Your Best IMS(Insulated Metal Substrate) PCB Provider

Your Ultimate IMS(Insulated Metal Substrate) PCB Manufacturer

PCBMay is a reputable IMS(Insulated Metal Substrate) PCB manufacturer in China. We are specialized in creating high-quality PCB prototypes and other related components for many years. All are offered cost-effective but never compromise the quality and performance.

We offer different types and models of an IMS PCB such as aluminum metal substrate PCB, stainless steel metal substrate PCB, copper metal substrate PCB, two layers with single component mounting side IMS PCB, and many others. You can find different insulated metal substrates in various materials, dimensions, colors, and surface treatments here.

PCBMay IMS(Insulated Metal Substrate) PCBs are widely used for power electronics, solid-state relays, LEDs, automotive, etc. This is utilized due to its thermal conductivity and mechanical properties suitable for these applications. As a reliable manufacturer, we can help you get the perfect insulated metal substrate product. We will recommend the best unit for you to prevent any performance issues.

Our IMS PCB contains many advantages and features. We list some of the benefits of using the insulated metal substrate for your applications.

Benefits of Using Insulated Metal Substrate (IMS) PCBs

• Increased electromagnetic shield
• Increased thermal conductivity
• Improved fire resistivity
• More SMD component friendly
• Improved mechanical properties

PCBMay IMS(Insulated Metal Substrate) PCB is your best solution to boost your business. To satisfy your needs, we will do everything from prototyping, fabrication, and assembly service.

In China, PCBMay is famous for providing a one-stop-shop solution for any PCB that needs production. We obtained different kinds of certifications like CE, UL, ISO9001, ISO14001, and more. In short, you can guarantee 100% production and reliable services from us.

Whether you’re a supplier, custom factory, or a company owner that needs insulated metal substrate PCB for your devices, PCBMay will never disappoint you. We aim to customer satisfaction and reliability. If you or your company requires insulated metal substrate for your devices, always rely on PCBMay.

PCBMay is a leading manufacturer of IMS PCB in China. You can order all the above-mentioned IMS PCB from us and enjoy our free design for manufacturing, one-to-one engineering support, and plan for excellence.

If you have any questions regarding insulated metal substrate manufacturing, please don’t hesitate to inquire about us. A professional team will assist you in the entire process.

IMS PCB: A Complete FAQ Guide

IMS PCB is the next big thing in the expanding PCB industry. It may come as the replacement of all kinds of printed circuit boards that are currently available. Different applications including light projects and many more can not but work without IMS PCB.

PCBMay is a renowned PCB manufacturing company located in china. We provide the best quality IMS boards with the best functionalities, efficiency, and durability. If you are here to know everything about this PCB, this is the right place for you. This FAQ guide contains all the information about IMS PCB you may want to learn.

What Is IMS PCB?

IMS is the abbreviation of the insulated metal substrate. IMS PCB is a printed circuit board that is built on a metal plate. This PCB is mainly known for its capability of heat dissipation and great dielectric strength against high voltages.

IMS PCB is a kind of thermally printed circuit board. The plate or base primary material of this PCB is metal. This metal is the main component of the board that works to dissipate the heat produced.

IMS PCB

There is a lot of heat produced while the PCB operates for the application. This base material spreads out the built-up heat in the PCB. The metal used in the base is generally a great conductor of heat.

What Are The Types Of IMS PCB?

There are three different types of IMS PCB. The classification is done based on the trace layers and location of the board. The main three types of IMS boards are as follows.

● Single-sided IMS PCB

This type of IMS board has trace prints on a single side of the board. The structure of this board has a metal base, a copper circuit layer, a dielectric PCB layer that is non conducting, a solder mask, and IC components. The metal base is usually of aluminum or copper alloy.

● Double-sided IMS PCB

Double-sided IMS PCB provides high functionality of circuits. This PCB contains trace prints on both sides of the board. This type of board generally uses aluminum, iron alloy, and copper as the base material.

Double-sided IMS PCB

● Multilayer IMS PCB

IMS PCB can be of multiple layers too and for obvious reasons, they have way more functionalities. They have much more components, signal layers separated in another layer, and ground. The base material is selected according to the requirement of your application; the options are aluminum, iron alloy, and copper.

What Are The Components Of IMS PCB?

It consists of some basic components. The basic components are the same for all IMS boards. But the material can differ from one to another.

IMS PCB Layers

Some main components of IMS PCB are as follows.

• Metal base
• Dielectric layer
• Copper circuit layer
• IC components
• Solder mask
• Surface finish
• Through holes

What Are The Characteristics Of An IMS PCB?

IMS PCBs have some specific and delicate characteristics. The main characteristics of this PCB are as follows.

• Excellent processing performance
• Excellent heat dissipation
• Use of SMT technology
• Great mechanical strength
• Smaller size
• Temperature reduction
• Magnetic Conductivity
• Improved power reliability
• Higher mechanical endurance

IMS Black PCB

What Is The Structure Of IMS PCB?

The main materials in the structure of IMS PCB are metal plates, metal copper foil, thermal insulating layers. There is a basic structural layout of these materials. The basic IMS structure consists of the following.

• Circuit layer
• Solder mask
• Copper layer
• Dielectric layer
• Heat sink
• Metalcore layer

IMS PCB Structure

What Are The Applications Of IMS PCB?

There is a wide range of applications of IMS PCB. The applications that generate a huge amount of heat mostly use IMS PCB. Some of the main applications of metalcore PCBs are given below.

• Different power modules like rectifier bridges, converters, solid rays, and many more.
• Automation equipment like motor drives.
• Power supply equipment like SW adjusters, switch regulators, DC/AC converters.
• Computing devices like CPU motherboards, power supply devices in computers, and not to mention computers.
• Electronic communication equipment like electrical telegraphy, frequency amplifiers, filter circuits, etc.
• LED lamps, energy-saving lamps, lanterns, etc.
• Power amplifiers, preamplifiers, balanced amplifier PCB, audio amplifiers, input and output amplifiers, and much more audio equipment.

IMS Metal Core PCB

These are the most common applications of IMS PCB. There are many more applications of this PCB as well.

What Are The Advantages Of IMS PCB?

There are lots of advantages of IMS PCB in modern technology. That is why the use of IMS PCB is only increasing day by day.

Highly Functional IMS PCB

Heat buildup is a major issue on PCBs for manufacturers. IMS PCB is a name of relief for this issue in the PCB industry. Some main advantages of IMS PCB are as follows.

• Heat in an IMS device transfers to another layer of the PCB. This way the PCB moves out the heat efficiently without causing damage to the device.
• This PCB integrates dielectric polymer layers for low thermal resistivity with larger thermal conductivity.
• The PCB contains small footprints that lessen the hardware numbers. Ultimately the cost of the whole assembly gets reduced.
• IMS is made of substrate material. The material increases the reliability of the design. As a result, the device can function properly at very high temperatures.
• Led PCB devices use IMS PCB as a solution to lighting problems and many different functions.
• IMS PCB has great mechanical durability. Its life lasts for an extended period.
• The PCB takes out heat from the application regardless of being a mounting area for the material in order to make it cooler.
• IMS contains suitable dimensional stability for the devices. Its dimensional stability is better than many other printed circuit boards.
• This PCB is able to function for up to 140 – 150 degrees centigrade of heat. The dimension even does not get much affected. It only increases by between 2.5% to 3% at a minimum.
• IMS PCB transmits heat faster than FR4 PCBs by 9 times.
• The thermal conductivity of IMS ranges between 0.8 to 3.0 W/c.K for aluminum and copper.
• Heat dissipation from the IMS device is perfect to increase the durability of the application and provides great performance.
• IMS PCB contains a great coefficient of thermal expansion. And so they have higher thermal expansibility.
• Aluminum and copper in IMS PCB have a better coefficient of thermal expansion than FR4 PCB.

What Are The Technical Properties Of IMS PCB?

Technical properties are crucial facts for IMS PCB as these properties determine the functionality of the board. These properties determine the efficiency, longevity, durability of the IMS board as well. You need to be very delicate with the technical properties of an IMS printed circuit board.

Effective IMS PCB

Some basic technical properties of an IMS board are as follows.

• Core thickness ranges from 40 mils to 120 mils.
• Base material thickness between 2mm and 8mm.
• Peeling strength larger than 9lb/in.
• Breakdown voltage is greater than 3000V.
• Thermal conductivity ranges from 5W/(mK) to 2.0W/(mK).
• Dielectric loss angle is 0.03
• Solder resistance is SF: 288℃ >180 sec.
• Panel size is 18” x 24”
• Flammability is UL 94V-0

These are the technical properties of the material aluminum in the IMS board.

How To Design An IMS PCB?

Designing the layout of an IMS PCB is very important as it determines what the final PCB will be like. You need to design the IMS board before the manufacturer starts producing it. The efficiency, functionality, and cost of the PCB depending on the design of the printed circuit board.

The designing process of an IMS board is the same as a typical PCB. The only difference is that the substrate material changes to metal in IMS. You need to put attention to mechanical fabrication, solder mask, legend, mechanical operations to design the IMS board.

IMS PCB Design

You may design your IMS PCB considering the following facts.

• The main fact to consider for designing your IMS is a selection of the base material. The material can be iron, copper, or aluminum for the substrate. The material you choose for the base design will also affect the size of the IMS board.
• You need to check the boards’ design flatness. You may need an amount of copper for the design but it will affect the flatness of the design. The manufacturer works on the CTE or coefficient of thermal expansion rules in this case.
• Thickness is a very important fact to design an IMS board. You need to use the standard and required thickness for designing your IMS. It will have a meaningful effect like the cost will be reduced.

What Is The Manufacturing Process Of IMS PCB?

The copper foil circuit layer is connected to a dielectric material layer that is thermally conductive in a one-sided IMS PCB. Further, the manufacturer bonds the dielectric layer to a thick metal layer. The manufacturing process of IMS PCB is the same for all types of materials.

Well-fabricated IMS PCB

Firstly you need to come up with a design of the IMS board and an output. You may take the help of designing software to create the design. The design should be the same as the final output.

Then you need to make a copy of the design and after conducting a DFM check, a schematic film needs to be made. Then the manufacturer prints the image on the back of a film. The image printing is done on copper foil in the manufacturing process.

The manufacturer checks the basic materials at this step and collects the materials. You need to maintain a clean environment the whole time of manufacturing.  You have to go through every detail to get the perfect IMS board.

Then the copper should be removed from the board. Excess copper of the board should be washed off and the required amount will remain. Further, the manufacturer punches the alignments to make sure all of them are in a line.

Once a step is done, you can not go back and fix or change that. So you need to be very careful in every step of the manufacturing process. You should find a suitable manufacturer for your IMS PCB as per your requirements.

What Are The Manufacturing Difficulties Of IMS PCB?

You may face some difficulties while manufacturing your IMS PCB. The most common manufacturing difficulties are as follows.

• Thermal path presence
• Fussing the layers together
• Printing the inner layers
• Outer layer imaging
• Final etching
• Quality assurance
• Silkscreen application
• Surface finish application
• Solder mask application
• Thermal issues
• Copper material differing dimension
• Antenna check
• Electrical check
• Prototype copper plating
• Through-hole components insertion
• Reflowing soldering
• Tin and copper prototype plating
• Controlling water quality
• Layer alignment
• Photo film creation
• Layout design check

What Are The Prototyping Steps Of IMS PCB?

The prototyping steps of an IMS PCB are similar to any standard PCB prototyping. You need to note down the basic layout of your IMS before starting the prototyping steps. This fundamental information will lead you through all of the prototyping steps.

The first step of prototyping is creating the right design. You may use designing software suits for this purpose. The manufacturer should know about the specific designing software you have used.

The second step is to make the right schematic design of your IMS PCB. The schematic should contain all the right information. The manufacturer and engineers will need this information while building the PCB.

The schematic design contains information about hardware, materials, components that are needed for the production process. The design also controls the grid and size of the panel, components placement, characteristics of the components, etc. This step is an initial one for the final design output and a schematic test needs to be run to check out the flaws of the IMS.

Prototype IMS PCB

The third step is to make a bill of your required materials. The bill should contain all the materials you would need throughout the process. You need to make sure that the manufacturer has access to the bill.

Then you need to design the PCB routes indicating the components placement point as well as the traces. Several factors may affect the routing of your IMS board. Signal noise generation, power level, noise sensitivity, etc are some of the factors that affect the routing plan.

You need to check each interval of the prototyping procedures. You need to solve problems in one step before going to the next step. Watch this video:

What Is Milling In IMS PCB?

Milling is the copper removing process of the IMS PCB. By this process, the manufacturer removes the excess copper area from the board sheet. This process creates pathways for the recreation of structure, pads, signal traces as required in the layout design of the PCB.

Insulated Metal Substrate PCB

To make the final IMS board, we can add material to the laminate instead of removing it. You need to go through two steps to do milling on an IMS board. The two steps involve chemical etching and physical milling.

We do not need to use chemicals for the physical milling process. So it is basically a safe process that anyone can do comfortably. You will come up with a high-resolution IMS board by going through these processes.

How To Mount The Components On An IMS PCB Assembly?

To get the perfect IMS PCB you should follow some procedures to mount the components on an IMS PCB assembly. Firstly you need to realize the model’s mechanical constraints. As it affects the size and shape of the board, it is a very important factor.

Then you should know the assembly process obstacles you may face. This way you can decide the placements of the components on the PCB as well. And so you will get to know how much space you would need for the components’ placement on the PCB.

You have to give the integrated circuits enough allowance or space for breathing. This way the operation mode will get enhanced. As the components will get sufficient space between each other.

Surface Mount Technology In IMS PCB

This process saves a lot of time for you in the procedure of component placement. You should place the similar ones facing the same side while placing the components. This way the manufacturer will be able to easily test, inspect, and install the component parts in place.

You should be extra cautious about dealing with the components’ surface mounting if you apply a wave soldering process for your IMS. Then you have to group the parts of the connection paths for minimizing.

How Do You Choose Surface Finishing In IMS PCB?

Surface finishing is another crucial fact in IMS PCBs. Surface finishing increases the longevity and durability of the IMS board. The surface finishing varies from one board to another regarding its material application.

Gold, HASL are great dipping materials among many other things. The surface finish goes according to the requirement of the application. You can fully customize your preferred type of surface finishing and you have full right to decide on the material.

IMS PCB Surface Finish

Consistency, assembly processing, availability, serviceable life, rates, and many other factors determine the IMS PCB surface finishing. The reason behind is each type of surface finish varies regarding its suitable setting, products, procedures, advantages for different products and applications.

The manufacturer needs to be in touch with you and the designer for discussing and selecting the right surface finish treatment of the PCB. Another advantage of surface finish treatment is that it gives an attractive and complete look to the IMS printed circuit board.

What Is The Thermal Management Process In IMS PCB?

IMS PCB is known for its thermal management properties. The metal used in the base of the PCB is a good heat conductor. The metal assists to dissipate the heat to the least critical area bringing it from the most critical areas.

To get a rapid, accurate, and precise measurement C-Therm TCi thermal conductivity can be used. It will help you more in knowing the thermal management system of the board by analyzing the components’ thermal conductivity. The manufacturer needs to place the right materials in suitable places in order to eliminate heat in the thermal management process of the PCB.

You may choose better materials for decreasing heat in the PCB if suitable after knowing the present components’ thermal conductivity. You have to decide on the right base metal material to get the maximum heat out of the most critical areas.

What Is Legend Printing In IMS PCB?

Legend printing is generally imprinted on both or single sides of the PCB. The legend printing depends on the type and layer numbers of the IMS board. Legend printing consists of components like test points, component designators, switch settings, and some more.

The legend printing components work is to help in the PCB components assembly, testing, servicing, etc. there are basically three methods to do legend printing in a PCB. The methods are:

• Silkscreen printing
• Liquid photo imaging
• Inkjet printing

The manufacturer does this process while manufacturing the board. You may choose the type of legend printing according to your preference. An outline of the legend is made before designing the IMS board.

IMS PCB Printing

What Is The Size Consideration Of IMS PCB?

The size of an IMS PCB varies from one to another depending on the components of the board. The material type of the IMS board also affects the IMS board size. Different kind of applications requires different sizes of IMS boards.

The IMS board total weight is dependent on the size of the board. The bigger the board size of your device gets, the heavier it gets. You will get wider surface areas in bigger board sizes that help to dissipate heat from the device faster.

You should consider the following facts while fabricating your IMS PCB.

• IMS board panel size
• IMS PCB standard panel size
• PCB standard panel size
• PCB panel fabrication size

How Do You Compare IMS PCB To FR-4 PCB?

Transistors and LEDs generate a lot of heat and they can easily transmit and spread the heat with the help of IMS PCB. FR4 PCB is another standard form of PCB for heat dissipation. However, IMS PCB is better than FR4 PCB considering a lot of facts.

FR-4 PCB

IMS boards are able to transmit heat faster than FR-4 PCBs by 8 to 9 times. By eliminating the heat at a faster rate, IMS PCB keeps the components that generate heat cooler. We need to keep the dielectric material as thin as possible.

If you keep the dielectric material very thin, it makes the shortest way to the metal backing plate from the heat source. You should maintain this thickness between 0.003” to 0.006”. The insulating layer’s heat conductance value is 5 to 10 times higher between the metal and copper layers.

How Do You Choose The Right Manufacturer Of IMS PCB?

Choosing the right manufacturer for your IMS printed circuit board is a very crucial fact. A wrong manufacturer can lead your whole project to go in vain. So you must get the right manufacturer for your IMS PCB.

You may check some facts to get the right manufacturer for your PCB. You should check the following factors to get the perfect manufacturer.

• The manufacturer should use modern technologies to manufacture IMS PCB as it is a delicate process.
• The manufacturer should have advanced knowledge of what he is working on.
• Customization service should be provided according to your preference.
• The manufacturing company should have experience in the IMS PCB industry.
• Make sure if the manufacturer had worked with your specific field of an application previously.
• If possible, pay a visit to the area of the manufacturing company.
• Cleanliness and hygiene should be maintained at international rules and regulations.
• Check if the manufacturer has the international certificate of his products.

Conclusion

If you have gone through the whole FAQ guide, all your questions about IMS PCB may have been answered. However, if you have any more questions or you want to get in touch with us, you are welcome to contact us. We will get back to you.