Respected Laptop PCB Manufacturer in China

Solutions for Your Different Laptop PCB Needs by PCBMay

High-class PCBs are only made by high-class PCB manufacturers. Because we are the leader of PCB fabrication and supply in China, your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Our Laptop PCBs have all the essential features you seek.

• All PCBs are IPC-2 or IPC-3
• Support all types of the USB port (Thunderbolt, Type C, Micro, etc.)
• Enable OLED display and HDI displays
• Works well with Solid State Drive
• Compatibility with Wi-Fi 5/ 5G

As we are a responsible manufacturer, we obey international standards on environmental safety. We have a presence internationally, doing business with global brands in the US, Australia, and EU. Also, PCBMay sells Laptop PCBs in the Chinese domestic market. Our customers trust us with big scale production.

For our PCB products, you can choose simple PCBs like Single-sided or Double-sided PCBs down to the most advanced PCBs like Press-fit PCB and Microvia PCB. You are also free to choose any soldermask color or surface finish you have in mind.

Just in case you want a Customized Laptop PCB order, this can be quickly arranged. Any design is possible, as long as you ask for it. We have very competent design engineers to give you a hand with your requirements. Get in touch with our salesperson now to get a speedy quote!

Finally, PCBMay values open communication. Any time you have a problem with your Laptop PCB order, we will furnish a full 8D report for the root cause. We want to make sure you are 100% happy.

Contact PCBMay now for your Laptop PCB!

Laptop PCB: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

Have you ever thought about your laptop PCB in your laptop? Do you think about how they are made? Do you know the importance of the laptop PCB board in your laptop?

Okay, no issues if you don’t. PCB is the mother part of any electronics in the modern electronics industry. A PCB is a panel that is used to connect electrical components.

It is the powerhouse of laptops. Today here, we will discuss and answer several questions about the nuts and bolts of the laptop printed circuit board.

What Is A Laptop PCB?

The printed circuit boards or PCBs are the boards that power up the circuit by connecting them. PCBs that are used in laptops are called laptop motherboards or laptop PCBs.

PCBs are generally made of non-conductive material that contains conductive circuits, traces, and components. A laptop motherboard comprises a socket for the CPU, firmware chips, and memory slots, among other elements.

Laptop PCB

Components are placed on the laptop PCBs and connected by different methods. The pieces can be attached to the board in various ways, such as soldering, surface mount, or press-fitting.

They are placed in the copper traces’ pads to conduct electrical flows among the components. The traces are etched across the non-conductive board.

There are different types of components used in laptop PCBs. The tasks of the various parts are particular to fulfill the specific purposes.

How To Design A Laptop PCB?

Though there are differences in components, The primary design steps are the same for laptop PCBs as other conventional PCBs. The design steps work as follows for the laptop board.

➢ Schematic Diagram Design

The schematic diagram is the first visual design step for PCBs. In the schematic, you will do the master plan for your laptop PCBs. The schematic will show you the whole design layout.

The component placement, connections, trace design, everything will be on the schematic. That is why the schematic is called the blueprint of the PCBs.

➢ Layout Design

After successfully designing the schematic diagram, now the time is to create the layout of your laptop PCB Board. While doing this on the PCB design software, you have to import the schematic design as SchDoc to your design software.

A PCB Layout Sample

Then the layout will be designed based on the schematic file.

➢ Laptop PCB Board Making

One of the essential parts is making the laptop motherboard. Though the laptop is an integrated device, laptop battery PCB board and laptop keyboard PCB are included here. So, in this section, all PCBs should be made entirely.

Make the PCB board with a suitable material. You have to consider several vital issues about the PCB material before selecting them for making the boards.

➢ Layout Printing

After designing parts, it’s time to print the PCB layout on the board. Chemical printing or high heat and pressure printing might be used. Also, 3D layout printing with traces could be completed in this section as well. 3D printing is the PCB printing method that makes the traces based on the layout design.

Let’s check how 3D printing works on PCB:

➢ Trace Etching

If you don’t use 3D printing, you have to etch the traces now. Chemical etching is one of the trace etching processes that you can use. Laser printing is another way to etch conductive traces on your laptop PCBs.

➢ Component Placement

After you have completed the etching of conductive traces, you need to clean the board carefully. It is the last step in achieving the laptop PCB.

To assemble the components of the laptop PCB, you have to take the highest caution. Because during the assembling process, soldering leftovers could be sustained. That would cause later oxidation.

Also, place the different categorized components away from each other. For example, keep the analog and digital components away.

You can use through-hole, SMT, or press-fit PCB mount technology to assemble the components.

With successful component placement and routing, your laptop PCB is ready to perform.

What Are The Priorities For Component Placement And Routing On A Laptop PCB?

As a laptop PCB, there are particular components for it to perform specific tasks. The following four particular parts have their unique aspects and should be placed near the laptop’s processor.

01. Memory

The ball map of the laptop PCBs determines the place for the memory kit or DRAM. Power planes should be beside the memory area. And other signal facts should be away from the site. If you use an on-die terminator, this will mark the location of the memory. Otherwise, resistors will do so.

Laptop PCB Memory Slot

02. Power Management IC

Power management Integrated Circuits or PMICs are some voltage regulators. They are needed because, for different components, different voltage regulations are required. For example, the camera in your laptop will not work on the same voltage as the network adapter.

03. Bypass Capacitors

Bypass capacitors are found at the bottom of laptop PCBs. The capacitors have three pins on each side that are connected to the ground pins. Putting in place bypass capacitors would be challenging in a significant number of cases.

However, an entire circuit may be created just to install bypass capacitors that would be effective for many implementations.

04. Analog circuit

Analog circuits need short routes as well as top-of-the-line routing. Some of them would have been buried anyhow. However, it is necessary to maintain the analog circuitry separate from the digital circuits.

Additionally, the receiving chain must be placed away from the crystal. You would be exposed to the components’ vulnerability if you did not do so.

What Is The Standard Laptop PCB Panel Size?

It is not that easy to answer directly. Because like the desktop, there are no form factor things in the laptop motherboard design. So, the laptop manufacturer companies can use any size of laptop PCB based on the market needs.

Laptop PCBs are available in many sizes. But, the peripherals have a standard size though. Like the RAM and RAm slots, processor socket size, etc., have standard sizes.

Laptop PCB Size Is Not Fixed

You will also find the desktop for DIY made. But you won’t have any Laptop DIY-made facilities in the market. And this is because of the standard size unavailability.

So, when you need laptop PCBs, just express your requirements to your PCB manufacturer. Provide them with your desired size, and get them manufactured.

How Do You Connect Components On A Laptop PCB?

When you want to place and connect your laptop components by soldering, there are things to keep in mind. You have to be very careful to solder every part on your laptop PCB. They are essential to solder the components on any type of PCB. Let’s check on how to solder the PCB components at a glance.

• First, plug your soldering iron with the electrical socket. Wait until it gets hot properly. Check with a small solder by touching if it is ready to work.
• Properly look at your schematic diagram. Match the PCB layout with the diagram. Determine the component places from the schematics. Then start inserting the components pin onto the board.
• Place every necessary component in the right place.

It Is Essential To Be Careful During Soldering

• Touch the soldering iron to the protruding pin sides of the components. Touch the solder with the soldering iron, and let sufficient solder melt on the pins.
• Insert the sockets and ICs in their correct position and verify the orientation correctly. Then solder them with the highest care.
• Take the stranded wire and solder them with twisting copper if needed. You may need a wire for power connections and signal passes. Now your board is completed, it assembles.

What Are Conformal Coatings And Their Necessity In Laptop PCBs?

Conformal coating is used to protect the laptop PCB from oxidation, corrosions, and other environmental destruction. It is a thin polymer film that coated the laptop PCB board. Typically, the film is applied at 25 to 250-micrometer thickness. This conforms to the PCB board and pads.

It also coats the solder joint and other connection headings. And ultimately, the conformal coating protects the board’s metallic area and exposed metal and circuits from oxidation.

Conformal Coating Protects Your PCB Board

The conformal coating of your laptop will help your PCB protect itself from moisture, excess temperature, chemical distortion, salt spray, etc.

Protecting your board from the mentioned phenomenon is essential because these facts will drive your  PCB to corrosion. And then oxidation happens. Also, the conformal coating prevents electrical failure.

What Are The Types Of Conformal Coating In Laptop PCBs?

Based on the chemical properties, the conformal coating for the laptop PCBs can be categorized into different categories. Some of the most popular are briefly mentioned below.

Polyurethane Conformal Coating

Polyurethane Conformal Coating provides excellent protection against the chemical oxidation to the PCB boards. They act as flexible in low to high-temperature ranges.

Acrylic Conformal Coating

Acrylic conformal coating is cost-effective than Polyurethane one. An acrylic coating can protect the laptop PCB board even in extended exposure. They also prevent the darkening and keep clarity to the board. It is primarily workable in solvent resistance.

Acrylic Conformal Coating

Hybrid Conformal Coating

The hybrid coating is a composite coating of chemical and solvent coating. It provides oxidation prevention against the solvent base application. Also, it features a high chemical resistance as well.

Silicone Conformal Coating

Due to its versatile flexibility, silicone conformal coating provides the most robust coating protection against high and low temperatures. But silicone coating is less effective for humidity and corrosive gases.

Why Do Laptop Hard Drives Use PCBs?

The hard drive is the storage of the laptops (SSDs are used nowadays). Hard Drive operates the laptop bypassing storage signals. Like, you have to install your operating system on the storage.

So, the printed circuit board inside the hard drive tells how the drive will be operated. In an even more straightforward way, PCB operates the hard drive. It passes the signal to the RAM, and RAM collaborates with the central processing unit to function.

Laptop Hard Drive With PCB

The PCB of the hard drive also contributes to the proper functioning of the other components by transferring power to them. By the way, the hard disk is entirely devoid of mechanical parts.

What Are Some Of The Most Common Problems That Might Occur With A Laptop PCB’s Hard Drive?

Generally, the hard drive does not damage. It is stable and resilient during and out of the performance time. But improper environment and occurrence may be the cause of damage for the hard disk. Following are a few reasons for generating issues with the hard disks.

• Excessive heat may be generated inside your laptop and hard drive if you do not correctly ventilate management to your laptop. And this heat could malfunction your hard drive. Even can destroy.
• Improper handling of electrical current may damage your hard drive permanently. That is why you correctly ground the electric line before starting to use your laptop.

Improper Handling May Damage Your Hard Drive

• Electric current also may damage your hard drive because of inadequate power supply. Also, an inconsistent power supply may come from the laptop PCB through the components. This will drive your hard drive to damage.
• Manufacturing fault is one of the damaging facts. Some circuits might not be adequately designed or malfunction during soldering. It may drive your hard drive, even your laptop PCB, to destruction.

What Are Laptop Battery PCB And Its Characteristics?

This circuit board is the battery protection PCB or battery PCB in a laptop. The circuit board monitors the charging state to prevent overcharging of lithium batteries on the laptop. This protects the laptop battery from damages.

Laptop Battery Protection PCB

The battery PCBs generally hold the following features:

• Detection sensor for overcharging and safeguarding the battery.
• Detects the battery charging states.
• Monitor charging, temperature, health, and safe connections.
• Detects load short circuit.
• Power consumption detection.
• Over discharging detection.
• Maintain the charging volume for every cell of the battery.

What Are The Types Of Laptop PCBs?

In terms of design factors, the laptop PCBs could be divided into Five types: single-sided, double-sided, multilayer, rigid, and rigid-flex laptop PCBs.

Single-Sided PCB

A single conductive layer is used to make a single-sided PCB. The conductive components are placed on one side, and entire conductive traces are etched on another side of the sing-sided PCB. It is cost-effective. They are used for low-budget laptops.

Double-Sided PCB

Conductive copper layers are used on both sides of the laptop PCB in the double-sided PCB. There are holes or vias used to connect both conductive layers. Surface mount technology, or through-hole component mounting technology, is used to connect the layers.

Multilayer  PCB

Multilayer PCBs are the extended form of double-sided PCBs. Minimum three or more conductive layers are stacked up to form a multilayer PCB. And all conductive layers and other supportive and insulating layers are bonded under high heat and pressure.

Flexible Laptop PCB

Flexible PCBs are used in a laptop to interconnect the components inside it. A portion of flexible PCB is used with rigid PCB to connect the elements in the squeezed area of the laptop.

Flexible PCB

Rigid PCB

Rigid PCBs are rigid in the state. They are not foldable or bendable. Solid and rigid substrates are used to form rigid PCBs. The PCBs mentioned above could be found in rigid and flex forms. But, rigid ones are used for laptop PCBs.

What Design Factors Determine Laptop PCB Thickness?

Besides standard PCB thickness, custom laptop PCB thickness depends on various factors. Following are some factors that impact determining the thickness of the laptop PCBs.

• Size, weight, and adaptability are all essential considerations. It depends on how big your PCB is. What the flexibility range will be.
• Copper thickness is one of the vital players in determining PCB thickness. The copper thickness that is used depends on the standardness, ranging from 1.4 to 2.8 mils.
• Your laptop PCB lifetime and durability depend on the material quality and thickness in many ways. Board material plays an essential role in determining PCB’s overall thickness.
• Another essential fact is layer count is the more layer number, the thicker your laptop PCBs.

What Are Vias And Their Necessity On Laptop PCBs?

Vias are the paths in the PCBs that join conductive traces, pads, and polygons through the various layers on multilayer PCBs. Holes are drilled in the PCBs through the layers; then vias are placed into the holes.

Mainly, you have to drill holes through the copper pads of the various layers. Then put some dissolving chemicals to dissolve the epoxy layers. This dissolving chemical will expose the copper of the internal layers to form vias.

Vias In PCB

We already mentioned that vias feature the electrical and mechanical paths through the laptop PCB’s internal layers. So, when you choose a multilayer PCB, you have to drill vias through the layers to connect each layer electrically and mechanically.

Another suggestion for drilling via is, use multi vias instead of using a large via. Vias are mainly divided into three types: blind via, buried via, through-hole via, micro via, stacked via, and staggered via.

Let’s check this video how vias connect the layers:

What Are The Testing Methods That You Can Use To Test Laptop PCBs?

Testing methods are testing the durability and functionality of laptop PCBs as per the design requirement. There are different types of testing methods available to test the PCB during the manufacturing phase. They are divided as follows.

In-Circuit Testing (ICT):

In the ICT, every circuit is powered and actuated under the testing machine. It is the most popular PCB testing method. In-circuit testing is designed for getting 100% of accurate results. But, it can reach 85-90% coverage.

In-Circuit Testing

Flying Probe Testing

Needles are used to attach the circuits and go under the x-y grid of a probe. This testing includes holes, shorts, resistance, capacitance, inductance, and diode issues test.

Automated Optical Inspection

A single 2D or two 3D cameras take photos of every segment of the laptop PCBs. Then it goes for comparison with the schematic of the PCB. The final product must match the schematic to pass.

Functional Testing

In functional testing, every feature of the laptop PCB is tested for real-life functioning. Here the PCBs must pass perform as per the desired design requirement.

What Are The Consequences Of High Heat In Laptop PCBs?

Heat is always a vital fact in electronics. Excessive heat can cause various damages to your laptop PCBs.  You might face the following issues due to overheating in your laptop PCBs.

• Your PCBs will malfunction. Expected functionality will not be produced due to excessive heat.
• Your laptop PCB might lose structural integrity due to a variable coefficient of expansion.
• Circuit lines will be disrupted.

Oxidation In PCB

• With excessive heat, the metal parts of your PCB would be exposed. When they are exposed, they will be oxidized to corrosions.

How Do You Lower The Temperature On Your Laptop PCBs?

There are many effective ways to lower your laptop PCB’s temperature. If you manage things correctly, you might be able to keep the temperature low in your laptop PCBs.

• Select the suitable materials for the PCB board. High-grade material is one of the effective ways that your PCB will generate low temperatures.
• Also, use high-grade components. Quality components get less temperature than fewer quality components.
• The heatsink is the master choice for heat dissipation. You must install the heatsink on your laptop PCB. The heatsink will consume and dissipate the temperature to the air.

Heatsink Absorbs Heat Of Laptop PCB

• Using a cooling fan is a must. Cooling fans will exhaust the hot air from your laptop.
• Keep separation between analog and digital circuits and components.

How Much Is Important Grounding In Laptop PCBs?

In simple words, grounding is the return path for current flows. Grounding allows your laptop PCBs to return the unusual electric discharge to the ground.

So, what is the importance of grounding on PCBs? Let’s check on them.

• Grounding protects against electrical overload by preventing current flow.
• Grounding ensures the safe travel of electricity to your laptop.
• Grounding protects your PCB from unusual electrical shocks.
• PCB grounding stabilizes the voltage level of your PCB.
• Because of the return path, the unusual current is returned to the ground that avoids damage to your board. Also, it is safe for the human body as well.
• Grounding is the key to noise and cross-talk reduction.

What Is The Importance Of the Thermal States For The Material Selection Of Laptop PCBs?

Desktop and laptop are among the heat-producing electronics. With their consistent uses, heat increases gradually. So, the material you use for making your laptop PCBs must comply with the extreme heat situation.

That is why you should check the thermal properties of the material of your laptop PCBs before selecting them. Mainly, you should look for the glass transition temperature and decomposition temperature state of your PCB materials.

Glass Transition Temperature (Tg)

When the PCB substance is exposed to a specific temperature, it gets softened. But, after removing the temperature, the substance gets its previous state. The exact temperature range that causes the phenomenon is known as Tg.

Tg is needed for soldering the components in your PCB. So, your selected PCB material should be softened with the 20 to 250° C temperature. It’s the ideal range for FR4 substrate.

Decomposition Temperature (Td)

Unlike Tg, the impact of decomposition temperature is permanent in the PCB materials. Materials generally lose about 5% mass when exposed to the Td. The range of your PCB material should be over 250° C to comply with the Td.

Which Laptop PCB Manufacturer Should Be Your Chosen Manufacturer?

All we have discussed previously in this article is about quality laptop PCB. What if you have produced your PCBs and found them faulty because of the manufacturer’s lack of skill and quality?

It will hurt and drive your business into destruction. So, you should check for the best PCB manufacturer when you want to go for your PCB production.

You find the following quality on a quality manufacturer, who you can select for your PCB production.

• Vast industry experience.
• Quality production with proper research and development.
• Latest attachment of technology to their manufacturing facility.
• Large and well-organized workplace.
• Deadline meeting ability.
• Use of quality materials and components.
• Skilled staffing.

Conclusion

Laptop PCB is not a simple matter of production. It needs a well-organized and well-researched plan and technical support. Only well-qualified manufacturers can help you with the best quality products.

PCBMay is one of the skilled and experienced laptop PCB manufacturers in China who provides their services worldwide. You may knock us today with your requirement. We are waiting to give you the best PCB manufacturing services.