PCB prototype manufacturing process matters

First of all, clearly define the PCB development process, you can best understand the essence of the PCB original board. Circuit boards are usually periodic and contain many iterations. Each iteration includes design, build and test phases to improve design quality. The technology of continuously modifying the circuit board until all errors are corrected and the required quality is obtained is called PCB prototype design. The construction stage of development is the stage of physical embodiment of construction design. In each iteration of the prototyping cycle, a new board is created or manufactured and then tested. During the prototype design, the main purpose of testing is to verify the function and operation.

Next, we will introduce the following points of PCB prototype manufacturing process matters：

1. Using additive manufacturing method to build PCB prototype

2. SLS technology of PCB prototype construction

3. Automatic additional PCB prototyping

(1) Using additive manufacturing method to build PCB prototype

Additive manufacturing is usually used interchangeably with 3D printing, which is a method of manufacturing objects by continuously adding material layers. This method provides engineers and circuit board designers with the convenience of manufacturing single or small PCB prototypes on their desks. Let's take a look at some additive manufacturing technologies for PCB prototyping and manufacturing.

(2) SLS technology of PCB prototype construction

As the name suggests, fused deposition modeling (FDM) creates objects by stacking layers and fusing them together. Each layer usually consists of thermoplastic that can be fused by heating and cooling processes, such as the following: FDM materials, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene terephthalate (PETG), Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). By combining FDM with stereo lithography (SLA), laser direct writing (LDW) and other processes to add conductive materials and embedded components, PCB prototypes can be created. Selective laser sintering (SLS) is one of the power bed fusion technologies. It uses a laser to manufacture nylon or polyamide parts. The process starts with a powdered substance, which is then heated to form a different shape without liquefaction.

(3) Automatic additional PCB prototyping

One of the advantages of rapid prototyping technology is to minimize the equipment or machinery required for manufacturing. In general, only one machine (such as a 3D printer) is required, instead of tools and equipment (such as a lathe or drill) for conventional PCB manufacturing. A process exhibiting this lack of tools and no human intervention between the computer model and the final product is an example of solid state free form manufacturing or SFF.

In almost all cases, manufacturing produces a PCB without components. Therefore, it is necessary to assemble or assemble parts to complete the prototype. As discussed earlier, there are some problems with embedded components for rapid prototyping.

In addition, a new additive manufacturing technology has been developed in which certain types of components can be embedded during manufacturing. Although it is not widely used, this technology and other technologies are gradually becoming popular. An example of subtractive manufacturing is the flex (CIF) component, which attempts to maximize the use of inner board space by embedding the component into the inner layer.