Planned Feeding

During the PCB production process, some materials inevitably end up as scrap. To ensure the required number of functional boards, the factory must account for additional material, which compensates for this loss. This extra material should consider factors such as the number of layers, copper thickness, trace width, trace spacing, surface finishes, and any special processes involved. Generally, more complex processes demand a higher proportion of additional materials. Following the feeding phase, the next step is sheet material cutting, which is carried out in two stages.

Copper Clad Laminate Cutting

The PCB production begins with a large sheet of raw material. Due to constraints of production equipment and capabilities, factories impose minimum and maximum processing size requirements. Under these guidelines, the Copper Clad Laminate (CCL) must be cut to the required size using an automatic cutting machine before production begins. (CCL is a material composed of electronic glass fiber cloth or other reinforcing materials impregnated with resin and laminated with copper foil on one or both sides, then heat-pressed.) To maximize CCL utilization, manufacturers pre-plan the PCB panelization and determine the optimal processing size. During the cutting process, factors like panel size, PCB thickness, material type, copper thickness, and the spacing between components and the board’s edges must all be considered.

Board Grinding and Baking 

After cutting, the sheet materials cannot be used directly for image transfer; they must first undergo grinding and baking. The edges of the boards are rounded and smoothed to remove any glass fibers left after cutting, which helps prevent surface scratches or other hidden quality issues. Simultaneously, baking removes moisture and organic volatiles, enhancing the material’s dimensional stability and mechanical strength.

Once all raw materials are prepared, the image transfer process can commence.

For details on the previous stages, check out Pre-engineering | Multi-layer PCB Production Process 01.

If you have any questions about PCBs or PCBA, please feel free to contact me at info@wellcircuits.com.