PCB Assembly Tips

No matter you are students, hobbyists, engineers, etc., you all want to spend less without sacrificing quality when you are designing your PCBs. That is why it is important to keep a few printed circuit board tips in mind in order to help you simplify assembly and get the PCBs you need. Use a good drawing package that locates components on your PCB and consult your manufacturer to ensure the finish you chose will work best with their assembly process. 

It is also very critical whether to choose automated or hand assembly for your printed circuit board order, because the final choice will affect your budget and production time. If the quantity of your PCB which needs to be fabricated is small, assembly by hand is a viable option, while a high volume run may require automated assembly because it can be more cost efficient. Also consider the fact that the volume of your run is not only determined by the number of PCBs you order but also the number of components you have on each PCB.

For more info. about PCB assembly, please visit www.epcb.com

PCB Plating Finish

When you are in the process of designing your PCBs, you have a lot of decisions to make in order to make sure that your finished PCBs can work best for your application. One of these decisions is to choose a suitable printed circuit board plating finish. Although there are multiple plating finishes available, each has its own unique benefits that can either make or break your PCBs. Hot air solder leveling (HASL) keeps fabrication costs low and is excellent for both solder wettability and solder joint integrity. A lead-free HASL finish is also available. In addition, printed circuit boards may be plated using electroless nickel immersion gold, which provides excellent co-planarity, immersion silver, which offers low resistance and high speed, or immersion tin, which is used to create a layer of metal that results in a flat finish. Other options include organic solderable coatings (OSP), and electrolytic nickel gold. Consult a PCB expert to learn about your best option.

For more info. about PCB surface finish, please visit www.epcb.com

Printed Circuit Board Milling

Printed circuit board milling (also known as: isolation milling) is the process of removing areas of copper from a sheet of printed circuit board material to recreate the pads, signal traces and structures according to patterns from a digital circuit board plan known as a layout file. Similar to the more common and well known chemical PCB etch process, the PCB milling process is subtractive: material is removed to create the electrical isolation and ground planes required. PCB milling has advantages for both prototyping and some special PCB designs. Probably the biggest benefit is that one doesn't have to use chemicals to produce PCB's.

For more info. about PCB fabrication process, please visit www.epcb.com

PCB Finishes

You may think that the surface finish of your printed circuit board only plays a small role in the cost of your project. However, the finish you choose for your PCB can have significant effects on the quality of your boards.

RoHS finishes for your PCB order vary based on applicability and cost. Four of the most common finishes available include the following:

1.Hot Air Surface Leveling (HASL) – HASL is the least expensive you can buy. This option is a good economical choice for through-hole boards but since they have very low surface planarity, they may not be compatible with all SMT boards.

2.Immersion Tin – Immersion coatings are used to create a layer of metal that results in a flat finish. Tin is the least expensive material you can get using the immersion process, but it may not be ideal because the tin layer begins to tarnish immediately.

3.Immersion Silver – Immersion silver is applied in the same way as tin, but it has a longer shelf life because it does not react with the copper. However, if the PCBs are not stored properly they can begin to oxidize and should be placed and reflowed within 24 hours after removing them from packaging.

4.Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG) – ENIG is made up of chemically deposited nickel followed by a layer of immersion gold. This option offers several years of shelf life and has better solderability than both tin and silver.

For more info. about PCBs, please visit www.epcb.com

PCB Certifications

Whatever industry you are in, the related certification is an important evidence which can ensure that the goods or service you provided are met the quality standards to some extent. That’s the reason why companies who earn certification for products or services always can build a fine and positive reputation in their industry, and easily keep the loyal customers.

As to printed circuit boards, certifications also plays an important role in assuring  customers of qualified PCBs. There are various certifications for PCB manufacturers and they are involved in every step of manufacturing and assembly. We EPCB firmly comply with the requirements of RoHS compliant and IPC-A-600H-2010 in PCB manufacturing process, and always provide quality certification to our clients. Besides, our engineers always work closely with our suppliers to minimize risk and the potential for loss from defective boards, and that's why we EPCB have a good reputation in the PCB industry.

For more info. about EPCB, please visit www.epcb.com.

PCB Panelization

PCB panelization, also known as the processing of boards in an array format, keeps small boards attached to each other within a single, larger substrate. As circuit boards become smaller, changes to production processes must be made in order to ensure that quality is not sacrificed. Panelization helps to address these issues to process multiple small boards through assembly, and is becoming more prevalent as board sizes shrink.

There are two primary reasons for using an array scheme: One is to increase throughput, and the other to allow the manufacturing process to maintain its standard panel size. Besides, smaller boards run the risk of being removed during routing due to the router’s vacuum pressure, while the risk can be largely reduced when boards are arrayed in a good order.

For more information, please visit www.epcb.com

Protecting Printed Circuit Boards from Surges

To maintain the standards you set for quality and performance, it is important to ensure that the components on your PCBs are protected from the elements. Most protection on PCBs is used to guard against the elements such as high temperatures and humidity. However, at times electromagnetic interference and other forces can generate transients that can destroy components. There are different types of surges that can occur, which is why it is important to understand how to best protect your PCBs during the design phase.

Electrostatic Discharge – Also known as ESD, electrostatic discharge is the most common surge. It is caused by a buildup of charge on the equipment or people near it and can produce a surge that damages or destroys semiconductor components.

Electrical Fast Transient – EFT bursts happen when an inductive load is opened. Inductors store energy and when the circuit is opened the energy is released, which can also have damaging effects.

Expect the above two types of pulses, electromagnetic interference, lightning and other forces all can disrupt electronics. Developing PCB designs that protect against these surges help engineers maintain circuit integrity and efficiency in the application.

Tips for Easy PCB Assembly

Tips for Easy PCB Assembly

When you are in the process of designing your printed circuit boards for fabrication, we know that it is important to maximize the efficiency of your PCB in order to reduce your overall cost. In order to do this, the team at EPCB has put together tips to help you along the way. Be sure to start by placing the components that require a specific location on your PCB first. Also, do your best to minimize trace lengths during the design process so you can maximize functionality. 

Submit Gerber Files to EPCB to Help Expedite Your Order

When you submit your files to EPCB, we will check the specification you filled out before placing your order. Then we will evaluate your PCB design, if anything wrong, we will inform you about that and give our suggestion to you. Once these issues are resolved, your PCBs will be made on site and tested by expert engineers for quality assurance before shipping. To learn more about the design and fabrication process, contact a representative at EPCB today. 

Flex Circuits Mistakes

When making your printed circuit boards you want to be able to get the functionality you need to keep your system running and you also want everything to be easy to assemble. There are some common mistakes made with flex circuits, however, that can inhibit your progress. EPCB can help avoid such issues as placing vias outside the stiffener area, which can cause via cracking. Not providing the proper stiffener information can also lead you to getting the wrong product. You also run into problems with flex circuits when placing the edge of the feature closer than to the edge of the board.

For more information about PCBs, please visit www.epcb.com.

Flexible Printed Circuits

Flexible printed circuits were originally designed as a replacement for traditional wire harnesses. From early applications during World War II to the present, growth and proliferation for flex circuits and flexible printed circuit boards continues exponentially. There are many benefits of Flexible Printed Circuits including: assembly error reduction, decreased assembly time and costs, flexibility during installation, high density applications, etc.

Here we want to talk something about design freedom– unlike rigid boards, flex circuits are not restricted to two dimensions. Because they are as flexible as wires or ribbon cables, flex circuit design options are endless. Flex circuits can be designed to meet highly complex and unimaginable configurations while being able to operate in the most hostile environments. Flex circuit designs could entail any of the following:

Highly complex configurations

Withstand hostile operating environments

Single- Double- combinations

Complex interconnections

Shielding

Rigid/flex capabilities

Surface mounted devices

For more information, please visit www.epcb.com.

Wiring Tips for Your Multi-Layer Printed Circuit Board

When you are designing multi-layer boards for your product, it is crucial to have a design that allows for maximum efficiency while keeping the PCBs footprint at a minimum. To accomplish this there are a few wiring tips that you can keep in mind in order to keep a clean design that will help you achieve the functionality you need. Above three lines, it is a good idea to try to have line loops through each point so that your printed circuit board is easy to test and wire length is as short as possible. Be sure to place your components as neatly and uniformly as possible on your PCBs so that wiring can be completed in straight lines and at simple angles. This helps avoid wasted space on your PCB so that you can get the optimum usability from each layer.

Top Laminate Suppliers for PCBs

Knowing how your printed circuit boards are made will help you during your design process because you will know what to expect from the finished product. The laminate used on your printed circuit boards will help achieve final thickness and give you a PCB that you can use for your application. You will be able to get the strength you expect from your PCBs and use the information listed to design the exact boards that you need. EPCB ensures that every finished PCB ordered on our company can meet the toughest standards set by the industry for quality. 

Superior Customer Service

At all stages of your development process, from designing your application to assembling your finished product, you should be able to expect that everything will go smoothly. This includes the process of designing and manufacturing your printed circuit boards to get the highest quality to meet all of your unique specifications. EPCB, one of the best PCB manufacturers in Shanghai, China, has lots of professional experts to help you get all of your questions answered. By meeting and exceeding quality and manufacturing standards set by the industry, EPCB is able to produce all of the PCBs that you need to get the job done quickly and correctly. With all of the resources available, you are ensured of the excellent PCBs no matter your order is small or large. Contact us today for more information. 

Quality and Cost

As a customer you are given an important task for every project you work on. You must be able to find the balance between the quality of your printed circuit boards and their cost. While you can save money for yourself or an organization with the choices you make for laminates and complexity, you might be costing yourself more in the long run. Many customers work to achieve the highest level of quality by having a tighter tolerance on their PCBs. The thought is that this improves quality and functionality, but it could also lead to higher unit costs. As a result, you may find less room in the budget and fewer contracts. EPCB has the ability to provide highest level of quality with best price to you. Contact us without any hesitation for more information, and our team is willing to solve any problem from you. 

Via Tenting for PCBs

Most customers find PCBs being thinner and use more surface mount components for their products. To solve this problem, EPCB use via tenting which can easily prevent excess solder in vias by covering them over with solder mask. By covering vias with solder mask material on the device side, the vias can be tented over to prevent solder from filling vias. This effectively keeps the low profile you need for your printed circuit board.

While via tenting can be an effective way to cover vias on your PCB, small amounts of fluid could remain trapped in the barrel of vias after the solder mask is applied. This can happen during the surface finish process, for example. As such, it is best to provide a small pinhole in the tent to allow any solution to escape the hole. However, the tent option remains cost effective and does not require additional processing steps during production.

Order from EPCB

If you are ready to place your order for your designed printed circuit boards, EPCB is your best choice. EPCB is committed to offering the best customized service to customers, and we have rich experiences in fabricating PCBs. You can place your order easily on our website, and get your PCB quote instantly without any delay. In addition, you can view your account and order status at any time to get information on any problems with your Gerber files so they can be resolved. We also will inform you the latest information about your order. If you have any problem about ordering, please contact the team at EPCB for more information.

Custom Printed Circuit Boards

One of the most common items that you will find if you take apart the electronics in your home is the circuit board. Printed circuit boards, or PCBs, are the brains of your devices and are responsible for ensuring that it functions as designed. In order to make sure that your product is going to run as you need it to, you will want to design a PCB from scratch. This is due to the fact that you have the ability to layout the board so it can work with the components you need. In addition, by designing a custom board you can be sure that it will fit into the device that you are creating. Hobbyists and large-scale companies benefit from custom PCBs because it gives you ownership over every step of the production process.Our EPCB respects every designer's work, and provides customized service to you. 

PCB Manufacturer

When you are getting ready to place an order for your circuit boards, there are many factors to take into consideration. First of all, you want to be able to work with a manufacturer that has a proven track record of providing customers with PCBs consistently meet and exceed expectations. Also, it is important to order from a printed circuit board manufacturer that demonstrates a commitment to the industry and strives to meet the highest standards for design, quality and efficiency. EPCB holds multiple certifications at each of its divisions in order to ensure that customers are able to get PCBs that will work exactly as needed every time.