1. As a PCB expert, I understand the importance of using an etching process to expose the conductive insulation surface between the conductive wires in order to manufacture printed circuit boards.

2. It is crucial to have high-quality PCBs in order to develop efficient and modern electronic products.

3. While the terms printed wiring board and printed circuit board can be used interchangeably when referring to electronic products, there are subtle differences between the two.

4. Although these differences may be subtle, it is important to recognize that these terms refer to two distinct things.

Printed Wiring Board

How to Manufacture a Printed Wiring Board?

1. Lamination

Lamination typically involves pressing and heating multiple substrate layers to form a laminate. The substrate, often made of ceramics or FR4, acts as a dielectric material that provides electrical isolation for the conductive layer. Meanwhile, the prepreg, a resin-based material, bonds laminated components together. During lamination, the prepreg layer and substrate layer are sandwiched together.

2. Drilling

Drilling is essential for fixing components on the circuit board. This process, done manually or automatically, involves drilling vias and fixing components. Gerber files can be used to generate walkthrough files, providing the location of the drill hole on the drill pipe. For plating through-hole assembly, a manually operated machine is used for manual drilling, while automatic drilling uses specialized machines and drill files to drill the required holes. Automated drilling methods can take various forms, including laser drilling.

3. Conductive Track Creation

Printed wiring boards rely on conductive tracks to transmit electrical signals. Copper is commonly used for conductive wiring due to its admirable signal transmission quality. The additive method deposits copper on the substrate surface to match the desired pattern, while the subtraction method etches copper film to remove unnecessary materials.

Can Printed Wiring Boards be Configured in Multiple Layers?

Printed circuit boards become printed wiring boards when equipped with two types of electronic components – surface mount and through-hole components. Through-hole components serve as lead components and require holes on the board to secure the leads, while surface mount components have metalized surfaces that connect to the board’s surface.

Can Only Copper be Used for the Traces of Printed Wiring Boards?

While copper is commonly used for traces, other metal materials such as silver and gold can also be applicable. Copper has high conductivity and low resistance levels, while gold ranks higher in terms of conductivity.

What Type of Copper Weight is Suitable for Printed Wiring Boards?

Printed wiring boards use different copper weights, including standard copper, polar copper, and thick copper. Standard copper ranges from 0.5 ounces to 2 ounces, while thick copper refers to copper with a thickness between 3 and 8 ounces. Different copper sheets can be combined to achieve the desired weight or thickness.

Can Conformal Coatings Work on Printed Wiring Boards?

Conformal coatings, resin-based layers, can shield densely packed printed wiring boards from external elements such as moisture and dust, but are not suitable for use on printed wiring boards due to their lack of surface features.

Printed wiring boards play crucial roles in electronic products by providing mechanical support for various electronic components, achieving wiring and electrical connections, supplying required electrical characteristics, and facilitating automatic insertion and installation of electronic components, soldering, and detection. This ensures consistent quality and efficiency in electronic product manufacturing and maintenance.

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