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Are you looking for a reliable PCB fabrication supplier in China? You only send the Gerber files to us and don’t worry about the communication, our engineering team, production team, quality team, and support team will provide the completed products for you.

At first, you may be worried about the quality, so we suggest you will produce the prototypes in our plant. After you approve it, you will send the mass production to us. Therefore, you will know us from salespeople’s level, engineering professional attitude, and delivery time step by step.

PCBMay has over 3000+ clients all around the world and many of them gave us a high reputation. If you choose PCBMay, we will give you 100% satisfaction.

Don’t hesitate to contact us, we love to help you.

What is Printed Circuit Board

We know that the PCB is the life engine of electronic devices.

Almost all electronics devices starting from consumer electronics products to industrial electronics products PCB is the most important thing.

Starting from Designing to manufacturing there are many steps to get a perfect PCB. If you look at a complete PCB you can realize how complex it is to build a PCB.

PCB helps us to minimize the size of a consumer product or industrial product.

PCB fabrication is one of the most important steps in the PCB manufacturing process.

Unprecedented advances in PCB fabrication technology have made it much easier to make multilayer PCB boards.

Because of its instinctive electrical properties, multilayer PCB is able to provide high speed and high capacity in a smaller space.

With the help of advanced fabrication technology, you can implement a big complex circuit within a small space at the same time you can enhance the functionality of the PCB without any issues.

This type of PCBs can be both rigid and flexible. The biggest revolution that PCB fabrication technology has brought is the flexible PCB.

Printed Circuit Board

What is PCB Fabrication?

PCB fabrication is a process through which a physical PCB board can be made using a PCB design file.

This PCB design file will be provided by the PCB designer to the manufacturer. The PCB will be fabricated as per the specifications given in the Design Package.

This board will work as the foundation of the circuit board. Later we will print the circuit image on the board.

But before proceeding with the PCB fabrication process we have to focus on files that are necessary for PCB fabrication.

Fast Circuit Board could offer many types of PCB fabrications, such as:

• Prototype PCB fabrication
• Multi-layer PCB fabrication
• Aluminum PCB fabrication
• LED PCB fabrication
• Rogers PCB fabrication
• Metalcore PCB fabrication(MCPCB)
• Ceramic PCB fabrication
• HDI PCB fabrication
• Flexible PCB fabrication
• Rigid-flex PCB fabrication
• Thick copper PCB fabrication
• High-frequency PCB fabrication

Flexible PCB Fabrication

A flexible circuit board is a type of circuit board similar to a rigid circuit board where the required components are placed on a flexible substrate instead of on a rigid substrate.

This board is made in such a way that it flexes to any desired shape when applied.

Demand for this type of PCB has grown over the years.

The biggest reason for this is that now almost all electronics companies want to make their conventional devices flexible.

Just a few days ago Samsung showed an idea about a flexible TV display.

As the days go by new PCB fabrication technologies are coming and almost all the big companies are trying to make their devices more flexible.

In order to make any device fully flexible, the PCB inside it must be flexible and the technology that has brought the biggest revolution in this field is the flexible PCB technology.

Flexible PCB

Rigid-Flex PCB Fabrication

With the introduction of flex and rigid-flex circuits, engineers have had the opportunity to become more creative in designing new products.

Flex and rigid-flex boards are designed to ensure mechanical wear and vibration resistance.

Flexible circuit boards are of different types according to the layer and configuration.

The rigid-flex PCB is a hybrid PCB of rigid PCB and flex PCB.

Many rigid PCBs are used in a rigid-flex PCB. The rigid part of the rigid-flex PCB is usually used for fitting connectors and for installing chassis.

The rigid-flex design helps to increase the capacity of any PCB.

The biggest advantage of rigid-flex type PCB design is that it does not require any compromise in the design of the device so that any type of design can be done keeping in mind the convenience of the user.

Rigid-Flex PCB

HDI Flexible PCB Fabrication

Another type of flexible PCB fabrication is HDI-flex PCB fabrication.

The full form of HDI is High Definition Interconnect. This type of PCB is used in devices or applications that require more performance than the general Flex PCB.

This type of design is especially helpful in creating a perfect layout.

It uses a much thinner layer than the general Flexible PCB which helps in total size reduction and uses power efficiently.

This type of PCB is chosen to create high-performance PCBs. So we understand that the PCB fabrication process is an important step of PCB manufacturing.

PCB Fabrication Cost

Another important thing that everyone is worried about is the PCB fabrication cost.

This is the most important thing that almost all designers and manufacturers of consumer electronics devices know.

Compared to 1990, PCB prices have increased almost 150%.

Also to build a PCB to make a consumer product cost almost twice as much in the 1980s.

All the high-end electronic devices are made of PCB.

That’s why we have to be very cautious in the PCB Fabrication Process.

PCB Fabrication Types In the 1980’s PCB manufacturers had the simple task of building a PCB.

But nowadays a major portion of PCB production is automated.

It has become very difficult to find a PCB manufacturer who still follows a manual PCB fabrication process.

But since most of the manufacturers still follow manual methods, they are using manual inbuilt tools to fabricate PCBs.

Now you may ask what can be the benefit of knowing about the PCB fabrication process.

It has no relation with PCB designing.

Yes, it is true that most companies do the manufacturing with a manufacturing company after designing the PCB.

In that case, the PCB fabrication is entirely the responsibility of the manufacturing company.

But keep in mind that manufacturers often use less expensive materials to reduce manufacturing costs.

They do not pay attention to trace parameters, via location and other factors.

As a result, it has a direct effect on the performance, reliability, and manufacturability of PCB.

So if you know all these things then you can inform the manufacturer to pay attention to all these factors in advance.

Most of the manufacturing companies failed to provide quality PCBs because they try to compromise with the fabrication material during PCB fabrication.

That is why it is better not to make PCB at a very low price.

Making PCB with a little more price can bring many benefits in the future.

All these PCBs with good material are able to give good performance for a long time.

n order to complete the PCB fabrication process well, the previous steps including PCB design should be taken seriously.

Now we are going to discuss a few points.

What is PCB Fabrication Process?

PCB fabrication is a process through which a physical PCB board can be made using a PCB design file.

This PCB design file will be provided by the PCB designer to the manufacturer.

The PCB will be fabricated as per the specifications given in the Design Package.

This board will work as the foundation of the circuit board. Later we will print the circuit image on the board.

Printed circuit board

But before proceeding with the PCB fabrication process we have to focus on files that are necessary for PCB fabrication.

Fast Circuit Board could offer many types of PCB fabrications, such as:

• Prototype PCB fabrication
• Multi-layer PCB fabrication
• Aluminum PCB fabrication
• LED PCB fabrication
• Rogers PCB fabrication
• Metalcore PCB fabrication(MCPCB)
• Ceramic PCB fabrication
• HDI PCB fabrication
• Flexible PCB fabrication
• Rigid-flex PCB fabrication
• Thick copper PCB fabrication
• High-frequency PCB fabrication

What files are Necessary for PCB Fabrication?

Gerber/ODB++ Files:

A Gerber file is simply opened ASCII vector format files for PCB.

The design information about each PCB layer is provided by the designer in this file.

Information related to the copper layer, drill data, solder mask, copper traces, pads, vias, etc is provided here.

The Gerber file is the most important file for PCB fabrication.

Earlier a company used to make these Gerber files. The name of this company was Gerber Scientific.

This company was founded by Joseph Gerber. For the special advantage of this type of file, it has become a very common file in the PCB manufacturing industry.

This type of file is mainly zipped into a single file and then it is ready to send to the PCB manufacturer.

The data package within the Gerber file may consist of different layers.

For Each element such as the copper layer, circuit diagram, power, etc similar Gerber files are required to create the desired pattern.

The process of generating a Gerber file may vary with the software you used for PCB designing.

Today most Gerber files are created in RS-264X format.

This format is much better than obsolete formats such as the RS-274-D Garber Standard. In earlier days vector plotters were used to make tooling films.

At that time a focused light film directed by an aperture was used for exposing the film to create flashes and draws.

In order to give instructions to the plotter, a Gerber file needs to have at least some information.

Such as a flash or drawing command after the X / Y coordinate, information about the appropriate aperture position, information about the plotter configuration, etc.

It is recommended that a fabrication drawing should be exported as a Gerber file. The drill program provided for every hole may be an X, Y coordinate that’s associated with,0 as shown inside the data package and on the fabrication drawing.

Mainly these types of files have extensions “.TOP”, “.SMT” “.BOT” and “.SMB” These extensions generally used instead of the.GB type extensions.

PCB manufacturers use CAM software to design the 2D or 3D designs of the desired board. They try to utilize the manufacturing data provided by the designer.

They got all the data from the Gerber files and then all the activities like etching copper layers, creating component pads, connecting traces, drilling holes, etc will be done accordingly.

Gerber File Formats:

RS-274-D:

This is the oldest format of the Gerber file. This file format was designed by Gerber Scientific, founded by Joseph Gerber.

For the special advantage of this type of file in PCB manufacturing, it was a very popular and mandatory file in the PCB manufacturing industry.

This file was presented in NC format or numerical control format.

It was compatible with various photo plotters. This is also known as Standard Gerber.

It is no longer used because of the many disadvantages of this type of format and its incompatibility with modern technology.

RS-274-X:

This type of file is far more modern and developed than RS-274-D.

The main advantages of this format are that it allows us to implement multiple layer structures for single layers, film controlling, polarity controlling, etc.

This format does not require manual data entry and also reduces plotting errors.

ODB++:

The advantage of ODD is that it decreases the chances of human error.

It is a self-extracting, all-inclusive, standardized input format. This format automated the process like labeling, stack up, drill placement, and labeling.

At the very beginning, it was not user-friendly for most of the CAD programs but after several updates, it is now compatible with any major CAD software.

Gerber X2:

Gerber X2 is an advanced evolution of RS-274-X. The most modern and most suitable Gerber format is Gerber X2.

It was introduced in 2013. All most all advanced CAD software support this type of Gerber Format. X2 provides intelligence to the Gerber Format. You can use attributes to process your new job.

The software will put the layers in the correct position in the stack-up. Other attributes will identify where the vias are, where to place SMD pads, etc.

Multilayer PCB

This will help you to avoid manual investigation and offers some extra information for DRC and DFM checks. Few attributes that can be applied inside the Gerber file are:

1. (Single PCB, an array, coupon, etc.)-Part represented by the file
2. (SMD, Via pad, fiducial, etc.)-Function of the pad
3. (Top mask, top copper, etc.)-Function of file

Information to Include in Your Circuit Board Fabrication Instructions:

• Hole sizes with tolerances, plus plating status information (PTH / NPTH)
• Board outline dimensions, including tolerances
• Hole or other mechanical feature to edge dimensions
• Finished copper weights of both internal and external layers
• Finished PCB thickness with tolerances, and measurement criteria
• Surface finish preference
• Solder mask requirements
• Silkscreen requirements
• Any additional requirements (impedance control, specific dielectric thicknesses, via plugging, etc.)
• Technical contact information
• For PCBs delivered in panel form for assembly, describe or draw the required layout.

Acceptable PCB Fabrication Drawing file formats:

• RS274X Gerber (.gbr, .pho, etc.)
• Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
• AutoCAD (.dwg or .dxf)
• HPGL (.hpg, .plt)
• Graphic file (.jpg, .gif, .tif, etc.)
• ODB++ (.tgz)
• Readme files (.doc, .txt, .rpt)

Materials Used for Consumer PCB:

PCB material selection is a very important step in PCB fabrication.

This is because the strength and flexibility of the material have a direct effect on the quality of the PCB.

The strength and heat tolerance of the material of the PCB commonly used in industrial applications must be extremely high.

This is because industrial applications generate heat after long runs. If the heat tolerance of the material is low then the PCB may become deformed. In general, the PCB material should be such that it will give strength to all the layers of the PCB and the signal traces and vias can be easily etched on the board.

Printed circuit board

The most popular materials used in PCB fabrication are fiberglass and Teflon.

FR-4 fiberglass:

The substrate of an Industrial PCB is usually made of fiberglass which belongs to FR4 material.

FR means fire-retardant. FR4 offers very high tensile strength.

These materials offer:

1. Good dimensional stability
2. Outstanding insulating and electrical properties
3. Moisture-resistance
4. Excellent flammability rating

FR4 material is one of the good choices for Industrial PCB fabrications.

This material is used to strengthen the PCB base.

Teflon:

Teflon is also known as PTFE or Polytetrafluoroethylene and fluoropolymer is a class of plastics offering a varied range of properties.

The basic properties of PTFE that make it an interesting material for industrial PCB fabrication:

1. It has exceptional chemical resistance
2. Good electrical insulating power in hot and wet environments makes it useful for the Industrial environment
3. Good resistance to heat and low temperature
4. Good resistance to light, UV, and weathering
5. Low coefficient of friction
6. Low dielectric constant/dissipation factor
7. Strong anti-adhesion properties
8. Flexibility
9. Good fatigue resistance under low stress
10. Low water absorption

Metal:

One of the major parts of Industrial PCB fabrication is the use of traditional metals such as copper, aluminum, and iron.

This type of material is preferred in industrial PCB fabrication because of its superconductivity and these types of materials also help to apply surface mount technology during the assembly process.

We know that this type of material is durable so when we use it in PCB fabrication the resultant PCB will be durable.

Most of the PCB manufacturers used aluminum-backed PCB to maintain the highest quality.

Copper:

The basic properties of copper that make it a highly recommended material for PCB fabrication:

1. Excellent electrical conductivity.
2. Excellent heat conductivity.
3. Good corrosion resistance.
4. Good machinability.
5. Good biofouling resistance.
6. Non-magnetic.
7. Maintaining electrical and mechanical properties even at cryogenic temperatures.

After the base layer, the most important layer for PCB is the copper layer.

This copper layer plays an important role in keeping the PCB active.

This copper layer is laminated with the base layer with the help of adhesive under extreme heat and pressure.

In the case of double and multilayered PCBs, there are copper layers on both sides of the layer.

PCBs do not usually use one layer of copper because all these PCBs have to perform many complex tasks.

The thickness of the copper layer varies from PCB to PCB. Since industrial PCB operates at much higher power, its thickness is 2-3 ounces.

This means that in all these cases the thickness of the copper layer is 35um.

This copper layer is the main conductive layer of PCB i.e. all kinds of work are done here.

To print the desired circuit pattern on the substrate you can follow two methods. One is additive methods and the other is subtractive methods.

In additive methods, copper will be coated on the substrate surface according to our desired pattern and the rest of the area will remain unplated.

Most of the consumer PCBs are printed in this way.

In the subtractive method first, you have to coat the entire substrate surface with copper then according to the design the unwanted places have to be removed i.e. the coating material of those areas has to be removed.

Aluminum:

The basic properties of copper that make it a highly recommended material for PCB fabrication:

Aluminum PCB

1. Very low specific weight. About 1/3 of iron.
2. It can be easily shaped, rolled, drawn, extruded, welded, and therefore it is the ideal metal for PCB fabrication
3. Aluminum is a good thermal and electrical conductor.
4. It cannot be magnetized or burnt, properties which are considered quite essential for PCB fabrication and other electronics applications.

Ceramic PCB:

Ceramic PCB can be a good choice for industrial PCB fabrication.

Caramic PCB

The basic properties of ceramic that make it an interesting material for industrial PCB fabrication:

1. High hardness
2. High elastic modulus
3. Low ductility
4. High dimensional stability
5. Good wear resistance
6. High resistance to corrosion and chemical attack
7. High weather resistance
8. High melting point
9. High working temperature
10. Low thermal expansion
11. Low to medium thermal conductivity
12. Good electrical insulation

But as ceramic is quite expensive it is not possible to use it in all industrial applications.

One thing we must have to remember is that different types of materials are used in Industrial PCB fabrication and they all have different types of advantages and disadvantages.

At the time of manufacturing, we have to choose materials according to the application requirement.

Quality:

PCB manufacturers should maintain the quality of materials used in PCB fabrication.

Because the Quality PCB allows you to change or replace components without the hassle and it doesn’t harm the other components of the board.

Quality PCBs are long-lasting therefore you don’t need to change them again and again.

Cost:

The cost of Industrial PCBs depends on various factors.

If you prefer Gold tabs to solder tabs it will be expensive for you. Similarly, the cost of a board using blind and/or buried vias is significantly higher than a typical multilayer- board with the same number of layers.

Even line/width spacing causes cost variations. If you go for the spacing above 6mm incurs then it will cost more than below 6mm incurs.

Power and Heat:

Thermal capacity is a big factor for industrial PCB material.

How useful a PCB depends on this factor? The reliability of the PCB can also be determined depending on this factor.

Also, we have to know the rate at which the material turns the wattage power into temperature.

Design Information in PCB fabrication?

Before starting PCB fabrication the PCB designer should provide some important design information to the PCB manufacturer so that they can perform PCB fabrication without any error.

PCB Fabrications

Parameter and Configuration:

At first, try to make a decision about the parameters and configuration of the physical board.

For this, you can contact your manufacturer and help him to develop the parameter for the Physical board.

You have to provide details like minimum trace width and spacing, via structures and via types, PCB polarization, copper balancing, etc.

Proper finishing of the Design:

Try to finish your PCB design properly and.

You can go through this checklist to confirm that your design is ready for manufacturing.

1. Make sure that your schematic and layout databases are updated.
2. Necessary components should be placed properly
3. Confirm that all the connections are routed properly
4. Make sure that the Bill of Materials is rechecked and ready to send to the manufacturer
5. Confirm that circuit analysis is completed.
6. DFM rules are reviewed so that manufacturer can run an erroe free assembly.

All Necessary Design File Should be Ready:

After completing the PCB design first we have to export the necessary design files and then send them to the manufacturer.

The manufacturer will review them and will start PCB fabrication accordingly.

Some of the important data files including Gerber file, BOM file, drawings for fabrication assembly, test point locations, component locations ( x,y co-ordinate), schematic, etc.

PCB Fabrication Process Flow:

The PCB fabrication process is a procedure that transforms our PCB design into a Physical structure maintaining all the specifications mentioned in the design files.

This process is a combination of a few steps.

We will discuss all these steps in simple words so that you can easily realize the actual process.

Processing Substrate Material:

First, we have to follow the fiberglass saturation process.

Then saturated glass fiber passes through rollers so that the roller can give the required thickness to the saturated fiberglass and removes any excess deposits.

Shaping Processed Material :

After getting the thin-shaped fiberglass material we have to strengthen it.

For that, we have to pass it through an oven. Then cut it into desired sizes.

Arranging other layers with Substrate material:

In this step, the panels cut in the second step will be layered using adhesive copper foil.

Then these stacks will be placed in a press at a pressure of 1500 psi and at a temperature of 340 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or more.

Placing holes in the desired position:

Then we have to put the stacked panels into a numerical control machine and then holes will be drilled according to the desired position decided at the time of board laid out.

Now it is time to plating the holes. To do so first coat the inside surfaces of the holes with copper because our goal is to provide a conductive hole.

For a non-conductive hole, you can use non-conductive materials to coat the inside surface of the hole.

Printing the Circuit Diagram on the Substrate:

To print the desired circuit pattern on the substrate you can follow two methods.

One is additive methods and the other is subtractive methods.

In additive methods, copper will be coated on the substrate surface according to our desired pattern and the rest of the area will remain unplated.

Most of the consumer PCBs are printed in this way.

In the subtractive method first, you have to coat the entire substrate surface with copper then according to the design the unwanted places have to be removed i.e. the coating material of those areas has to be removed.

Shielding with Photoresist Materials:

Here our goal is to press a layer of photo resistive material to the surface area of the panels.

To do so we have to pass the panels through a vacuum chamber so that a layer of positive photoresist material is pressed firmly onto the entire surface of the foil.

Then by looking at the printed circuit pattern mask on top of the photo-resistant material you will understand that it is almost ready.

Now the board with this printed circuit pattern mask has to be kept under ultraviolet rays.

Spraying alkyne:

First, you need to remove the printed circuit pattern mask. Then spray on it with an alkyne spray.

This will melt the distorted photoresistor. As a result, the copper foil will now be exposed.

Protection from Oxidation:

Copper is plated in the exposed foil area with a thickness of 0.001 to 0.002 inches.

Here the foil acts as the cathode. Places that remain photo-resistant do not act as cathodes.

Copper is coated with tin-lead or any other material to protect it from oxidation.

Completing the board and getting ready for mounting:

Now we will attach the contact fingers to the edge of the substrate so that it is possible to connect to the PCB.

Now the fingers have to be plated on the board. The three materials used for plating are tin-lead, nickel, and gold. Each panel will be sealed with epoxy resin to protect it from damage at the time of component installation.

Now we have to cut the panels into pieces to get our desired boards.

The Above PCB is ready for mounting components.

Component Mounting:

The first step in activating PCB is to place a component in it. Different PCB boards are designed with different components.

So the necessary component mounting is done at this stage.

PCB components

Removing the remaining Flux:

Now the remaining flux needs to be cleaned using water and chemicals. Different types of chemicals are used depending on the type of solder.

Get ready for shipping:

The last step is to get ready for shipping. In this step prepared PCBs to need to be well packaged.

Usually, it is best to use bubble wrap and foam in PCB packaging.

Error Inspection:

Quality control is very important in PCB Fabrication.

For this visual and electrical inspection is done. Some errors are from automated machines.

Such as during component mounting or during automated assembly processes some components may be placed in the wrong place.

If an excessive amount of soldering paste is left behind, then the two adjacent components or paths can be connected.

The extra amount of hits caused by long-time machine operation can distort the PCB board.

So we have to check all these things carefully and have to solve them.

Conclusion:

So we saw that PCB fabrication is an important step in PCB manufacturing.

Before PCB fabrication, we must take some precautions.

For example, we have to fix the PCB design, prepare the design files well, and explain to the manufacturer what we want to do.

We discussed PCB fabrication as much as possible. We will discuss more Printed Circuit Board later.