The Secret to Making PCB Circuit Boards Quickly
With the continuous advancement of electronic communication technology, traditional circuit board manufacturing methods are increasingly inadequate for this high-speed development era. To produce PCB circuits with high precision, excellent performance, and cost efficiency quickly is undoubtedly the ultimate challenge for circuit design engineers.
1. The Method of Making Circuit Boards Quickly
There are numerous methods for manufacturing and processing circuit boards, with the main approaches being physical and chemical methods:
Physical Method: This involves manually engraving the unwanted copper on the circuit board using various knives and electric tools.
Chemical Method: This method entails covering the blank copper-clad board with a protective layer and then etching away the unnecessary copper in a corrosive solution. This is currently the most widely used method among developers. The protective layer can be applied through various techniques, including the traditional manual lacquer method, custom-made self-adhesive method, film photosensitive method, and the recently developed thermal transfer printing method.
Paint by Hand: Use a brush or a hard pen to manually draw the circuit pattern on the blank copper-clad laminate, then dry it and immerse it in the corrosive solution.
Adhesive Stickers: Various stickers available on the market come in strips and discs. These stickers can be combined on the blank circuit board as needed, and after being firmly adhered, the board can be corroded.
Film Photosensitive: Print the PCB circuit board diagram on film using a laser printer. Apply a layer of photosensitive material to a blank copper-clad laminate (pre-coated laminates are available commercially), then expose, develop, fix, and clean it in a darkroom environment. Afterward, the board can be corroded in the solution. Thermal Transfer: Directly print the circuit onto a blank circuit board using a thermal transfer printer, then place it in corrosive liquid for etching.
Second: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Two Rapid Circuit Board Production Methods
Physical Method: This method is labor-intensive and lacks precision, suitable only for simple lines. Its major drawbacks include high labor and time consumption, difficulty in controlling accuracy, and irreversibility. It demands high operational skills and is rarely adopted today.
Chemical Method: Although the process is complex, precision is controllable and it is currently the most widely used rapid plate-making method, despite several issues:
1. Printing accuracy depends on the printer cartridge. Poor-quality printers produce uneven lines, leading to disconnections and adhesion issues during corrosion.
2. Exposure and development times for photosensitive plates are difficult to control. Each batch may require different exposure times, necessitating repeated trials.
3. Controlling the corrosion process is challenging without professional equipment. Factors such as temperature, concentration, and pH of the corrosion solution significantly affect quality, requiring considerable experience to avoid material wastage.
4. Photosensitive plates have stringent environmental requirements, needing storage in darkness and low temperatures, with exposure processes also requiring darkroom conditions.
5. Both silver salts (photosensitive material) and copper salts (corrosion byproducts) are toxic. Precautions are necessary during the corrosion process, and stains are difficult to clean. Waste disposal is also problematic due to environmental concerns.
6. Manual finishing of etched boards is required, making accuracy difficult to control. As environmental regulations become stricter, PCB manufacturers face challenges but also opportunities. Addressing environmental pollution could position PCB factories to excel, particularly in the flexible circuit board market.
With the continuous advancement of electronic communication technology, traditional circuit board manufacturing methods are increasingly inadequate for this high-speed development era. To produce PCB circuits with high precision, excellent performance, and cost efficiency quickly is undoubtedly the ultimate challenge for circuit design engineers.
1. The Method of Making Circuit Boards Quickly
There are numerous methods for manufacturing and processing circuit boards, with the main approaches being physical and chemical methods:
Physical Method: This involves manually engraving the unwanted copper on the circuit board using various knives and electric tools.
Chemical Method: This method entails covering the blank copper-clad board with a protective layer and then etching away the unnecessary copper in a corrosive solution. This is currently the most widely used method among developers. The protective layer can be applied through various techniques, including the traditional manual lacquer method, custom-made self-adhesive method, film photosensitive method, and the recently developed thermal transfer printing method.
Paint by Hand: Use a brush or a hard pen to manually draw the circuit pattern on the blank copper-clad laminate, then dry it and immerse it in the corrosive solution.
Adhesive Stickers: Various stickers available on the market come in strips and discs. These stickers can be combined on the blank circuit board as needed, and after being firmly adhered, the board can be corroded.
Film Photosensitive: Print the PCB circuit board diagram on film using a laser printer. Apply a layer of photosensitive material to a blank copper-clad laminate (pre-coated laminates are available commercially), then expose, develop, fix, and clean it in a darkroom environment. Afterward, the board can be corroded in the solution. Thermal Transfer: Directly print the circuit onto a blank circuit board using a thermal transfer printer, then place it in corrosive liquid for etching.
Second: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Two Rapid Circuit Board Production Methods
Physical Method: This method is labor-intensive and lacks precision, suitable only for simple lines. Its major drawbacks include high labor and time consumption, difficulty in controlling accuracy, and irreversibility. It demands high operational skills and is rarely adopted today.
Chemical Method: Although the process is complex, precision is controllable and it is currently the most widely used rapid plate-making method, despite several issues:
1. Printing accuracy depends on the printer cartridge. Poor-quality printers produce uneven lines, leading to disconnections and adhesion issues during corrosion.
2. Exposure and development times for photosensitive plates are difficult to control. Each batch may require different exposure times, necessitating repeated trials.
3. Controlling the corrosion process is challenging without professional equipment. Factors such as temperature, concentration, and pH of the corrosion solution significantly affect quality, requiring considerable experience to avoid material wastage.
4. Photosensitive plates have stringent environmental requirements, needing storage in darkness and low temperatures, with exposure processes also requiring darkroom conditions.
5. Both silver salts (photosensitive material) and copper salts (corrosion byproducts) are toxic. Precautions are necessary during the corrosion process, and stains are difficult to clean. Waste disposal is also problematic due to environmental concerns.
6. Manual finishing of etched boards is required, making accuracy difficult to control. As environmental regulations become stricter, PCB manufacturers face challenges but also opportunities. Addressing environmental pollution could position PCB factories to excel, particularly in the flexible circuit board market.
