Your Castellation PCB Supplier

PCBMay is a leading castellation PCB factory in China. With abundant experience and knowledge in manufacturing castellated PCB, we can 100% satisfy you. PCBMay provides a comprehensive solution according to your specific situation and needs.

PCBMay manufacture castellation PCB serves several industries such as computer application, telecommunication, industrial control, automobile, consumer electronics, power, and many more.

Can be used in multiple applications across industries. Regardless of your application, we can provide you with superior quality and reasonable castellation PCB solutions.

PCBMay castellation PCB comes in multiple types, sizes, surface finish, number of holes, design, and other specifications. Also, we can customize the board layout depending on your need and final use. PCBMay can meet different and unique customers’ needs. Just feel free to get in touch with us about your design about your requirements. We will make it the same with your preference.

PCBMay manufactures a castellation PCB utilizing the latest technology. The board provides excellent performance, robust functionality, and aesthetics for every application. Our PCB quality is reliable, and the price is reasonable. You can get a board to suit your budget and final application.

PCBMay has obtained rich experience to control PCB production. There is no minimum order requirement for castellation PCB; if you want to order only one piece, you can, for sure. We determine you to achieve your goal and meet your actual needs.

The PCBMay castellation printed circuit board is through strict testing. It is tested rigorously on its efficiency and mechanical strength. PCBMay has a solid technical force to maintain board quality at its highest level.

As an ISO9001 certificated company, we are one of the best manufacturers in China you can rely upon. We will provide a complete solution for your castellation PCB requirement.

If you have any questions regarding castellation PCB, feel free to contact us. We are glad to help you and look forward to working with you.

Castellation PCB: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

It is a common assembly technique for PCB fabrication. The use of this technology is widening day by day because of its advantages. As modern technologies are increasing, this Castellation PCB technology is growing as well.

PCBMay is an expanding PCB manufacturing company known for its high quality. Our PCBs are used in more than 60 countries all over the world. Our PCBs are known for their best quality manufactured using modern technologies.

If you want to know about Castellation PCB, this is the FAQ guide for you. This informative guide covers everything you may need to know about castellated PCB. Take a look!

What Is A Castellation PCB?

It is vias placed in the borders of a PCB or plated through holes. These are Castellated holes that are cut to form a half holes series through. This series of half holes work as pads.

The pads create a connecting link between the board it will be soldered onto and the module board. Depending on the requirement of the application, the holes can also form a series looking like a large or small part of a broken circle. These holes help to properly align the boards while soldering.

Castellation PCB

Castellation PCB has a hole conduction function as well as it can weld and fix the border of the printed circuit boards. We can directly weld the surface area pad with Castellated holes of a printed circuit board.

What Are The Characteristics Of Castellation PCB?

Castellation PCB has special characteristics for which they are quite useful. The main characteristics are as follows.

• They are complete modules. They can add complex functionality to a design like RF. These complete modules are certified to standards.
• They are compact and low profile as they involve no connectors.
• It can be applied as a surface mounting component with some cautions. It can be utilized for automated sourcing and assembly like any other surface mounting component.

Characteristics Of Castellation PCB

Why Do We Use Castellation PCB?

We use Castellation board for different reasons. Mostly we use them to create PCB modules such as Bluetooth modules, Wi-Fi modules. These modules can be used independently placed onto a PCB assembly.

We use Castellation holes on the margins of the board. The holes are able to replicate significant parts of a board.

For example, we may say, if we have a printed circuit with filter, inverter, feedback loops, we can produce these small subcircuits in huge quantities and test them. We can even mount them onto the main circuit board with other components of the circuit whenever we require it.

We use Castellation PCB to combine two separate boards in order to ensure the solder joint structure. These are the reasons we mainly use Castellation PCB.

What Are The Different Designs Of Castellation PCB?

There may be a question: are there many designs of a castellated PCB? The answer would be yes, there are several designs actually. The designs include:

● Half Holes

In this design of Castellation PCB, the holes are cut in half throughout the board. The mounting hole of this board needs to be plated.

Half Holes Of Castellation PCB

●  Holes With Smaller Half Holes

In this design of castellated PCB, a half hole that is smaller in comparison is cut in the mounting hole of the PCB. The second hole can be either plated or non-plated.

● Holes Tangent To The Board’s Edge

The hole of the castellated PCB is tangent to its edge in this design. There is a small incision to the hole in this board design.

How Does Castellation PCB Work?

It works in a specific way to provide maximum durability. These are semi-plated holes placed at the edges of a PCB. These half holes create links between different printed circuit boards.

Castellation PCB mounts the boards one on top of the other in PCB assembly. They are engineered to give proper alignment between the boards while the manufacturer solders them. By this process, Castellation PCB mounts the boards with each other.

A castellated hole can be utilized individually or can be used as a part of a module. Castellated PCB also works as a link between modules and boards. These holes are indentations on the border of a printed circuit board.

Castellated holes make the assembly process more convenient. They work to enable proper soldering of boards. The castellated hole is able to connect two PCBs directly, yet the whole system is very thin.

What Are The Special Cases Of Castellation PCB?

There are some special cases of Castellation PCB we need to take care of. The special cases of this PCB are as follows.

• We need to have both a complete through-hole and a castellated half-hole for a header of castellated PCB. The re-flow joints may fail if solder paste wicking isn’t prevented via the through-hole.
• We can solve this problem by eliminating the exposure on the backside. The problem can also be solved by adding a solder masking bridge between the through-hole and Castellation.
• Constellation PCBs are certified to significant standards mostly. As a result, the product in which it is used must be certified as well.

Special Cases Of Castellation PCB

• We can not castellate on the whole printed circuit board. The reason is the manufacturing procedure requires break tabs to connect the Castellation PCB to a panel. The required amount of tabs mostly depends on the shape and size of the PCB.
• Castellated modules, if going through reflow in order to mount components on them, will go through an additional reflow cycle rather than the PCB they are placed on. The manufacturing company must check them while manufacturing it whether it causes any problem. It may have issues with the mounted components, solder joints, or the materials of the PCB.
• A module that uses castellated PCB can have components mounted on either of the sides. The primary board doesn’t have any component mounted in the module covering the area.

What Are The Most Used Surface Finish In Castellation PCB?

There are different types of surface finish for Castellation PCB. Surface finish is a very important step for fabricating a castellated PCB. A proper surface finish can increase the functionality of a castellated PCB to a very high level.

Surface Finish Of Castellation PCB

The common surface finishes for Castellation PCB are ENIG, ENEPIG, HASL, etc. the surface finish should be able to provide an electrical connection. ENIG is the most used surface finish in Castellation PCB.

To mount the PCBs properly you must consider the fact of surface finishing in Castellation printed circuit board. ENIG is considered the best quality surface finish for these PCBs. Still, you may choose the preferable surface finish as the board’s application.

What Are The Recommended Design Attributes Of Castellation Hole?

The manufacturer needs to follow some specific design attributes to get the most out of a castellated PCB. Some recommended design attributes are as follows.

● Surface Finish

The surface finish is chosen by the requirement of the application of the PCB. Generally, ENIG finish is mostly used.

● Size

You should use Castellation PCB of the largest possible size available.

Design Attributes Of Castellation PCB

● Hole Numbers

The number of holes on a Castellation PCB depends on its design. You should choose the most appropriate hole numbers. The optimum hole numbers make the assembly and alignment process of the PCB easy.

● Pad Design

The manufacturer should use the largest pad possible on both the bottom and top of the Castellation PCB.

What Are The Applications Of Castellation PCB?

It has versatile applications in different sectors. A wide range of industries uses castellated PCBs for their application. And the application of this castellation hole on PCBs is increasing day by day.

Applications Of Castellation PCB

Some applications of the most common Castellation PCB are as follows.

• Telecommunication Industry.
• Industrial Control
• Computer Applications
• Power Industry
• High-end consumer electronics
• Automobile industry

Well, there are many more applications of these printed circuit boards as well.

What Are The Advantages Of Castellation PCB?

It provides high functional advantages for electric modules in its application. For its versatile advantages, the use of castellated PCB is increasing rapidly in modern technology. Some of the biggest advantages of castellated PCB are as follows.

• We can use a castellated printed circuit board like a breakout board. Likewise, it can be mounted on a specific portion of a large printed circuit board.
• By using castellated PCB, we can produce integrated modules on a single board. Then we can use the integrated modules into assembling another board during production.
• The Castellated hole on a PCB makes the changing process of the layout of the pin of the components of the PCB. It can be changed according to the requirements of the user.
• We can use Castellation PCBs to merge two different boards in order to validate the solder joint quality.
• Castellated PCBs assist to grow wireless PCB as well as PCB links.
• We can easily mount a castellated PCB onto another PCB during production.
• We can use castellated holes in PCB for small modules or breakout boards. Wifi modules can use this PCB for their functionality.

Advantages Of Castellation PCB

There are many more advantages of castellated holes in PCB. Castellation PCB comes with advantages worth noting without any doubt.

What Is The Process Of Solder Mounting In Castellation PCB?

Solder mounting is a crucial step for manufacturing Castellation PCBs. Solder masking is also known as solder resistance. It is a skinny polymer layer on printed circuit boards.

The manufacturer uses solder masking to copper traces of castellated PCBs. We use solder masking to prevent the copper traces from oxidation.

This solder masking also shields the problems of solder bridges. Solder bridges generally happen between those pads that are near to one another. Surface mounting technology is commonly used for constellating PCBs to increase the lifespan of the boards.

To get a more clear idea of solder mounting castellated holes, watch this video.

What Is Edge Plating In Castellation PCB?

Edge plating is a very important process for the fabrication of Castellation PCB. It ensures a very strong connection between the printed circuit boards. It also reduces the chances of board failures.

Edge Plating In Castellation PCB

Edge plating provides technical features to the castellated PCB for assembly. Edge plating is generally copper-plating throughout the whole surface area of a PCB. It covers the top to the bottom surface area of a PCB with one of the perimeter edges at least.

This copper edge plating enables the board for electrical conduction. It also creates space opening for multiple-layer PCBs as well as for embedding the edge connectors.

How To Design A Castellation PCB Layout?

There is a recommended standard layout for Castellation PCB. The basic standard layout of castellated holes is as below.

• The minimum size of the half hole is 0.8mm.
• Pad to pad minimum distance is 0.25mm.
• Half hole’s routing tolerance is +/-0.15mm.
• The layout prefers the routing process.
• Larger hole diameter is recommended.
• Use of large exterior layer pad on each side of the board.
• Establish Connection of inner layer pads to plated holes of the PCB.
• Preference of ENIG finishes for surface finish.

Layout Of A Castellation PCB

To know more about Castellation hole designs, watch the following video.

What Is The Manufacturing Process Of Castellation PCB?

The manufacturing process of Castellation PCB is a delicate process that needs to be followed accordingly. To manufacture a castellated PCB the following steps are carried out.

• First, drilling in the edge of the substrate plate. Drilling hole in plate side.
• Plating through holes and shaping a copper layer on the different walls of the plated edge hole.
• Exterior layer image, next exposing, developing, the second copper plating, then tin plating. In tin plating covering the holes’ wall with a layer of anti-corrosion tin.
• Milling Castellation holes.
• Removing anti-plate films.
• Etching the board substrate. This eliminates the uncovered copper on the outer substrate surface.
• Peeling the tin off of the substrate, removing tin from the Castellation holes, exposing the Castellation holes’ copper.

As we do tin plating and copper plating twice on the board substrate, PCB Castellation gets accurate. The copper skin and copper residue twisting problems get solved following this process. Since the adhesion force of the process is large, Castellation holes are totally connected with copper.

Manufacturing Process Of A Castellation PCB

We etch the film after finishing the forming of Castellated holes. As a result, there occurs no oxidation on the copper surface. Eventually, it helps to eradicate any problem of copper residue or short circuits.

This technology has increased the functionality and conformation rate of the Castellation PCBs.

What Are The Stacking Conditions Of Castellation PCB?

The arrangement of insulating copper layers to make up a printed circuit board is called PCB stack-up. Castellion hole has a significant impact on PCB stack-up. The stack-up you choose for your Castellation PCB affects your board performance.

Castellation holes make sure that your PCB stack-up is top-notch. These mounting holes ensure that the PCBs stay easily on each other. Without these castellated holes, your PCB stack-up may not come as you want it.

Stackup Conditions Of Castellation PCB

There are some conditions for PCB stack-up to achieve the best quality. The conditions are mandatory to fulfill.

The first one is, there can not be any gap between the two PCBs. If there is any spacing between the boards, the stack-up won’t be good. Then, the Castellation PCB stack-up requires electrical contacts. Only physical attachment won’t be enough for Castellation PCB stack-up.

Lastly, there is an assumption to make. You need to plan that the upper printed circuit board is one-third of the lower board size. These stacking conditions you need to meet to have a strong possible stack-up.

What Are The Ways To Achieve A Perfect Castellation PCB?

To achieve the perfect Castellation PCB, we need to make sure that it has good mechanical strength. Good mechanical stability is able to prevent delays and faults during the board’s manufacturing and assembly. To achieve the perfect mechanical stability for a Castellation PCB, there are some facts that are as follows.

• Using break tabs to connect the panel to a PCB during its assembly and manufacturing. We use up to 5mm edge-length for each of the tabs and locate two per edge. The position and amount of the break tabs depend on the shape and size of the board.
• Using a copper annular ring on the upper and back sides of the Castellation board. The minimum pad size must be similar to the finished hole size.
• Maintaining the same size for the pads of the inner layers. The same size pads are located in the surface layers at the annular rings. Using the same size pads increases the mechanical stability of the Castellation PCB.
• Using ENIG surface finish for better functionality of the castellated PCB of any size.
• Establishing half of the hole remaining on the castellated PCB. Not in any other ratio as that can raise the number of manufacturing faults.

To sum up, keep space for break tabs, use large annular rings, use ENIG surface finish as it allows reduction of required diameters.

How To Show Castellation PCB Information In Files?

Castellation holes have different designs for different holes. The design varies from different software. We need to add plated or via hole on the outline of the printed circuit boards directly.

Here half holes plating is necessary. We need to make sure that half part of the via is on the PCB. And then another half part of the via is on the outline.

We need to include the following procedures to show Castellation PCB information in files.

● Copper Layer

The copper layer shows copper pad information. The information is about the copper pad counts on the bottom and top layers of every half hole. The manufacturer needs to ensure the presence of the information in the file.

This information works as a guide to the buyers. Each half hole has copper pads on a PCB. So the information should be shown at ease for the buyers.

The most convenient way to display this information is by showing them on the copper layers.

● Solder Mask

Solder mask is a layer of polymer on Castellation PCB. The manufacturer must include the solder mounting information on each side of a PCB. This information is very important for the buyers.

And for this reason, those who would utilize the castellated PCB should find the information easily. Manufacturers must include this information while manufacturing the boards.

● Drilling Layer

Here the information about the drill hole for each half hole must be present. Half hole data comes with information about drill holes. The information is like the size, the half holes diameter both in millimeters and in inches.

The manufacturer must include the standard minimum diameter of the half holes as well. The information is very necessary for the buyers to find their required Castellation holes.

● Mechanical Layer

Another information the manufacturer must include is about contour layering. The contour in this PCB passes through the drill holes. And so this information is necessary to include before releasing the Castellation PCBs.

What Is The Traditional Process Of Castellation PCB?

There is a traditional process of forming Castellation holes on a PCB. However, there were some defects arousing in the traditional process. As a result, there comes a modern process for creating the Castellation holes.

In the traditional process of Castellation PCB, the following steps are followed serially.

• Drilling
• Chemical Copper
• Panel Plating
• Image Transfer
• Pattern Plating
• Striping Film
• Etching
• Solder Mask Printing
• Surface Finishing
• Castellation Hole Milling
• Outline Milling

After drilling the round hole, the Castellated hole is shaped. In this process, the copper skin and the copper residue twist in the Castellation hole.

Traditional Process Of Castellation PCB

This occurrence affects the functionality of the Castellation hole. Furthermore, the problem leads to decreasing the yield and performance of the application.

What Is The Costing Of Castellation PCB?

Well about the cost of Castellation PCB, there is no fixed cost of it. The cost can vary for different companies. Different companies rate differently for their castellated PCBs.

The cost mainly depends on the quality of the printed board. With high functionality and advanced technology to manufacture, there comes a comparatively higher price. The price also depends on the design of the Castellation hole you want and its components and materials.

The cost also varies from design to design in a castellated PCB. So your Castellation hole may cost you for its design, functionality, component, technology, etc. mostly the manufacturing company you choose determines the cost for your Castellation hole.

How To Choose The Right Manufacturer For Castellation PCB?

Well, it is another crucial step to choose the right manufacturer for your Castellation PCB. Choosing the wrong manufacturer can lead your project to go in vain. That is why it is so important to choose the right manufacturer for your PCB project.

To choose the right manufacturer, check if they use modern technology and advanced knowledge for their PCB manufacturing. As Castellation PCB requires very high technology. Check if they have worked in your industry before to get the correct PCB confirmation.

Your manufacturer should be able to customize your Castellation PCB as per your requirement. Different applications may require different features for their installation. Make sure the manufacturer can customize as per your requirement.

Experience is another important fact for the right manufacturer. A good manufacturer should have experience in the field and your working industry. By checking all these steps you may choose the right manufacturer for you.

Conclusion

PCBMay is a very popular PCB manufacturing company located in China. We can provide you with any kind of Castellation PCB with your required customization. You can get the best kind of service from us.

You may have learned everything you wanted to know about Castellation PCB. If you have gone through this FAQ guide. If you still wanna know more from us, you are welcome to contact us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.