Inner layer processing requires Dry Film Photo Resist to be laminated onto the copper surface. The dry film is resolved into a circuit pattern. Copper we want to keep is protected by the circuit pattern from the etchants used to remove the copper. The bond of the dry film to the copper surface must be strong enough so that the film does not come of when in the etchant chemistry. Copper foil such as RTF, Reverse Treated Foil, are rough enough so that the dry film forms a good bond to the copper as is. Many copper foils are not rough enough or are supplied with a contaminated surface. In these cases the foil must be (more…)

What does it take to build a circuit board? For starters you can’t build a printed circuit board without materials. What types of materials to be used are defined by the customer supplied documentation and or by the methods/release engineer. If requirements are not specified by the customer the methods/release engineer shall default to IPC standards. The various manufacturing operations used are a series of added and subtractive processes. All of which are determined by the methods/release engineer. It takes many different types of chemicals and materials to fabricate the printed circuit board. The most important material is what we start with and that’s the base copper clad laminate.

Base laminate is typically copper clad FR4. FR4 is a composite material consisting of (more…)

Printed Circuit Board fabricators all have a Front End Engineering group. How the group is organized and what they are called differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. The task remains the same. They are tasked with taking in customer designs and converting them into tooling for use by the manufacturing plant to build the customer’s design. Front End Engineering of a printed circuit board manufacturer consists of at least three core disciplines… (more…)

The first step in the manufacturing process of a printed circuit board is commonly referred to as data preparation. This is an operation in which information provided by the customer or designer is converted for use by the manufacturer to build the pcb. There are standard data formats required by the bare board manufacturer. The commonly accepted formats are as follows… (more…)

The steps required to build a standard printed circuit board are numerous. I shall start by itemizing the steps. I shall then document each one in greater detail as we go. The generic fabrication steps are as follows… (more…)

A misconception by many people is that printed circuit boards are a commodity. A commodity is defined as a good for which there is a demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. The product is the same no matter who produces it. Paper is paper and copper is copper. One would think that if a printed circuit board is manufactured to the standards of the IPC then it would be considered as a commodity. If the board meets the specification requirements then it would be consistent enough from supplier to supplier to be considered a commodity. The reality is far different than the wish.

It is true that a printed circuit board is built to an industry standard. The industry standard specifies the minimum acceptable requirements for quality and performance. However, a board made by one manufacturer is not (more…)