Exclusive Laser Cut PCB by PCBMay

A Laser Cut PCB Expert You Can Trust

Unlike our competitors out there, we at PCBMay stand out as the best in Laser Cut PCB. We will win you over because excellence is our philosophy, and customer service is our number one principle.

• The advanced equipment used – UV Laser / Nd: YAG laser / CO2 Laser
• Proficient in V-groove and Tab Route panelization
• Tight computer monitoring for precision control of laser cutting
• An efficient process means faster turn-out of the finished board
• Zero residue and dust particles on your PCB

PCBMay will save you time, money, and energy. By purchasing our PCBs, you ultimately waste less effort finding a solution that works. When you come to us with a circuit board dilemma, we will instantly help. Laser PCBs are just one of the multiple products we can offer you.

When you need exceptional circuit board performance, turn to products by PCBMay. As a responsible manufacturer, we are conscious of adhering to global standards of PCB manufacture. We apply these accepted techniques when we use laser depaneling for your OLED PCB, Remote Control PCB, and Calculator PCB among other boards. Trust that we have your comfort in mind when you choose us.

Do you have any questions regarding quality control and assurance? Then, our very approachable sales staff will give you the facts. Because we care about our name, you can request a Work-in-Progress report for your Laser Cut PCB order. If a Certificate of Conformity is needed, we will gladly provide that too.

Please, wait no more! Now is the time to act. Inquire about our Laser Cut PCBs today!

Laser Cut PCB: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

In any electrical device, it is almost inevitable that you will find a printed circuit board. This is due to the need for electromagnetic functions in electronic devices. Laser-cut PCB is one of the many distinct forms of PCB that may be manufactured.

When it comes to laser-cut PCBs, there is no doubt that you will want to know about them if you plan on manufacturing them.

If that’s the case, you’ll be able to get everything ready right here. We will address a number of issues that may occur in your mind about laser-cut PCBs.

What Is Laser Cut PCB?

Printed circuit boards, or PCBs, are the fundamental building blocks of electronic components. The components are utilized to create electronic functionality. You will see components are assembled on the PCBs.

However, laser-cut PCB is one kind of PCB manufacturing technology. Laser cutting is a method for paneling and tracing printed circuit boards. A high-power laser beam is employed in this approach to drill and engrave the boards.

Laser Cut PCB

The PCBs’ shape and forms are ensured by the high-power laser beam, which is based on a computer-controlled design and system. This is a viable alternative to existing PCB fabrication methods.

There are three basic forms of laser cutting that may be used. CO2 laser cutting, Neodymium (Nd) laser cutting, and Neodymium Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser cutting are the three types (Nd: YAG).

CO2 laser cutting may be used for cutting, drilling, and engraving. Boring can be done with Nd, but it must be done with high intensity and limited repetition.

Nd: YAG, on the other hand, has a high-power capability for drilling and engraving.

How Do You Make A PCB With A Laser Cutter?

It is certain that every electronic device starts with a diagram (Schematic drawing). So, as in, you must start the design process of a laser-cut PCB with a schematic diagram. Along with the schematic, you need to follow some gradual steps to successfully get the PCB on.

The steps are as follows.

Starting With Schematic

First, start your design by drawing the PCB. This drawing is primarily called a schematic. You can consider it as the blueprint of your PCB. It will show the traces of your laser-cut PCB. Also,d determine the placement of the components and routing the traces.

Preparing The Layout

Now, prepare the layout file of your laser-cut PCB. You must import the schematic file of your board to the layout design software. Make sure you have designed the layout as per the schematic draw.

A PCB Layout

Preparing The Board

Now, you need to prepare the laser-cut copper PCB board. Take a bare copper board. Or, you may make the board your own. If you make the board as your own, properly stack up the layers of the board.

Keep the board on a spraying surface, e.g, paper or plastic board, and spray with a straight color. Make sure there is no place left without spraying. Properly fry the color on the board.

Laser Cutting

Now, start the laser cutting. You have to set the layout in your laser machine first. Keep the board under the laser cutting axis. The rest of the work will be done by the machine automatically after starting the machine.

The laser rays will remove the bare copper from the board and make the traces. After finishing the cuttings, you need to use some cotton or soft cloth with acetone to remove the sprayed color from the etched traces of the board.

Now, your board is ready to drill the holes and place the components. However, the following video clearly demonstrates how laser cutting makes a PCB.

Components Placement

Now, place drill the necessary holes on your laser-cut PCB board and place the components correctly. You might use SMT, THT, or press-fit technology to attach the components. Solder the components with utmost care if you use SMT or THT technology.

Route the components as per the design. Your laser-cut PCB is now ready to function.

How Many Materials Can You Use For Making A Laser Cut PCB Board?

PCB materials are the main aspect of the laser-cut PCB board. There are different board materials you may use to construct your laser-cut PCB. But, you have to choose the right one as per your needs.

The following are some materials to use for making a PCB board.

FR4

Laser-cut FR4 PCB is the most popular PCB board. FR refers to Flame Retardant. It is one of the board materials with good electrical and thermal performance.

Polyimide

Polyimide is best used for flexible PCBs. Aside from this, it is also used for other PCBs too. Polyimide has more thermal, and electrical performance. It is more expensive than FR4 as well.

Polyimide PCB

Teflon

Another board manufacturing material for laser-cut PCBs is Teflon. They’re ideal for high-speed PCBs because of their great electrical properties.

Apart from these, the prepreg is one of the most essential materials that may be used with the fabrication materials stated. Prepreg is a glass cloth that has been resin-coated in PCB boards. Conductive traces are made using copper foil.

What Are The Types Of Laser Cut PCB?

There are different types of laser-cut PCBs. The fact is, you can make PCBs with laser cut in all available types of PCBs. The following are the types of laser-cut PCBs you may find.

Single-Sided PCB

The most common type of PCB. A single conductive layer is used in single-sided PCBs.

Double-Sided PCB

Two conductive layers are used to form a double-sided PCB. Vias are used to link the two conductive layers together.

Multilayer PCB

At least three conductive layers are used to form a multilayer PCB. Multilayer PCB may have 100, or more layers on it as per needs. You are able to get the advantages of numerous layers in a single laser-cut PCB board.

Multilayer PCB

Flexible PCB

Flexible PCBs are flexible in structure. Flexible thin materials are used to make flexible PCBs. They are foldable and bendable.

Rigid PCB

Rigid materials are used to form rigid PCBs. They are non-foldable and non-bendable.

Rigid-Flex PCB

Rigid-flex PCBs are a combination of rigid and flexible PCBs. They are made for different uses such as attaching different boards in their compact areas.

How Do Laser Cutters Work?

The most common laser cutter is the CO2 laser cutting machine. In the CO2 laser cutting machine, the CO2 gas fills the tube that creates a laser beam. Inside the tube, The laser beam goes to the laser head through the mirrors and lenses.

The laser beam is the main aspect that focuses on the PCB material surfaces to cut. There is an electrically controlled motor in the laser machine which manages the laser beam to function.

Laser Creates Extreme Heat On PCB Boards

The laser beam cuts, drills, and engraves the laser cut PCB board to its designed shape. You need to input the PCB design file into the laser beam machine.

The laser beam is a highly powerful heat-creating beam that heats the particular surface of the PCBs in the shortest time and brings the required operations into reality.

You can check how the laser works on PCB boards:

What Are The Advantages Of Laser Cut PCB?

It is certain that laser cutting has numerous benefits. You will find the following benefits by using a laser cutter to make PCBs.

• There is no stress to join the mechanical parts of the PCBs in solder joints.
• The laser cutting will not burn any external parts of the board. It will only work on the particular space you determined.
• Laser cutting does not create any leftover, or dust on the PCB surface during the cutting. It saves a lot of effort for camera lenses, or other vital designs.
• Laser cutting is a versatile method of PCB making. You can cut almost every material such as FR4, polyimide, Teflon, etc for your PCBs.

What Are The Applications Of Laser Cut PCBs?

Since the laser cutter can create any type of PCB, in this regard, you will find laser cut PCBs in every electronic in every sector. So, the following sectors use laser-cut PCBs for particular functionalities.

Consumer Electronics

• Communication devices such as smartphones, IoTs, WiFi devices, global positioning systems, and so on.
• Computerized devices such as personal computers, laptops, notebooks, mining devices, network and database servers, etc.
• Entertaining devices such as TVs, radios, gaming consoles, etc.
• Home appliances such as juicers, blender, grinder, home automation, microwave ovens, etc.

Smartphones Use Laser Cut PCBs

Medical Sector

• Monitoring systems such as sugar tester, heart rating, blood pressure monitoring, etc.
• Scanning devices such as ultrasound, CT-scan, X-ray, etc.
• Controlling systems.
• Surgery devices, chips, etc.

Industrial Applications

• Equipment such as conveyor belts, electric presses, cranes, lifting, security systems, etc.
• Measuring equipment such as scales, liquid level meters, temperature monitoring systems, etc.
• Power devices such as motors, inverters, power controllers, etc.

Automotive Applications

• Autopilot, navigation, control systems, security cameras, light controlling, audio and videos, air conditioning, etc.

Aerospace

• Aircraft and aviation control system, satellite control, power station control system, etc.

Lighting

• Lighting control in every sector such as medical, automotive, home appliances, signal lighting, aerospace lighting, and so on.

What Are The Basic Differences Between FR4 And Polyimide Material For Laser Cut PCBs?

FR4 and Polyimide are vastly used in laser-cut PCB making. Though they both are used in PCB making, they have differences between them. Two are different types of material in structure and usability.

A Combination Of FR4 And Polyimide Made A Rigid-Flex PCB

What Are The Factors That Impact Laser Cut PCB Thickness?

PCB thickness is important in terms of particular uses. Different factors impact the thickness of the laser PCB boards. The following are the facts that usually impact the thickness of PCBs.

PCB Thickness Depends On Various Entities

• If you need thicker boards, you need to increase the thickness of the board’s materials. Aside from this, the weight requirements and the flexibility terms determine the PCB thickness.
• The copper thickness is another big fact that impacts determining the PCB thickness.
• The material you use also determines the PCB thickness. Because different materials are different in thickness.
• Another big fact is the PCB layer. The more the layers, the thicker the board will be.
• The different types of signal traces need different thicknesses.
• The vias play vital roles in PCB thickness.

What Should Be Consideration To Design A Laser Cut PCB?

When you want to get the best laser-cut PCBs, you need to consider different factors before designing the PCBs. You should consider the following facts for designing PCBs.

Keep The Digital And Analog Signals Separated

• The first consideration should be the board constraint. You need to determine the PCB shape and size before designing the PCB. Also, you should consider the form factor if needed for the particular PCBs.
• Think about the materials and components of the boards. Determine which materials are needed for your particular laser cut PCB’s board. Also, make sure the components are required for the particular PCBs.
• Consider the signal separation. You must design the traces so that digital and analog signals remain away from each other.
• Determine the component orientation, placement, organizing, and orders before starting the design.
• Make sure you are going to keep a proper grounding system on your PCBs.

What Are Vias In Laser Cut PCBs?

Vias

Vias are primarily used for multilayer laser-cut PCB boards. Vias are copper cylinders that go through the holes that join the layers of PCBs electrically and thermally. There are different types of vias available for PCBs. They are as follows.

Various Vias In A PCB

Blind Vias

The vias go from an outer layer to the inner layers. The blind vias do not go through the entire board. You cannot see the blind vias to the opposite side of the starting layer of the vias.

Buried Vias

Buried vias are located inside the internal layers of the PCBs. They may be going through from one inner layer to another inner layer, or more layers. The maximum diameter of the buried vias is 6 mils.

Through-Hole Vias

Through-holes vias start from the surface layer to the bottom layer of the PCBs. You can see the vias opening from one side to another.

Micro Vias

Micro vias are used in High-Density Interconnection (HDI). The depth of the micro vias is not more than two layers. That means you can join two inner layers by a micro via each time.

What Are The Basic Components That Might Be Used In Laser Cut PCBs?

Components are among the most vital facts in laser-cut PCBs. Because PCB components are the things that generate the PCB functionalities. You need to select the PCB components regarding the objective of the PCBs. But there are several components used in almost every PCB.

Different Types Of PCB Components

Following are some basic components that are used in laser-cut PCBs.

• Capacitors: Holds electrical energy and provides them to the other components when needed.
• Inductors: Inductors also hold electrical energy but in magnetic form.
• Transistor: Transistor is the controller or the switch to control the electrical signals.
• Resistors: Resistors provide the electrical current and produce a voltage in terms of necessities. Resistors are usually color-coded.
• Transformers: Transformers pass electrical energy from one circuit to other circuits.
• Diodes: Diodes allow the electrical current to flow in a particular direction, and resist the other directions at a time.
• Sensors: Many devices need to detect environmental conditions. Sensors are used to detect the environmental changes around the devices.
• ICs: Integrated Circuits or microcontrollers are the processors that generate all functionalities for PCBs.

What Is Laser Cut PCB Corrosion?

Corrosion is the process of oxidation of metals on PCBs. It happens when the metals are exposed to the environment and oxygen bonds with the metals. Corrosion produces rust and leads the metal to lose its properties.

Oxidized PCB Board

It is a common fact that PCBs must face corrosion because most of the parts are metallic in PCBs. There are different reasons why corrosion happens to PCBs. They are as follows.

• Atmospheric: When metals are exposed to the environment, such as moisture, it causes oxidation to the metals.
• Galvanic: Different types of metal come to each other with the presence of electrolytes and corrosion happens.
• Electrolytic: When adjacent traces grow dendrite, then ionic contaminated moisture created causes the corrosion.

How Can You Prevent Corrosion On Laser Cut PCBs?

Preventing corrosion is not as complicated as you think. There are several feasible steps you may take to prevent corrosion to your laser-cut PCBs. You will see, metal, mostly copper in PCBs corrode most.

However, other metals also are corroded. By the way, you need to take some feasible, but effective steps to prevent the corrosions to your PCBs.

PCB Surface Finish With Gold Plating

Conformal coating is one of the best solutions for preventing corrosion. Also, epoxy lamination is another best way to prevent corrosion.

Aside from these, surface finishes are among the best ways for safeguarding the PCBs’ metal from corrosions. Primarily, surface finishes are the best solution for exposed metal corrosion.

Also, solder masks, aerosol sprays, etc., are effective ways in preventing the oxidation of metals.

What Are Multilayer Laser Cut PCB Stack-Up?

In the modern era of electronics, miniaturization, compactness, light-weight, speed, and better functionalities are their main objectives.

Laser-cut PCB stacks up help to minimize the size of the PCBs. It is the arrangement of multiple layers in a single PCB. It allows you to generate more circuitries in a single PCB with multiple layers on it.

Multilayer Stack-Up

The main features of multilayer PCB stackup are as follows.

• Multilayer stacks up help you to minimize the PCBs’ size, make them lightweight, and ensure more functionalities.
• They reduce cross talks, radiation, and signal interruptions.
• Multilayer stack up minimizes the costs and ensures efficient manufacturing processes.
• The proper stackup arrangement ensures electromagnetic compatibility.

How Can You Avoid High Heat On Your Laser Cut PCBs?

Your laser-cut PCBs need a lot of heat. Because excessive heat may harm your PCBs in a variety of ways. Overheating in PCBs may result in oxidation, physical failures, and even PCB destruction.

As a result, you must avoid excessive heat in order to safeguard your PCBs. To prevent excessive heat in your PCBs, perform the following procedures.

PCB Heatsink

• Use heatsinks and make sure they’re correctly positioned on your PCBs.
• Correctly connect the heat pipes.
• Signal paths should not be too lengthy.
• Make sure the digital and analog signals and components are in separate locations.
• Make use of proper cooling fans.
• Use the finest materials and components in your laser-cut PCBs.
• Use PCB boards that are thick and broad.
• Make sure there are enough gaps between the traces and components.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Laser Cutting In PCB?

With extensive advantages, there are also some limitations of the laser-cut PCB technique. You may experience the following limitations of laser cutting technology.

• Depending on the PCB thickness, you may face a slower cycling time of laser cutting.
• It is not recommended to use PCB thickness more than 2 mm. More thickness may cause difficulties to cut the boards.
• The primary investment of laser cutting technology is a little higher than mechanical PCBs processing.

Who Is The Best Laser Cut PCB Manufacturer?

There is no doubt you need a reliable PCB manufacturer to produce quality PCBs. There are many criteria to determine a laser-cut PCB manufacturer as a good and reliable manufacturer.

First, you need to check the manufacturers have proper certification, such as IPC. Because the manufacturer to fulfill the standard criteria to make PCBs can acquire the certificate.

Also, the manufacturer must have highly professional and skilled staff. You should also check if the manufacturers can meet the deadline, and have large production capabilities.

Besides these, a reliable manufacturer also should have the following characteristics:

• Latest technology facility.
• Highly advantageous workspace.
• Quality material and components assurance, and so on.

If you find the mentioned characteristics on a PCB manufacturer, you can simply rely on them.

Conclusion

Laser-cut PCBs are a highly sophisticated and feasible PCB manufacturing method. It goes without saying that you should be familiar with the fundamentals of laser-cut PCBs. However, we hope you were able to find the answers to your questions here.

A reputable and dependable PCB maker, on the other hand, can guarantee you the highest quality laser-cut PCBs. In light of this, PCBMay can be your best option. PCBMay is one of China’s pioneering PCB manufacturers.

With the greatest materials and components, we assure the highest quality laser-cut PCBs.  You may contact us to get the best quote from us.