on the market for PCB design. Things to consider when choosing a package: Community support: are there a lot of people using the package?
The more people using it, the more likely you are to find ready-made libraries with the parts you need.
Ease-of-use: if it's painful to use it, you won't. Capability: some programs place limitations on your design- number of layers, number of components, size of board, etc. Most of them allow you to pay for a license to upgrade their capability.
Portability: some free programs do not allow you to export or convert your designs, locking you in to one supplier only. Maybe that's a fair price to pay for convenience and price, maybe not. Cookie Settings Accept All. Manage consent. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.
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