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INDEX

Introduction1
Products Description.2
Design.3
Raw Materials.4
Manufacturing Process.5-9
Functions10
Warnings11
Bibliography..12

INTRODUCTION

On this work will show what is a PCB and how is manufactured as well as the cautions that the
customer must have to avoid a critical damage of the device
Printed circuit boards are used in all but the simplest electronic products. Alternatives to PCBs
include wire wrap and point-to-point construction. PCBs require the additional design effort to
lay out the circuit, but manufacturing and assembly can be automated. Manufacturing circuits
with PCBs is cheaper and faster than with other wiring methods as components are mounted and
wired with one single part. Furthermore, operator wiring errors are eliminated.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

What is a PCB?
Is self-contained module of interconnected electronic components found in devices ranging
from common beepers, or pagers, and radios to sophisticated radar and computer systems.
How is it structured?
The circuits are formed by a thin layer of conducting material deposited, or printed, on the
surface of an insulating board known as the substrate and soldered to the connecting circuits,
Contact fingers along one ir more edges of the substrate act as connectors to other PCBs or to
external electrical devices such as on-off switches. A printed circuit board may have circuits that
perform a single function, such a signal aplifier, or multiple functions.

DESIGN

There is no such thing as a standard printed circuit board. Each board has a unique function for
a particular product and must be designed to perform that function in the space allotted. Board
designers use computer-aided design systems with special software to layout the circuit pattern
on the board. The spaces between electrical conducting paths are often 0.04 inches (1.0 mm) or
smaller. The location of the holes for component leads or contact points are also laid out, and this
information is translated into instructions for a computer numerical controlled drilling machine or
for the automatic solder paster used in the manufacturing process.
Once the circuit pattern is laid out, a negative image, or mask, is printed out at exact size on a
clear plastic sheet. With a negative image, the areas that are not part of the circuit pattern are
shown in black and the circuit pattern is shown as clear.

RAW MATERIALS

The substrate most commonly used in printed circuit boards is a glass fiber
reinforced (fiberglass) epoxy resin with a copper foil bonded on to one or both sides. PCBs made
from paper reinforced phenolic resin with a bonded copper foil are less expensive and are often
used in household electrical devices.
The printed circuits are made of copper, which is either plated or etched away on the surface
of the substrate to leave the pattern desired. The copper circuits are coated with a layer of tin-lead
to prevent oxidation. Contact fingers are plated with tin-lead, then nickel, and finally gold for
excellent conductivity.
Purchased components include resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, integrated circuit
chips, and others.

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Printed circuit board processing and assembly are done in an extremely clean environment
where the air and components can be kept free of contamination. Most electronic manufacturers
have their own proprietary processes, but the following steps might typically be used to make a
two-sided printed circuit board.
A. Making the substrate
1. Woven glass fiber is unwound from a roll and fed through a process station where it is
impregnated with epoxy resin either by dipping or spraying. The impregnated glass
fiber then passes through rollers which roll the material to the desired thick-ness for the
finished substrate and also remove any excess resin.
2. The substrate material passes through an oven where it is semicured. After the oven, the
material is cut into large panels.
3. The panels are stacked in layers, alternating with layers of adhesive-backed copper foil.
The stacks are placed in a press where they are subjected to temperatures of about
340F (170C) and pressures of 1500 psi for an hour or more. This fully cures the resin
and tightly bonds the copper foil to the surface of the substrate material.
B. Drilling and plating the holes
4. Several panels of substrate, each large enough to make several printed circuit boards,
are stacked on top of each other and pinned together to keep them from moving. The
stacked panels are placed in a CNC machine, and the holes are drilled according to the
pattern determined when the boards were laid out. The holes are deburred to remove
any excess material clinging to the edges of the holes.

5. The inside surfaces of the holes designed to provide a conductive circuit from one side
of the board to the other are plated with copper. Non-conducting holes are plugged to
keep them from being plated or are drilled after the individual boards are cut from the
larger panel.
C. Creating the printed circuit pattern on the substrate
The printed circuit pattern may be created by an "additive" process or a "subtractive" process.
In the additive process, copper is plated, or added, onto the surface of the substrate in the
desired pattern, leaving the rest of the surface unplated. In the subtractive process, the entire
surface of the substrate is first plated, and then the areas that are not part of the desired pattern
are etched away, or subtracted.
6. The foil surface of the substrate is degreased. The panels pass through a vacuum
chamber where a layer of positive photoresist material is pressed firmly onto the entire
surface of the foil. A positive photoresist material is a polymer that has the property of
becoming more soluble when exposed to ultraviolet light. The vacuum ensures that no
air bubbles are trapped between the foil and the photoresist. The printed circuit pattern
mask is laid on top of the photoresist and the panels are exposed to an intense
ultraviolet light. Because the mask is clear in the areas of the printed circuit pattern, the
photoresist in those areas is irradiated and becomes very soluble.
7. The mask is removed, and the surface of the panels is sprayed with an alkaline
developer that dissolves the irradiated photoresist in the areas of the printed circuit
pattern, leaving the copper foil exposed on the surface of the substrate.

8. The panels are then electroplated with copper. The foil on the surface of the substrate
acts as the cathode in this process, and the copper is plated in the exposed foil areas to a
thickness of about 0.001-0.002 inches (0.025-0.050 mm). The areas still covered with
photoresist cannot act as a cathode and are not plated. Tin-lead or another protective
coating is plated on top of the copper plating to prevent the copper from oxidizing and
as a resist for the next manufacturing step.
9. The photoresist is stripped from the boards with a solvent to expose the substrate's
copper foil between the plated printed circuit pattern. The boards are sprayed with an
acid solution which eats away the copper foil. The copper plating on the printed circuit
pattern is protected by the tin-lead coating and is unaffected by the acid.
D. Attaching the contact fingers
10. The contact fingers are attached to the edge of the substrate to connect with the printed
circuit. The contact fingers are masked off from the rest of the board and then plated.
Plating is done with three metals: first tin-lead, next nickel, then gold.
E. Fusing the tin-lead coating
11. The tin-lead coating on the surface of the copper printed circuit pattern is very porous
and is easily oxidized. To protect it, the panels are passed through a "reflow" oven or
hot oil bath which causes the tin-lead to melt, or reflow, into a shiny surface.
F. Sealing, stenciling and cutting the panels
12. Each panel is sealed with epoxy to protect the circuits from being damaged while
components are being attached. Instructions and other markings are stenciled onto the
boards.
13. The panels are then cut into individual boards and the edges are smoothed.
G. Mounting the components
14. Individual boards pass through several machines which place the electronic components
in their proper location in the circuit. If surface mount technology is going to be used to

mount the components, the boards first pass through an automatic solder paster, which
places a dab of solder paste at each component contact point. Very small components
may be placed by a "chip shooter" which rapidly places, or shoots, the components onto
the board. Larger components may be robotically placed. Some components may be too
large or odd-sized for robotic placement and must be manually placed and soldered
later.
15. The components are then soldered to the circuits. With surface mount technology, the
soldering is done by passing the boards through another reflow process, which causes
the solder paste to melt and make the connection.
16. The flux residue from the solder is cleaned with water or solvents depending on the
type of solder used.
H. Packaging
17. Unless the printed circuit boards are going to be used immediately, they are individually
packaged in protective plastic bags for storage or shipping.

FUNCTIONS

PCBs are made of


different parts and resins with circuitry on the surface to connect parts to one another. A PCB will
usually have components for memory chips, processors, input/output devices, and then electrical
components like resistors and capacitors. With the progression of technology circuit boards have
become smaller while accommodating more components. Capacitors are now embedded into
circuit boards which increase circuit performance and allow circuits to become smaller.

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WARNINGS

The solder used to make electrical connections on a PCB contains plumbum, which is
considered a toxic material. The fumes from the solder are considered a health hazard, and the
soldering operations must be carried out in a closed environment. The fumes must be given
appropriate extraction and cleaning before being discharged to the atmosphere.
PCBs can also be prone to damage from electrostatic discharges, this beacuse it contains
static-sensitive components. In general, PCB mounted components are at less risk tan individual
semiconductors.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Braithwaite, Nicholas and Graham Weaver, eds. Electronic Materials. Butterworths, 1990.
Koshel, Dal., ed. Manufacturing Engineer's Reference Book. Butterworth-Heinemann, 1993.
Lotter, Bruno. Manufacturing Assembly Handbook. Butterworths, 1986.

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