First-Rate Barebones PCB Manufacturer in China

The Barebones PCB to Kickstart Your Project

If you are looking for a stimulating way to start your PCB project, consider using a Barebones PCB. With this type of board, shifting around USB ports and other components is trouble-free. With a product from PCBMay, your success is within easy reach.

• Design your prototype with any software you prefer (e.g. Altium/Eagle)
• Compatibility with USB-BUB, FTDI, or equivalent program
• Ready-set-go! Your Barebones PCB ready in 24 hours
• We only use approved PCB substrate materials
• Environmentally safe production capability

Competition in the PCB industry is harsh. PCBMay would not be a successful PCB company if it is not one of the best in China. After years and years of practice in the business of PCB manufacture, we can say that we have perfected the craft. One of our specialties is the Barebones PCB.

With us by your side, you can quickly launch your electronics project. We do not require a minimum order for any PCB you need. All you need to do is contact us, and we’ll get you started immediately.

If you are stuck with your Barebones PCB design, then let our professional engineers help you out. We resolve any Engineering Questions (EQ) in one hour. Yes! We are that fast! For sure, you would want to inquire about our PCBs already.

So, do you have any concerns about Barebones or Prototype PCBs? Then contact PCBMay now!

You can be assured of great tips to get you ahead of the competition. Rely only on expert PCB services and products from the leading supplier of circuit boards.

Barebones PCB: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

PCBs are the backbones of electronics. Barebones PCBs are among the PCBs that are used for particular purposes.

When you need to produce barebones PCBs for your needs, you might want to know their details. There are things related to producing quality and the right PCBs to know.

You need to know about material lists, quality production, and the manufacturer who will provide you the quality products.

In this regard, you might have some questions about the barebones PCBs.This article will provide you with the basic answer to the question you might have in your mind. You just need to go through the entire article.

What Is A Barebones PCB?

We use Arduino boards for DIY projects or for making particular functionality. Barebones PCBs are the cost-effective alternative to Arduino boards.

With the barebones PCBs, you can assemble the required components in the shortest time by the plug-and-play method. Barebones boards are comparatively cheap and compact than Arduino boards.

They are the result of the need for portable electronics with ease. In this regard, PCB manufacturers are also developing more compact PCBs.

Barebones PCB

You can even connect your barebones PCB’s USB ports to other boards in a feasible way. For this, you need to use the Arduino compiler.

You can generate the process by using the Arduino compiler and IDE. Also, you can use any programmed USB platform for this.

Barebones facilitate the configuration facility for you in the shortest time. Also, you can customize the board as per your requirement in a flexible way.

In simple words, the barebones PCBs are the prebuilt etched copper boards on PCB made with FR4 materials.

How To Design A Barebones PCB?

Every electronic design starts with the drawing. Besides this, there are several steps to get the final output of a barebones PCB.

Now, we will be discussing their step-by-step design process of them.

Drawing The Schematic

The first step is to draw the schematic design of the barebones PCB. The schematic is for the shape of the board, component placement, routing design, and traces design.

PCB Schematic Diagram

It is the foundation of PCBs.

Designing The Layout

The next step after successfully drawing the schematic is the PCB layout design. The layout design depends on the schematic drawing.

To shape the layout, you need to import the SchDoc file to the designing software. To do this, you need to create a blank layout first.

Confirming Layer Stack Up

Confirm the layer number for your PCB. It is essential when you design a multilayer PCB.

Printing The Layout

Now you are ready with your layout design. So, you can go to the next step. Now you need to print your layout on the barebones PCB board.

There are different printing methods such as 3D printing, laser printing, chemical printing, etc. You can use one of them. This video shows how 3D printing prints PCBs:

Etching Conductive Traces

The conductive traces of your barebones PCB will flow the electric current towards the PCB components. Etch the traces with proper copper.

Component Placement

When you customize your barebones PCB with particular functionality, you need to place the right components properly. Carefully solder the components so that no soldering-leftover sustains. Now, your customized barebones PCB is ready to function with your desired functionality.

How Can You Solder The Barebones PCB?

Solder masks are used on most printed circuit boards (PCBs) to avoid solder bridging, cover traces, and empty areas. You will see that the surface anticipation pushes the solder masks away from the hot solder and towards the solder pads. This occurs as a result of the reflow procedure.

However, the reality remains that the barebones PCB does not have any solder masks. Because the solder does not include solder masks, solder bridges may form on the PCB pads.

Be Careful While Soldering The Barebones PCB

As a result, you must exercise caution throughout the soldering process. Make sure that the solder paste is evenly distributed throughout the circuit boards. In addition, you may solder by hand to prevent the solder bridge problem altogether.

If you do not, you may have barebones PCB malfunctioning. Additionally, the solder bridge has the potential to generate short circuits.

After you have completed the soldering, you must test your barebones boards. Before turning on the board and circuit, you need to test the boards to ensure no problems.

How Can You Minimize The Time For The Prototype Of Your Barebones PCB?

PCB prototyping is a time-consuming process in general. According to the experts, the designing procedures and the PCB shipment are the most time-consuming aspects of the process.

It is generally agreed that you will have to wait many weeks after placing your purchase order for PCBs. In this scenario, the barebones circuit board method may assist you in reducing the amount of time spent prototyping.

Barebones PCB Prototyping Is A Fast Prototyping Method

You can expect to get the prototype boards in a week or less because of the fast turnaround time of 24 hours for the barebones PCB. PCBMay may complete the task in the least amount of time by avoiding several customary but ineffective stages.

The barebones PCBs do not have internal cut-outs, silkscreens, or solder masks. These make the barebones technique less expensive and less time-consuming.

So, you can produce the PCB prototype in the shortest time. Also, you will get the project completed in a short time due to the rapid procedures.

What Are The Advantages Of Barebones PCB?

They are the result of PCB miniaturization. Nowadays, engineers and PCB manufacturers minimize the size of the PCBs. Because the compactness of electronics saves many spaces. Aside from the compactness, there are many advantages of barebones PCBs. The following are among them.

• Minimization avoids the need for a large number of materials in making PCBs. The depreciation of materials saves you from the expense of PCB production. Also, the miniaturization saves you the shipping cost.
• Compactness is getting popular because it needs fewer spaces.  You can fit the compact barebones PCBs in small gadgets.

Barebones PCBs Are Popular Because Of Their Compact Size

• Because of the need for fewer steps to make the barebones PCB, you also need fewer materials. The more irregular process of materials, on the other hand, eliminates the chemical process. It is less harmful to the environment.

What Are The Materials Used For Making Barebones PCB Boards?

Different materials are used in making a barebones PCB board. To complete a whole PCB, there are relatable materials. But, the raw materials that form the PCB boards are as follows.

Prepreg: prepreg is a thin glass fabric. It combines the laminate resins to keep the resins in place.

Different types of laminates used in making barebones PCB boards are as follows.

FR4 Laminate: FR4 is among the most popular PCB materials. It is a flame retardant substrate. It is cost-effective, used in up to 14 layers of PCBs. It has good mechanical, electrical, and thermal characteristics.

Polyimide Laminate: Polyimide is more stable than FR4 in thermal, mechanical, and electrical characteristics. Also, it is more flexible. It costs more than FR4 material. Polyimide is flexible as well.

Polyimide Material

Teflon Laminate: Teflon is also a more sustainable and flexible material. It provides more improved mechanical, electrical, and thermal performance. Teflon is another flexible material that is used in making flexible boards.

What Are The Types Of Barebones PCBs?

You will find different types of PCB barebones in structure and state. The following are the most common barebones PCB types you will find.

Single-Sided PCB

The single-sided PCBs are made from a single conductive layer. It is the most common type of printed circuit board. Single-sided PCBs are suitable for low configuring electronics.

Double-Sided PCB

In the double-sided PCBs, you will see two conductive layers on both sides of the PCBs. You need to use vias to interconnect the conductive layers.

Multilayer PCB

You need at least three conductive layers to make a multilayer PCB. Also, if it is more than three layers, you will see that a “sandwich fashioned” method is used to attach the layers tightly. Powerful adhesive and high pressure ensure the attachment.

Multilayer PCB

Rigid PCB

Rigid PCB is made of rigid materials like FR4, aluminum, etc. They are straight and non-bendable.

Flexible PCB

Flexible PCBs are made of flexible materials such as polyimide, Teflon, etc. They are foldable and bendable.

Rigid-Flex PCB

Rigid-Flex PCBs are a combination of rigid and flexible PCBs. Flex parts are used to connect to the rigid PCB connector.

What Is The Barebones PCB Layer Stack Up?

The conducting and insulating layers arrangement makes up the barebones PCB layer stack. In multilayer PCBs, this layout assures the board’s physical design. In a single PCB, more layers provide a compact size and greater functionality capabilities.

Multilayer PCB Stack Up

The multilayer stack up gives you advantages in the following ways.

• Minimizes the circuit damage possibilities.
• Minimizes crosstalk and signal interference.
• Facilitates low-costs.
• Ensure high electromagnetic compatibility.

What Are The Options For Thickness Of Barebones PCB?

There is a PCB thickness standard in the PCB industry. Mainly, the standard thickness range is from 0.008 inches to 0.240 inches. Among the spectrum, you will find different thicknesses as well.

You Can Make Your PCB With Custom Thickness

The different barebones PCB thicknesses are:

• 2 mm, or 0.0079 inches
• 4 mm or 0.016 inches
• 5 mm or 0.020 inches
• 6 mm or 0.024 inches
• 8 mm or 0.032 inches
• 0 mm or 0.04 inches
• 2 mm or 0.047 inches
• 5 mm or 0.062 inches
• 6 mm or 0.063 inches
• 0 mm or 0.079 inches
• 3 mm or 0.091 inches
• 175 mm or 0.125 inches

Besides these, you can take any custom thickness for your barebones PCBs.

What Are The Layout And Design Considerations For The Barebones PCB?

When designing a barebones PCB, you need to keep some basic things in mind. These considerations are essential to get the best result in making PCBs. These are as follows.

Try To Avoid Auto Routing On PCB

• Keep the capacitors in between the power and ground.
• Keep the high-frequency signal paths short.
• Keep the digital and analog circuits and components separated.
• Make sure that every copper line is connected.
• Avoid auto-routing.
• Don’t drill vias under the components.
• Keep the holes’ size as minimum as possible.
• Ensure proper grounding.

What Common Issues Happen For High Heat In Barebones PCB?

High heat can cause severe damages to your barebones PCBs. The following harms may happen to your PCBs due to the high heat.

• High heat causes physical malfunctions to the PCB board.
• With the different PCB materials, the coefficient of thermal expansion is different. They remain at a particular state with a defined thermal range. When high heat takes place, inconsistent coefficients happen to the PCB materials. So, different materials cannot comply with each other.
• High heat causes malfunctions in the circuits. For the high heat, circuits cannot pass consistent signals. Then signal interruption happens. The expected outcome gets disordered then.

Physical Malfunction Happens Due To High Heat

• High heat is one of the big reasons for oxidation. Due to the high heat, the PCB conductive materials are exposed to an open environment. The materials then get oxidized by chemical reactions to the different gasses in the atmosphere.

What To Do To Prevent High Heat In The Barebones PCBs?

There are many effective ways to prevent high heat on your barebones PCBs so that they cannot harm your board. If you take the following steps, you might get rid of the high heat issue.

• Proper use of heatsink is the most effective way to prevent high heat. Also, you need to install the heatsink properly.

Use Heatsink Properly

• Arrange and install the heat pipe in the proper manner.
• Utilize high-grade materials to make the barebones PCB board. Ensure that the materials are highly compliant with the highest range of temperature.
• Correctly place the different components. Make sure you keep separating the analog and digital components.
• Use conformal coating to avoid high heat. It will also protect your board from oxidation.
• Good surface finishes and epoxy coatings are among the best solutions for high heat.

What Factors Impact On Barebones PCB Costs?

The cost of making PCBs is continuously variable. Different entities determine the barebones PCB cost. So you cannot choose a fixed price for your PCB production. Instead, you can predict a costing based on the following entities.

• The material types impact the PCB production cost. Also, the quantity and quality of the material play a vital role in PCB costing.
• The components’ quality and types are among the role players of PCB manufacturing cost.
• The quantity of the barebones PCB impacts the cost. If you produce bulk production, the total cost may be raised. But the rate will be decreased.
• The PCB thickness also plays a vital role in determining the PCB manufacturing cost. The thicker board you choose, the more it will cost.
• The size of the PCBs is the most crucial fact that impacts the PCB costing. Different sizes of the PCB vary their production costs.
• The number of layers increases the total cost. The more layers you employ, the more the price increases.
• The costs of different types of surface finishes are different because gold is more expensive than nickel and palladium. So, which one you will choose will vary the price.
• If you make your barebones PCB with more customization and functionalities, you will have to pay more costs.

What Is The Barebone PCB Surface Finish?

The surface finishes are the metallic coating to the exposed copper and other metals on the PCBs.  Surface finishes protect the exposed metals from oxidation.

Different types of surface finishes are available based on the price and needs. They are briefly mentioned below.

HASL Or Hot Air Solder Leveling

HASL is the most common and cheapest surface finish. It is used by mixing with solder to the exposed copper of the barebones PCBs. There are two types of HASL: lead-free and RoHS non-compliant.

ENIG Or Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold

ENIG is a surface finish of a combination of gold and nickel. The gold protects the nickel, and the nickel protects the board’s copper. It is lead-free and RoHS compliant.

ENIG Surface Finish On PCB

ENEPIG Or Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold

ENEPIG is the extended version of ENIG with a mixture of palladium. Palladium is slightly less costly and highly protective for copper.

Im-Ag Or Immersion Silver

A protective layer of silver protects the copper on the PCBs in the Im-Ag finish. It is lead-free and RoHS compliant.

Besides these, Immersion Tin, Hard Gold, OSP Surface Finish, etc., are the other available surface finishes.

What Are The Importance Of Barebones PCB Grounding?

Grounding is the return path of the electric current to the earth. The electrical current flow returns to the ground through the ground paths. Grounding is four types: Floating Ground, Earth Ground, Chassis Ground, and AC Ground.

Proper PCB Grounding Safeguards Your Barebones PCB

Grounding is vital for the safety of barebones PCBs. So, what is the actual importance of grounding? Grounding helps your electronics in the following ways.

• The grounding of the printed circuit board protects against electrical overload. As a result of grounding, any excess current flow is sent to the earth through the ground line.
• Grounding stabilizes the voltage.
• Grounding protects your barebones PCB board from any type of electrical damage.
• It also saves you from electric shocks and injury.

How Can You Compare FR4 And Polyimide Substrates For Barebones PCB?

FR4 and Polyimide are both popular materials to make PCB boards. But there are differences between them in terms of performance. Since polyimide is better than FR4 in terms of performance, it is also more expensive than FR4. Let’s check the primary differences between both of them.

How Do You Create Gerber Files For Barebones PCB?

The Gerber File is the universal design documentation for PCBs. The Gerber File is the standard image input format for bare board fabrication. It is the de-facto standard in the PCB industry. It describes copper layers, solder masks, drill data, legend, etc.

We will see how you can create a Gerber file for the barebones PCB in Eagle software.

Begin by launching the Eagle software. Then choose File>> CAM Processor from the menu bar. A pop-up dialog box will appear at this point. Then select File>> Open>> Job from the drop-down menu. Open a design file in a new window at this point.

You must specify Gerber Files in the newly opened window that has shown. This is required for the component side, the solder side, and the Silkscreen CMP, among other things. In addition, solder stop, mask SOL, border paste CMP, paste SOL, and silkscreen are also available options.

PCB Gerber File Creation Final Step

After you have generated all of the necessary files, you must click on the “Process Job button” to create the Gerber FileIn the following video, let’s visually check how to make a Gerber File in Eagle.

Which Barebones PCB Manufacturer Should You Go With?

It is crucial to find a reliable and experienced barebones PCB manufacturer. The entire production may go wrong if the manufacturer cannot comply with the manufacturing quality.

To find the best PCB manufacturer, you should look into the following features of PCB manufacturers.

• Wide range of production ability.
• Highly-skilled staff.
• Vast experience in the PCB manufacturing industry.
• Wide range of research capabilities.
• Implementation of latest PCB manufacturing technology.
• Ability to meet the deadline period.
• Broad and highly organized workplace.
• IPC certification.

If you can make sure that the barebones PCB manufacturer you are dealing with has the mentioned features, you have to go.

How do I Use A Barebone Board?

When utilizing barebones PCBs, you have to put the components together to get the desired functionality. Using the PCB diagram, carefully position each element on the board. Make a list of the features you want to modify.

Be careful not to position or solder any components incorrectly. You’ll have to redo your PCB if you make a mistake. Time and money will be wasted as a result.

Now is the time to put and solder the capacitors and resistors that you will be using. When working with the polarity of the capacitors and diodes, you need to do this with utmost care.

Put the microcontroller into the socket correctly. Solder the programming header and power supply connection jacks into place.

After placing and soldering all components, check them properly before plug-in. You must connect a USB cable to the microcontroller to get the final product. Make sure you’re capable of doing this.

It is essential to program your barebones PCB through Arduino or Freeduino. You need to ensure a 100 mils spacing header for your barebones printed circuit board.

Conclusion

Barebones PCB will give you the prototyping facility to generate the functionality you need. It is essential to get the best products for the best outcomes.

To get the best products, a reliable manufacturer is pre-condition. A good PCB manufacturer can ensure you the best product quality. We hope this FAQ guide can help you make the best decision to get the best products from the best manufacturer.

PCBMay is one of China’s leading barebones PCB manufacturers to help you with the best PCB manufacturing solutions. You may contact us today to get the best product with the best quote.