How are PCB boards made?

How are PCB boards made?

PCB Manufacturing Process

Printed circuit boards are typically made with copper. Depending on the requirements, the copper is plated to a substrate and carved away to expose the design of the board. Since there are multiple layers, they must be lined up and bonded together for a secure fit.

Step 1 – The Design

Before you begin manufacturing the PCB, you need to have a design of the board. These blueprints will be what you base the process off of. The design process is generally completed through computer software.Using Trace Width Calculator will help with a majority of the details needed for inner and external layers.

Step 2 – Printing the Design

A special printer called a plotted printer is used to print the design of the PCB. It produces a film that shows the details and layers of the board. When printed, there will be two ink colors used on the inside layer of the board:

• Clear Ink to show the non-conductive areas; and
• Black Ink to show the conductive copper traces and circuits.

The same colors are used for the outer layers, but the meaning of them is reversed.