**PCB Additive Process**
The advent of the Internet era has disrupted traditional marketing models, enabling the aggregation of vast resources more efficiently through online platforms. This shift has accelerated the development of FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) boards. However, as the pace of this development quickens, environmental challenges are increasingly facing PCB manufacturers. Despite this, the rise of the Internet has also spurred advancements in environmental protection and sustainability, with significant strides in environmental data management and green electronic procurement. These innovations are being steadily integrated into the production and operational processes. The method of selectively depositing conductive metal onto an insulating substrate to create a conductive pattern is known as the additive method.
1. **Advantages of the Additive Method**
When a printed circuit board is manufactured using the additive process, it offers several key benefits:
(1) The additive method reduces production costs significantly by eliminating much of the copper etching and the associated high costs of etching solution processing, thereby lowering the overall cost of manufacturing printed circuit boards.
(2) Compared to the subtractive process, the additive process reduces production time by roughly one-third, streamlining the manufacturing workflow and enhancing overall efficiency. Notably, it also avoids the complication where higher product quality leads to more complex processes.
(3) The additive process can achieve smooth, flush wires and surfaces, enabling the production of high-precision printed boards for applications such as SMT (Surface Mount Technology).
(4) In the additive process, electroless copper plating occurs simultaneously on both the hole wall and the trace, ensuring uniform copper plating thickness across the hole wall and board surface. This improves the reliability of metallized holes and meets the requirements for high aspect ratio PCBs and copper plating in small holes.
### 2. Classification of Additive Methods
The additive manufacturing process for printed circuit boards can be classified into three categories:
(1) **Full Additive Process**
This method relies solely on electroless copper to form the conductive patterns. An example of this is the CC-4 method, which involves drilling, imaging, viscosity-enhancing treatment (negative phase), electroless copper plating, and resist removal. A catalytic laminate serves as the substrate.
(2) **Semi-additive Process**
In this process, metal is chemically deposited onto the surface of the insulating substrate, combined with electroplating and etching, or a hybrid of these methods is used alongside the additive process to form conductive patterns. The process flow includes: drilling, catalytic treatment and viscosity enhancement, electroless copper plating, imaging (electroplating resist), patterned copper electroplating (negative phase), resist removal, and differential etching. The substrate used in this method is a standard laminate.
(3) **Partial Additive Process**
This process uses the additive method to manufacture printed boards on catalytic copper-clad laminates. The process flow includes: imaging (anti-etching), copper etching (normal phase), resist layer removal, coating the entire plate with electroplating resist, drilling, electroless copper plating in the holes, and resist removal.
Our factory, located in Shenzhen, China, has been at the heart of the global electronics R&D and manufacturing hub for decades. We are an approved manufacturer by the Chinese government, allowing you to bypass intermediaries and purchase products directly from our website with confidence. As a direct factory, this is why 100% of our repeat customers continue to choose WellCircuits.
If you have any PCB manufacturing needs, please do not hesitate to contact me.Contact me
The advent of the Internet era has disrupted traditional marketing models, enabling the aggregation of vast resources more efficiently through online platforms. This shift has accelerated the development of FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) boards. However, as the pace of this development quickens, environmental challenges are increasingly facing PCB manufacturers. Despite this, the rise of the Internet has also spurred advancements in environmental protection and sustainability, with significant strides in environmental data management and green electronic procurement. These innovations are being steadily integrated into the production and operational processes. The method of selectively depositing conductive metal onto an insulating substrate to create a conductive pattern is known as the additive method.
1. **Advantages of the Additive Method**
When a printed circuit board is manufactured using the additive process, it offers several key benefits:
(1) The additive method reduces production costs significantly by eliminating much of the copper etching and the associated high costs of etching solution processing, thereby lowering the overall cost of manufacturing printed circuit boards.
(2) Compared to the subtractive process, the additive process reduces production time by roughly one-third, streamlining the manufacturing workflow and enhancing overall efficiency. Notably, it also avoids the complication where higher product quality leads to more complex processes.
(3) The additive process can achieve smooth, flush wires and surfaces, enabling the production of high-precision printed boards for applications such as SMT (Surface Mount Technology).
(4) In the additive process, electroless copper plating occurs simultaneously on both the hole wall and the trace, ensuring uniform copper plating thickness across the hole wall and board surface. This improves the reliability of metallized holes and meets the requirements for high aspect ratio PCBs and copper plating in small holes.
### 2. Classification of Additive Methods
The additive manufacturing process for printed circuit boards can be classified into three categories:
(1) **Full Additive Process**
This method relies solely on electroless copper to form the conductive patterns. An example of this is the CC-4 method, which involves drilling, imaging, viscosity-enhancing treatment (negative phase), electroless copper plating, and resist removal. A catalytic laminate serves as the substrate.
(2) **Semi-additive Process**
In this process, metal is chemically deposited onto the surface of the insulating substrate, combined with electroplating and etching, or a hybrid of these methods is used alongside the additive process to form conductive patterns. The process flow includes: drilling, catalytic treatment and viscosity enhancement, electroless copper plating, imaging (electroplating resist), patterned copper electroplating (negative phase), resist removal, and differential etching. The substrate used in this method is a standard laminate.
(3) **Partial Additive Process**
This process uses the additive method to manufacture printed boards on catalytic copper-clad laminates. The process flow includes: imaging (anti-etching), copper etching (normal phase), resist layer removal, coating the entire plate with electroplating resist, drilling, electroless copper plating in the holes, and resist removal.
Our factory, located in Shenzhen, China, has been at the heart of the global electronics R&D and manufacturing hub for decades. We are an approved manufacturer by the Chinese government, allowing you to bypass intermediaries and purchase products directly from our website with confidence. As a direct factory, this is why 100% of our repeat customers continue to choose WellCircuits.
If you have any PCB manufacturing needs, please do not hesitate to contact me.Contact me
