Not so long ago, electric connections were commonly made through point-to-point wiring. But failures do occur at wire junctions with this method, as the wiring insulation wears or get damaged. With the rising demand for advanced electronic products and devices, technological innovations have developed more reliable printed circuit board assembly techniques. The printed circuit board (PCB) connects and supports various electronic parts with the use of conductive tracks and pads.

They can be designed either manually or using precise software. The materials used in printed circuit board assembly include copper foil, laminates, copper-clad laminates, and resin impregnated B-stage cloth.

Printed circuit board assembly involves different technologies and processes, including through-hole and surface mount technology. It can be done with multi-layer, two copper layers (double sided), or one copper layer (single sided) boards. Each technology or process for a printed circuit board assembly has its own unique procedures to follow.

• Through-hole assembly - the component leads are assembled and soldered onto the board through a wave soldering process. It restricts the routing area available for signal traces on multi-layer boards, particularly on layers below the top. This is because the holes should pass through all the layers and required plenty of holes to drill with accuracy.
• Surface mount assembly - in this option, there is deposition of solder paste on the pads of the PCB. Electronic components are placed onto those connection pads which are reflowed to melt the solder paste, forming both the mechanical and electrical connections of the component lead to the board.    

There are numerous steps to conduct in manufacturing a printed circuit board, including:

• Panelization
• Copper patterning
• Chemical etching
• Drilling
• Lamination
• Coating
• Plating
• Legend printing
• Applying solder resist
• Bare-board testing
• Packaging 

Want to learn more about precise and speedy assembly of printed circuit boards? Get in contact with Permatech Electronics to request a consultation today!