Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. Happy to see you around. In this post, I’ll walk you through How to Install PCBWay Plugin for KiCAD PCB Software.
Before we move further, let’s get a brief overview of KiCAD PCB Software.
KiCAD is a free and open-source electronic design application mainly developed to draw schematics and PCB layouts. It is open-source which means anyone can use it to develop and modify electronic designs. The tool can effortlessly run on Windows, macOS and Linux. The main window of the application comes with 8 different software tools used to make PCB layouts and schematics.
Hope you’ve got a sneak peek at the software. Now we’ll get to know how to install the PCBWay Plugin for KiCAD.
When you install PCBWay Plugin for the KiCAD, you can instantly send the PCB layout to the PCBWay for the production of your required boards.
To install PCBWay Plugin, go to the KiCAD website. The following page will appear when you visit the website.
Click the “Download” button encircled in red. When you click it, the following image will turn up.
Here you will see the list of operating systems you can pick from. Click the required system. For instance, if you click the windows operating system, the following image will come up.
Based on your system requirement, you can choose between the 64-bit and 32-bit. When you click anyone of them, the following image will come up.
Here you’ll see the different downloading links based on your location. The recommended option is the “Worldwide” with the link from GitHub.
When you click this option, the software will start downloading.
Once downloaded, right-click the software and click “open”.
When you click it, the window will open up. Then click the “next” and then “install” when you click it, your installation will start as follows.
Once installation is completed, click the “Finish” as follows.
Then start the software. Once you start it, the following options will appear. You can either import the settings from the previous version or you can start with default settings to start it from scratch as follows.
When you start with the default settings, the following window will appear. Go to the “Tools” section and select “Plugin and Content Manager”.
The list of plugins will open up. Scroll it down and find the “PCBWay Plug-in for KiCAD” as follows.
Click “install” and then click “Apply Changes” and the PCBWay plug-in for KiCAD will be installed through which you can send your PCB layout to the PCBWay with just one click.
When you click PCBWay Plug-in button on Kicad, the following files will be exported to your project:
1. Gerber files used for production
2. IPC-Netlist file
3. Bom-file that comes with the information of components
4. Pick and Place-file in assembly
When you click "Save to Cart" to immediately placing an order after you upload the files, the PCBWay team of professionals will cross check the files before starting the final production.
Choosing the right manufacturer is tricky, especially when everyone claims to be the best in the market. In this read, we’re covering the most renowned PCB manufacturing company that has been serving the electronic industry for over a decade now.
PCBWay is a china-based PCB fabrication house. It is a one stop shop for both PCB and PCBA (printed circuit board assembly). From single layer, double layer and multiple layers to flex, rigid and rigid-flex boards, they have you covered. They come with 50 engineers on board that make sure the manufactured board run through a stringent inspection processes. They ensure the customers’ demands are properly met so they keep coming back for what the company has to offer.
They strive to meet the customers’ expectations by standing on their words. A few customers have seen the slight change in price of the final product. But that’s not their fault. It’s on the customer side since they didn’t pay special heed to matching the parameters of the production files. So, keep in mind… before you submit an order, make sure the parameters of Gerber and production files exactly match with the ones you put online during the submission of order in an instant quote. If they don’t match, you may see the slight change in price for the production of the final product.
When your order process is complete, they will send you three emails: First email will tell you about the order status, whether it’s been approved or rejected. Second email is about the successful payment and production management and the third one is for the products being shipped. This way, you remain thoroughly updated about the processes your product will go through. Know that, you can ask for the change in parameters of the product before the production process is scheduled. However, if your product already goes through the initial stages and has reached the certain stage of product, you cannot ask for the change and the parameters will remain the same you initially put during the order submission.
They value your time and money. They know how it’s important to deliver products on time so folks working on their electronic projects can develop and execute their projects in a timely manner. PCBWay takes pride in achieving a 99% delivery rate. They work 24/7 from Monday to Friday to make sure the final products are delivered as promised.
The best thing about PCBWay is that when you become their regular customer and buy more PCBs, you become a part of their V5 members. These members can enjoy 5% off on upcoming orders. Additionally, you get Beans when we put your order online. Beans are rewards points that come in handy to buy electronics products from their online shop.
That’s all for today. Hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions regarding the installation of the PCBWay Plugin, you can ask in the section below. We’d love to help you in the best way possible. Thank you for reading the article.
Hi Guys! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post, I’ll walk you through How to Install PCBWay Plugin for FreeCAD PCB Software.
Before we move further and help you with the installation of the plugin, let’s get a brief introduction to the FreeCAD software.
FreeCAD is a free and open-source parametric 3D modeler used to design real-life objects. With parametric modeling, you can easily modify your design and change its parameters. The tool is mainly used in mechanical engineering for product design and also proves to be handy in electrical engineering for electronic board designs. It supports Windows, Linux and macOS operating systems. Python programming language is primarily used to extend the overall functioning of the software.
Hope you’ve got an idea of what FreeCAD is all about. Let’s get further and discuss How to Install the PCBWay Plugin for FreeCAD PCB Software.
FreeCAD allows you to design PCB boards and send the final layout to PCBWay for instant production.
First, we download and install the FreeCAD software then we’ll cover how to install the plugin. To download the software, go to the FreeCAD website and click the “Download Now” option as follows.
Click the “next” option to continue to install the software, as shown in the figure below.
When you click the “PCBWay” the plugin will be installed on the software. Now you can make PCB designs on the FreeCAD and send it right away to the PCBWay manufacturer for the production of your required electronic board.
PCBWay is the largest PCB manufacturer in China. It’s a one stop shop for your DIY projects, custom test equipment and the advanced electronic projects. Apart from manufacturing regular PCBs including single layer, double layer and multi-layer boards, they also offer other services like flexible PCBs, SMD stencils, advanced PCBs and PCBA (printed circuit board assembly).
Website is easy to navigate and runs well on both laptop and mobile screen. You can instantly get the quote and submit your Gerber files on the website. When you submit the order, you can see all the information about your orders on the dashboard, including the order status, progress of your boards and delivery updates.
First you need to put the parameters on the Instant Quote appearing on the website above the fold. Then you’ll see the following page. If you pick PCB assembly service, you are offered with three flexible options to choose from. If you pick “Turnkey” option, it means PCBWay will supply the parts. And if you pick “Kitted or Consigned” it means the customers will supply the parts. And the third option is a mix of both: some parts will be supplied by the customers and the remaining parts will be sourced by the company.
Customer service is great. All the representatives are responsive, highly professionals and well aware of the technical details of the electronic boards. Plus, if you find any defective piece, you can instantly get in touch with their aftersales team and they will guide you on the best possible solution. And if you find the dedicated service representative is not helpful, you can request the new agent by sending your request to service@pcbway.com or feedback@pcbway.com
If you want electronic boards in large numbers for your projects, then PCB panel is the option. PCBWay also offer PCB panel services where a single PCB design is replicated multiple times on a large board called panel. Individual boards are then depanelized from the main boards and are ready to be used in the project.
Once you click the Instant Quote from the main page, you’ll see the following page with the PCB panel option.
They pride themselves to maintain a 99% delivery rate. Some people complained about the late delivery. But know that delivery time mainly depends on the shipment service you choose and it’s not in their control once the product leaves the fabrication house. However, they make sure the product leaves the facility within the due date.
That’s all for today. Hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions about installing the PCBWay plugin, you can ask me in the section below. I’d love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading the article.
Hi Guys! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post, I’ll walk you through How to Optimize a PCB Panel Layout.
PCB panels are used in the manufacturing process to produce PCBs in large numbers. This not only reduces the overall cost but also makes the manufacturing process more efficient and reliable. PCB panelization is a manufacturing technique where multiple PCB designs are replicated on a single large board called a PCB panel. Then these individual boards are removed and depanelized from the panel to install them in the final product.
The number of panels is directly related to the overall manufacturing cost. To produce more panels, more cost will be required. However, it also depends on the shape of the board. If you require more boards of the same shape and size, it will reduce the panel cost since they all can be replicated and manufactured on a single panel.
Read on to find out how we can optimize the PCB panel layout to save both cost and time.
Let’s jump right in.
PCB panel is a large board that contains multiple instances of a small PCB. Know that the PCB panel is made up of the same material as the board and the panel size depends on the number of small boards you aim to produce. It is required to best use the panel space to produce PCBs in large numbers and to keep the unused panel space minimum. Since the more boards cover the overall panel space, the more efficient the manufacturing process will be.
You can pick the panel size as per your requirement. However, the most commonly used panel size is 18 x 24 inches. Normally, the boards are 0.100 inches apart in one panel. Panel designers need to be very careful while putting the PCB designs in the panel.
It is important to use your PCB design tools properly to avoid any hassle in the manufacturing process. Decisions made earlier during the PCB design process can go a long way and keep you from redesigning the entire board from scratch. These design tools can help you select the layer stack up configuration and PCB material. Additionally, they can help you transfer design data using open standard formats. Using this format manufacturer can exchange the design information with the PCB designers and can compile it in one file format.
To make the manufacturing process efficient, it’s better that PCB designers are in contact with the PCB panel designers. This way PCB designers can make some tweaks in the design to slightly alter its shape so multiple boards can effortlessly find a place in the panel to maximize the panel space.
Following points that every PCB designer should consider:
Hanging Components
Extra clearance is required for some components that overhang the board. It is created around the outline of the board placed in the panel. Creating extra room for clearance may slightly change the design of the panel. So it is better that designers contact in advance with the panel designers to figure out all the options.
Adding Features
The panel designer will add features to the panel like edge marks and tooling holes. PCB designer needs to make sure the placement of PCB designs doesn’t cause any problems.
Weight of Components
PCB panels carry some strength though, but they are not solid enough to withstand a large number of components. Since components come in various shapes and sizes. They vary from small to large size. The concentration of components may cause some problems and create a slight bend in the panel. Collaborate with the panel designers to explore other PCB layout options to handle a large number of components.
Width of the Board
The panel made up of thick board doesn’t cause a problem. It can deal with all manufacturing techniques applied on the array of the board. Trouble arises when thin boards are to be made for the final product. Thin boards produce a bend on the panel and can cause the solder to appear on the top of the boards. Consult with your panel designer if you want thin boards for your product. They may use a pallet and come up with another PCB layout option to deal with the thin boards.
Board edge clearance is another aspect to take into consideration while making the panel. It works as a shield for the board components and the copper and keeps them from being damaged.
Clearance in Breakout Tabs
PCBs are depanelized in two ways: by breakout tabs where small tabs are produced between the PCB designs. These tabs come with spacing between them on the panel. Both the copper and the components should have 0.125 inches clearance from the tab.
Clearance in V-grooves
Another method of depanelization is by cutting the V-grooves that are pre-scored V-shaped marks placed alongside the board edges. In V-grooves, the copper should come with 0.02 inches clearance and the components should exhibit 0.05 inches clearance.
FPC flexible boards are produced using three-panel methods namely:
Backward Panel
Conventional Panel
Oblique Panel
Panels are created to save material during the manufacturing process. Keep the distance between the boards minimum to effectively use the entire space of the panel. To accelerate the manufacturing process and to keep the entire panel process in check, a few things are included in the panel, like plate size, necessary instructions, and etching characters.
Each corner of the entire panel is drilled with a positioning hole to keep the board in place during the production process. For flexible boards, the panel width and the length should be 250mm. Since the larger board will lead to low production accuracy and eventually product failure.
An online world is flooded with scores of PCB fabrication houses. It’s difficult to find a diamond in the rough when all they claim to be the best in what they do. What we are going to share is our personal experience with the company called PCBWAY. They have an expert team who thoroughly hears your demand and guides you along the process to make an educated decision. The products are no less than quality. If you think what we say doesn’t really matter, then go and try it yourself, you’ll find the answer.
Apart from PCB prototype, they also offer PCBA (printed circuit board assembly) service so you don’t have to place components on the board. They come on board ready-made from the fabrication house.
If you want PCBs in large quantities, PCBWAY also offers PCB panel service. When you order a PCB panel, you can see a significant cost difference compared to if you want one PCB to be manufactured.
When you visit the called PCBWAY Fabrication House website, you see the following image with the option “Instant Quote”.
After writing the parameters in the given space, when you click the “Quote now” option you will come across the following page.
You can the option “Board Type” which is further divided into three categories with two options for PCB Panel. Either you can select the PCB panel by selecting the “Panel by Customer” option or you can ask PCBWAY to make the panel by selecting “Panel by PCBWAY”
You can select the size, quantity, number of layers, material, thickness and much more. Additionally, you can write down your further requirements in the “other special request” option. The primary aim is to give clear instructions so the final product exactly matches what you ordered in the first place.
Once you submit the order, it exhibits full detail on how your order is going to be processed, including order status, address, past orders, invoice details and the total time it’ll take to complete the order. There are no hidden charges, which means you’ll be charged exactly the price you’ll see in the order status. Plus, if you find any difficulty in placing the order or in the selection of the material, they will guide you to make the final decision.
The website comes with a live chat option through which you can communicate with the agent for any query. Though their English is not impeccable, but it still good enough to understand your questions and answer them properly. You can contact them any time from Monday to Friday, however, if you want to contact on the weekend, you can submit your email address and leave a message and they will get back to you within one business day.
Once the boards are manufactured, they go through a rigorous inspection test to ensure the quality of the product. This includes if the holes are properly drilled and aligned, the uniformity of the traces all the way through the board, and a thorough comparison with the design document to ensure that all the requirements are met. The inspection tools include an X-ray inspection machine, a flying probe tester, and an automated inspection machine. With 50 engineers on board, rest assured the final product gets the proper treatment it deserves.
As mentioned earlier, panels are used to produce PCBs in bulk. Moreover, they also refrain the boards from vibration and shock during the assembly process.
A simple coordination between the PCB designer and Panel designer can help build the PCB panels with accuracy and efficiency.
If you’re a newbie and just starting out, it’s better to get your PCB manufactured by the professionals in the PCB fabrication house. This will save you both time and money and you’ll learn many things along the process.
That’s all for today. Hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, you can ask me in the section below. I’d love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading the article.
In PCB boards you come across LEDs fixed in them, and due to the evolving world of technology, things are changing so first leading to the crafting of new technologies that have led to changes in the LED areas. The LED case is an area that has involved the combination of two methods of technologies in order to come up with something else that is more efficient when it comes to solving the intended purpose. This LED PCB comes with advantages of longevity and durability.
This is a type of PCB that is used for the purpose of lighting in the lighting appliances like modern LED bulbs. The material used in the process of making this board currently is the metal copper clad that has a very good heat-dissipating function. In general, we should note that the single layer LED PCB is made up of three layers namely the circuit layer, the ceramic layer and the insulation layer.
This is made up of the electrolytic copper foil and is etched to form the printed circuit board where the components are attached. When you do the comparison with the traditional boards, the LED board can carry a larger amount of current.
This layer is the core technology behind this type of boards and plays greater roles in the conduction insulation and bonding of the layers.
Here aluminum is the best choice compared to its availability and the cheap prices it offers. Stainless steel, silicon and the iron can be used if the thermal conductivity required is very high.
This consist of the substrate layer together with a conductive layer. A solder mask together with a silkscreen offer protection functions to these layers.
When you don a comparison with the single layer PCBs, you will realize that this has two copper layers which apparently makes them heavier as the number of conductive layers also increase to two.
There are two assembly methods that can be employed in the assembly if the LED PCBs. These methods are used to attach components on the board and we shall discuss it below;
This method involves mounting the electronic components directly into the board copper layer.
This method involves the drilling of holes into the PCB boards where components are then mounted to the holes using the long leads that are then soldered and the whole filled with flux.
This is one of the common applications the LED PCBs where they find great use on the consumer lighting from flash lights, lamps, spotlights, lanterns to solar powered lighting applications.
LED are also becoming a common application in the electronic devices such as the computer keyboards backlights. Other devices that have employed this technology are smartphones, tablets and the televisions.
Telecommunication displays and indicators use the LED PCBS because of their durability the ability to transfer heat and their longevity since telecommunication gadgets generate a lot of heat.
LEDs have a lot of use in the traffic and the transportation industry ranging from the stop lights and the automotive themselves. In the car this PCs are found in the headlights, fog lights, brake lights, reverse lights and the indicators. Highways tunnel lighting also use this technology. The modern streetlighting system is done using the LED PCBs.
Medical lighting and the medical equipment lighting that are used for medical examination and surgery often use this type LED PCBs.
JLCPCB (JiaLiChuang Co. Limited) is a worldwide PCB & PCBA Fabrication enterprise. It is a leading company in high-tech manufacturing products specializing in PCB and PCBA production. With over a decade of experience in PCB manufacturing JLCPCB has made over a million customers through online ordering by the customers of PCB manufacturing and PCBA production.
JLCPCB is a professional manufacturer of large-scale manufacturing of PCBs, well equipment, strict management, and superior quality. It deals with the production of all types of PCBs, Stencils, and SMT.
In this article, we are going to discuss widely how the company operates its ordering system of the PCBs by their customers for production through the online booking process.
Normally, SMT components are used in professional/industrial PCBs and JLCPCB offers the best SMT services. You should first check these JLCPCB SMT services to get an idea. Let me highlight its important points:
So, it's quite easy to order for manufacturing of Metal Core PCB on JLCPCB.
Ordering of PCB at JLCPCB is not a complicated process, since the system is user-friendly to every customer. The steps below show the steps to be followed when placing an order.
Register on the official site of JLCPCB, if you don’t have an account. if you already have an account just log in
After login into one account. It will display a home page with a quotation calendar that will display an ordering page. On the quotation calendar, the customer would be asked to enter the size of PCB which he/she requires, quantity, layers, and thickness of their choice
In this step, the customer is required to enter the PCB board details on the online calculator to get the price of the quoted items in step 2. Also, there is the minimum price which is the cheapest one for a particular PCB.
Then click to “Add your Gerber file” this will upload the file. There are written guidelines on how to generate different Gerber files in the best format on the well-known circuit design program found in the company industry. A very small customer ID is always added to the PCB ordered to distinguish the PCB order from all others.
If one wants to put it in a specific location you are required to indicate the location by adding a unique text like “PBCJLPBCJL”
The system will analyze the file Gerber to confirm the dimensions and layers of the board after uploading the Gerber file.
Then click the “Gerber viewer” to the design of the boards. Customers are advised to confirm the Gerber file carefully for any errors. After checking and confirming the errors and no problem is detected just click “save to cart” and continue to the next step
After saving to cart then click “add new item” if you want to order multiple PCBs repeat the same steps from the beginning as you add both of them to the cart.
Expand the cart and view all the details of the PCBs ordered, including the price of each one of them, its specifications, and all the number of PCBs ordered.
After viewing all the details in the cart and seeing all the PCBs you wanted click the “checkout securely” button
On the checkout, menu add your shipping address where are the PCBs are to be shipped. The country where the PCBs are shipped determines the rates. Also, the shipping options are found on the same page just below the address. The shipping methods available are DHL and Airmail both of them vary in their delivery time.
This is the payment method. JLCPCB offers two kinds of payment methods which include
When the order payment is made the company arranges the production where you can go through your “ACCOUNT” menu to track your order status.
Customers may sometimes feel the urge to add a new order to the existing order. This may be because may feel the items ordered are not enough or an increase in demand for the PCBs which were previously ordered
Here below we are going to go through the steps of how to add a new order to the existing order in JLCPCB.
STEP 1: log in to your account and locate the existing order.
When you log in the process will only go through if the existing order is still in the production process. If the order is finished and delivered you will not be allowed to add an order unless you make a fresh order.
STEP 2: You will open the ordering page, upload the Gerber file and add the items you want and click “combine”. Also, this will only appear if there is an extra shipping cost for the order added.
STEP 3: when you click “combine” a new order will be added to the existing order and you can check on its progress.
After placing your order and payment has been made successfully, you can track your order through your account on the company website. Let’s discuss the steps to track your orders.
Login to your account and account menu click order history. After clicking on order history it will direct you to a previously placed orders page where all your previous orders are listed indicating their current status
Once you open the product files column file review status will appear and also the order status in the order status column. Then click order details to learn more.
When you are put I am production-ready to be processed. Click the production progress to check the process.
Once the order has been put into production and processed shipment process takes place. Once the shipment process has started a shipment notification will be sent through your email advising you on the shipment status of your order and the shipping tracking number. One can also use the JLCPCB company website to track the parcel. While on the website click shipment tracking and all the details about your parcel and delivery time information will be displayed.
When the person ordering the PCBs does not specify on the solder mask bridge which is importantly required, it will be ignored. When doing the solder-resistance bridge a spacing between the pins needs to be 0.254mm and special notes on doing that are required.
Zip file attachments such as PDF files, EXCEL, DXF files, etc are ignored and PCB will be done according to the Gerber file provided. One should ensure the correct parameters are chosen and those needed to be converted into a Gerber file when placing your order. If otherwise, zip files attachment are important should be added to the remark field.
In the presence of plated slot or edge, they should not be longer than 6mm, and make a note about it when placing the order or the system will make it for you. In the case where no note is provided the company will assume it and make it in the normal process.
Since there is the use of different software by different clients to design the printed circuit board and the software where Gerber data is processed is not the same as the software used in designing the data it sometimes causes the software incompatibility problems to appear. Due to the reason of no warning notification when transferring and importing the data into the software so it is not easily noticeable and cannot be confirmed to the customers. This makes the company responsible for some of the problems caused by software incompatibility.
There are some marking that sometimes appears on the base material. This is because of some security issues and there is a way it can be removed. There is no track on which PCB will have the mark so all the PCBs have equal chances of having the marks. One should check from their side whether it is accepted while placing the order.
This tab is functional for reasons of reviewing the file quickly before paying for the order. Acts as the preview button on the website. At times the website causes errors when there is something wrong to display it exactly so it is advisable before placing the order to check the file carefully when you feel there is doubt.
The customer should ensure the v-cut line, cut out and millings are located on the same layer with the board outline. If not on the same layer with the board line it will not appear. It is advised when one is placing the order should check carefully because when it is missed due they are not in the same layer with the board outline the company will not be responsible.
When you want the silkscreen clear on the PCB board the width of the texts and space between letters should not be less than 0.15mm and a width of not less than 1mm. when outline is the font is made and the solid part is filled with lines the fillings then should not be less than 0.15mm. the company will not modify the silkscreen on the Gerber file but the text may be widened. If the text is not enough the company will not be responsible for any complaints made regarding unclear texts caused by nonstandard design.
JLCPCB company does not make 3 layer PCBs. If one orders a 4 layer PCB with a single inner layer, the company will process it with the 4 layer process directly and confirm with the customer again. So before placing an order confirm whether there is an inner layer miss or not.
This is the placing of orders same just as the previous one which had been successfully processed. With these orders, the company will not make any changes to the file which was used in the production. The customer should ensure not to leave any related note for the order to be changed while placing the order since the repeated order will not be checked manually by the engineers.
The board outline is used to show how the PCB will look like when made. So everything that needs to be included in the board should be cut out clearly on the board outline. You should avoid the least useful items to avoid confusion. When both the GKO layer and the GM1 layer are found on the Gerber file the engineers will ignore the GKO layer and make boards according to the GM1 layer. when GMI, GM2 or GM2, GM3, GM4 layers are in the Gerber file at the same time, engineers will go for the smallest number after the letter GM as the outline layer by default.
When you place an order to JLCPCB the JLCPCB panel will panel the order by default with the v-cut. JLCPCB only panels PCBs with rectangular and circle shapes. When you penalize the boards yourself but choose “Single PCB” when ordering, the numbers of designs/boards in the Gerber file should not be greater than 5, otherwise, we may cancel this order. If “Panel by Customer” has been chosen, the designs in the panelized Gerber file should not be greater than 10.
The remark field is used when you place your order so that you can leave a note in case of any import, but the company does not recommend the use of this option since all the orders with an English note will take a longer time to get through the audition process.
Large boards sometimes the company might consider them, but if the good board available can not meet the quantity like the one ordered on the website due to the high cost of production they will ship the good boards and refund the difference to you.
The recommended thickness design of boards outlined by the company is 0.15mm. in a case when the board is greater than 0.15mm the centerline will be followed to make the board outline
Orders missing crucial information such as the board outline, solder mask layer the order will be canceled out clearly during the audit process.
Orders beyond the company and engineers’ capabilities, will be canceled directly and an email will be sent to inform you about the reason. So before placing an order kindly check your file carefully before you pay for the order to save the loss due to the cancellation.
Order removal will not affect the functions of the boards if JLCPCB puts the order number at random or miss to remove. The removal of the order number will be refunded.
Easyeda is a free online tool that we provide to design the PCB, and you can place your order on JLCPCB easily and quickly. But if there is a manufacturer error due to the design error, we may not responsible for that.
When the silkscreen overlaps with the openings on the board surface, the principle of openings first will be put into consideration. we will ignore the silkscreen and make the openings on the boards only. In the case where you want to keep the silkscreen on the openings, kindly make a note in the remark column so that the company engineers and factories pay attention to it and meet the required standards.
solder mask clearance is larger than the copper pad it’s exposing, in most PCBs, these pads are known as Non-Solder Mask Defined pads (NSMD).
Some of the other components have another type of solder mask called Solder Mask Defined pad. Which has a clearance of solder mask that is smaller than the copper pad. One can suggest pad and solder mask clearance size in the datasheet when applying. One should ensure that at least 3 mils (0.076mm) of the mask will be printed on all sides of the copper pad. The reason is registration tolerance on the solder mask placement if the mask is smaller than the pad there are possibilities that the mask could move enough exposing bare substrate which will lead to bad results.
In the ordering system, there is no given option to add details on whether the board required has an SMD pad. If CAM engineers don’t get this kind of information the solder mask clearance for SMD pads will be enlarged to its default size.
When transferring SMD information to JLCPCB the following steps are used
On your account page in the ordering system, there is a text box called “PCB Remark”
Write a special instruction informing JLCPCB that your order design has an SMD pad
On clicking yes, the JLCPCB engineers will come up with a production file that is required to manufacture the PCB. When the production is put into consideration a check notification will appear where you can check and confirm it before reproduction. An email will be sent to you when the file is complete and ready for production. Download the processed Gerbers, pay attention to inspect the solder mask clearance for the SMD pads
and their able logistics partners make every step to deliver your PCBs faster.
JLCPCB is a good company since it provides great customer satisfaction, as long as you consider the time differences, and try to make orders with enough time to respond during your working days, and making orders, not near the weekend, they are well worth the money saved and the simple interface.
Their chat support is fairly good, and the assembly service is also mostly good.
The rapid developments that have been achieved in the Light Emitting Diode industry more so in the area of high-power LEDs, have brought up a challenge on heat dissipation. The LEDs are always mounted on the printed circuit boards and they might end up bringing a lot of problems, especially on the heat generated from them. Without proper laid down structures to dissipate the excess heat will end up damaging the board. To solve this, designers have chosen to implement the use of metal core PCBs.
Metal core PCB boards are special types of PCBs that have a metallic layer that is made up of copper or aluminum. This metallic layer is what gives it this name.
There are many online PCB companies offering Metal Core PCB manufacturing. We are going to take the example of JLCPCB, a China-based online PCB Fabrication House. JLCPCB offers competitive rates and provides excellent results and is considered one of the best PCB manufacturers. You can place a PCB order on JLCPCB's official website.
So, it's quite easy to order for manufacturing of Metal Core PCB on JLCPCB.
When you compare the metal core PCB with other traditional standard PCBs you will realize that it has special layers. The total number of these layers on the PCB will be determined by the total number of conductive layers that you really need. They can be of single or multiple conducting layers. The layers can be categorized into three types
There are three major categories of the MCPCB as discussed below;
This type of metal-core PCB has the copper traces printed on one side of the board and the board comprises of the following;
The single-sided board also has a dielectric layer that is sandwiched between the copper and the metal core layer.
It comes with over two layers hence having a structure that looks like the FR-4 type of PCB materials.
Let us have a look at the steps that can be followed in the design of the metal core printed circuit boards as listed below;
After this step, you now need to confirm the digital image that you have with the original Gerber files from the designer using an inspection laser to confirm if you have done the right thing.
After the confirmation that you have done the right thing, now the design can be moved to the final process of the design. This final step involves the unpacking of the PCB layers accordingly. We are supposed to locate the drill points and this can be done by the use of the x-ray locator.
Now the board is supposed to undergo the process of plating and deposition of copper where the whole PCB is electroplated with the copper layer before the board is taken through the final process of v-scoring and profiling.
The PCBs that are made out of aluminum offer very smart heat dissipation and a good heat transfer mechanism. Aluminum PCBs are very light in weight and are used in LED lighting applications, electronic communication and audio frequency equipment. Listed below in the characteristics of the aluminum substrate;
PCBs made out of the copper core have better performance than those made out of aluminum. But aluminum is preferred to copper by most clients because copper is more expensive. Another disadvantage of copper core over aluminum is that copper boards are heavier and involve a tough process of machining. Copper has a higher rate of corrosion as compared to the aluminum core.
This type of board finds great use in the field of LED technology. Some of the applications are listed below;
The printed circuit board is a type of plastic where electrical and electronic components lie, laminated and fixed. In modern days, there has been increasing in the complexity of electronic components and devices and this has also led to high demand for more complex PCBs that can make this achievable. This exclusive board that has been introduced in the market includes HDI, rigid-flex, Aluminium clad, buried and blind or even a blend of all the listed types.
There is a list of so many PCB types that a designer can choose for any type of electronic project ranging from single layer PCB to other complex types like the multilayered PCBs. In general, the simplest type of PCB contains copper tracks and interconnection between the elements and components on one side of the board. These types of boards are classified as single-sided boards or one-layer side of boards. However, there are other types of boards that are complicated and will require complex methods to do their designs. These boards are probably double-layered or even multilayered.
Multilayered boards are such complex boards that will require advanced technology for their manufacturing. This is where HDI boards come into play. HDI stands for High-Density Interconnect Boards. When addressing high density interconnect boards, we are focused on higher wiring density, the smaller vias, the thinner spaces and the higher pad density that accompany this type of board. This type of board has a lot of advantages over the typical circuit boards.
HDI PCBs use vias and laser-drilled microvias to connect components between different multilayers. The microvias are the most preferred to offer the connections because they are much smaller and very effective when it comes to space utilization.
This can be either buried or blind vias which have a very important function of connecting circuits between different layers of the printed circuit board and in this case across three or more circuit layers as shown in the figure below;
They can either be blind or buried but they are conical in shape. They are vert small and they still do the function of connecting circuits between layers of the PCB as shown in the figure below.
When we have vias of a certain PCB layer connected without overlapping, they actually form a staggered via as shown in the figure below.
They are conical in shape but they are connected without overlapping hence forming a staggering structure as shown in the figure below;
This are vias that are connected to the pad where component is lied. They are very common in HDI PCBs.
There are mainly two structures that aren used in the manufacturing of the HDI;
This is the basic structure of the high-density interconnect PCB and uses the manual mechanical drilling as well as the laser drilling.
This is an advanced technology that is used in the manufacturing of the HDI PCBs. The method is highly preserved for the high-level interconnection use since we can make connection of any of the two layers of the PCB without any form of restrictions. This means that any-layer connection has a lot of flexibility when it comes to doing these connections.
This technology has found great importance in the smartphone and the tablet manufacturing. Apart from that, they have become of great use in the laptops and desktop computers. The following id the great benefits of the HDI PCBs;
These types of boards have found many areas of use in the modern world of technology. Let us have a look at a few areas where the high-density interconnect boards are used;
Due to the smaller size of the HDI boars, medical designers have found great interest in this type of board. The medicals equipment are compatible with HDI because they are very small and can fit into them for example in implants and also in the imaging equipment. The equipment play a very significant role in the treatment of the ailments and therefore smaller chips that require less intervention have to be used. Let us take an example of a heart pacemaker that is implanted in the heart to regulate the speed of the heart bit. The pacemaker should be very tiny and therefore the HDI has provided boards that can solve the size of the pacemaker issue. another good example is the colonoscopy which is passed through the colon of a human to carry out the colon examination. It is evident through research that so many people avoid the colonoscopy examination due to the painful experience but the availability of the HDI technology has drastically reduced the size of the camera and improved the visual quality of the same camera which has made the colonoscopy process less painful hence triggering the increased number of people searching for the service.
Military use strategic equipment such as the missile and some other defense communication devices. This equipment utilizes the HDI technology in their boards since it is the only efficient available method. there have been greater changes in the aerospace technology and HDI have always provide the need solution. Communication devices such as the wireless pones and trackers are becoming very tiny in size and this is due to the involvement of too many tiny layers of the HDI boards.
The car and other automotive manufacturers are falling in love with the HDI boards simply because with this type of board you are assured of greater discoveries and innovations. This boards allows the saving of more space in the vehicle and also have an increased performance of the same vehicle. To be specific, Tesla uses the HDI technology to run the electric car system where it helps in extending the battery life of the system. Other driver assistants such as cameras, tables etc fit on the dashboard without much problems.
Let us make a comparison of todays digital devices like the smartphone with what we had 10 years ago and you will make note that there is a very big improvement in size, thickness and weight. This has been made possible by the use of the HDI boards in this area. Thinner and more compatible smartwatches are also a product of the HDI boards.
Printed Circuit Boards or PCBs are categorized into several types based on design specifications, manufacturing processes, and application requirements. They are used in various sectors such as automotive, medical, defense, and other areas, you can learn more information at PadPCB.
Before you select a PCB, there are several factors you need to consider. Moreover, it is essential to seek advice from professionals. Although there are several types of PCBs, the five standard PCBs are multilayer PCBs, Rigid PCBs, Flex PCBs, HDI PCBs, and Heavy Copper PCBs.
Let's have a look at the common types of PCBs:
One commonly used PCB is the multilayer PCB. The board has more than two copper layers and is designed in a sandwich fashion. Also, they have many double-sided conductive layers separated by several insulating material sheets.
All are laminated and bonded together through high temperatures to ensure no air gaps occur and ensure the final PCB assembly is stable.
Multilayer PCBs are commonly used in laptops, computers, tablets, smartphones, medical equipment, GPS trackers, and many other complex gadgets and circuits.
A Rigid Printed Circuit Board cannot be folded or twisted. The board base is made of a rigid substrate giving it strength and rigidity.
In addition, it is composed of many layers that include a copper layer, a substrate layer, a silkscreen layer, and a solder mask layer. They adhere together with heat and adhesive.
Depending on the needs, it is possible to find single-sided rigid PCBs, rigid double-sided PCBs, and rigid multilayer PCBs. Nevertheless, once a rigid PCB has been made cannot be changed or modified.
Rigid PCBs are commonly used in laptops, GPS equipment, computers, mobile devices, tablets, CAT scans, X-rays, heart monitors, MRI systems, control towel instrumentation, and temperature sensors.
Flex PCBs or Flexible Printed Circuit Boards are designed with several printed components and circuits arranged on a flexible substrate. Flex PCBs are also known as flex circuit boards, flexible circuits, or versatile printed boards.
A flex PCB is mainly made from polyamide, transparent conductive polyester film, or polyether ether ketone.
They are made using the same elements as rigid printed boards. But with Flex circuits, the board can flex to your preferred form throughout the use. There are flex single-sided PCBs, flex double-sided PCBs, and flex multilayer PCBs.
Flex PCBs are typically used in flex solar cells, LCD fabrication, cellular telephones, automotive industries, laptops, cameras, and many other devices.
HDI PCB or High-Density Interconnect is a PCB with several interconnections but minimal space. The components are placed nearer, and the board space is considerably reduced, but the functionality is not affected.
Heavy copper Printed Circuit Board is also known as a thick copper PCB. It features three ounces of copper. Hence, they are highly valued due to their thermal management capabilities. Due to the increased copper thickness, the board can carry more current.
Some of the applications of heavy copper PCBs are overload relays, solar power converters, power converters, weapons control systems, nuclear power applications, HVAC systems, and safety and signal systems.
PCBs have modernized the electronic industry. Today, the boards are used in almost every electronic gadget you know. However, those mentioned above are the commonly used PCBs.
If you are not sure of the best PCB to consider for your applications, make sure you seek help from an expert. Moreover, it is essential to purchasing PCBs from reputed manufacturers for commercial or industrial use.
Hello everyone and welcome to this article which will be a great introduction to high-speed PCB design. For sure it is going to be a very interesting class. Let me start by posing a question; Is this something that you have ever come across in your world of PCB design? Where you spent too much time doing the schematics, selecting the right components, doing the footprint addition, generating the netlists, doing the proper layout and routing and sending the end product of your design to the manufacturer? At this level you might probably be designing standard types of PCB boards and if someone was to introduce a project that talks about signal integrity, reflections or even crosstalk, very much believe you will feel like a lost person. It might be something new to you. The reason is that such kind of task is not what you have been handling in your day-to-day design activities.
In this field of PCB design, you might not guess what your clients want in the future and sooner or later, you might be slapped with a design that involves high-speed PCB design process and at this stage be assured of finding things so hard if you have never worked with the high-speed PCB designs. Today we are going to have a look at the high-speed PCB design and this article is best suited for people who want to go beyond the horizon when it comes to printed circuit board design.
When we introduce a high-speed PCB design, signal integrity should be the first thing that runs in your mind. When your signal integrity starts to be affected by the physical properties of your printed circuit board like the schematic, layouts etc then the design of your board is a high-speed PCB design.
Signal integrity is a set of measures that define electrical signal quality.
Having introduced what high-speed PCB design is and making note that it is all about signal integrity, now let us have a look at the signal integrity to get a proper understanding;
When doing a PCB design of any kind, it is obvious that you will be sending some sort of signal through copper traces from the input to your desired area of interest. The signal you will be sending can either be a digital signal or an analog signal.
The main issue about these signals is that they are prone to interference and this is where we bring in signal integrity because anytime a signal is affected by the environment there are some issues that arise.
Let us have a look at the following example.
Let us say you have a circuit that is transmitting signal from point 1 to point 2 in your PCB board. The point 1 can be classified as the transmitter and point 2 can be classified as the receiver. As the signal moves from point 1 to point 2, there is a likelihood that the signal is affected by different factors like;
Remember that the listed challenges above are just some of the challenges that you might come across during the design of the PCB. Otherwise, we have so many others that we have not mentioned above and all of them just have one thing in common which is causing of disturbance to the signal you are sending from point 1 to point 2.
In reality, there is no a specific way to determine if the project is a high speed PCB project or not but the evaluation should be done by case to case. As we have noted in our example above, the first thing that should indicate that your project is classified as a high speed project is when you come across some signal integrity challenges in your PCB layout process.
You can identify a high speed design PCB by;
When working on the high speed PCB design, there are a number of issues that you will come across while trying to transmit your signal from point 1 to pint 2 and the main three challenges that you are likely to encounter are;
Here we have to look at our signal at the destination and ask ourselves if the signal looks exactly as it should look like. If the signal does not look like it should, then it must have faced some interferences along the way which might have ruined its integrity.
The issue here is if your signal came across any form of interference during the transmission. It is obvious that PCB signals have some sought of noise in their output, but if this noise exceeds a certain limit, it might corrupt the signals being transmitted.
We are looking at how the signals are arriving at the destination. Are they arriving at the expected time with respect to other signals? Remember that all the signals in a PCB board are controlled by the clock and if the transmitted signal does not match with the clock signal then the signal is corrupted.
The big three problem can be rectified by involving the following three solutions;
If traces have a matched length, it will ensure that the signals arrive at the same time and sync with the rates of the clock. Matching is a must thing when working with HDMI, SATA, USB, PCI Express and the DDR.
The close you place your traces to each other, the more they are prone to noise and other forms of interferences. Therefore, it is advisable to ensure that your traces are having proper standard spacing. By placing your traces where they should be, with proper spacing reduces the amount of noise affecting your trace.
By ensuring that you have proper impedance between your receiver and the transmitter will create a direct effect on the quality od the signal and its integrity. This will also have an impact on how your signals are exposed to the noise challenge.
As it is in any engineering design work, there are rules that have to be followed when we are handling the high speed PCB design. Let us have a look at some of these challenges in depth;
Here if you are using the high speed interface, you have to do a signal tuning of the length of your traces in order to synchronize your signal propagation. If you miss to do the synchronization, then expect your interface to fail at very high frequencies or even not to work at all. Therefore, the tuning aspects is a very important aspect when it comes to high speed designs.
It is very rare to meet straight tracks from the source to the receiver on a PCB especially when the high speed design is involved because you have to keep bending the tracks while looking for track locations that will fine tune the trace. In real sense, tracks required smooth, rounded corners without sharp bending and you will need a lot of time to make that possible. What makes since task more time consuming is the fact that you will have to redo this so many times repeatedly until you get the optimized path.
Don’t bent tracks at 90 degrees because the width of the track changes affecting the impedance of the track. It is advised you do the bending at 45 degrees as shown in the figure below;
Any time you are doing a PCB design, it is very important to make an observation of the single-end point ZO impedances and also as well as the differential impedances Zdiff.
Adherence to the correct impedance is one of the most important rules in the design of the PCB.
Given below are the parameters for the differential impedance calculations;
Component placement is one of the most important rules in process of high speed PCB design. Before you begin this process, you have to mark where you are going to place your component.
For example, you can place components according to their functions. If components do same functions or even related purpose, they should always be in the same location to each other.
Analog components should be placed in their locality, with their ground different from others to avoid the EMI.
During placement, remember that the tracks are not long and therefore you should ensure that you leave the space for tuning.
Most common type of termination is the parallel termination. This is where a resistor is placed in the track between the differential pair and as close to the receiver as possible.
The purpose of termination is for getting rid of the reflected signals in the truck and this leads to the upgrading of the data that is being transferred. When differential pairs are used, the resistor should be equal to the differential impedance or less than the differential impedance.
In most occasion, it is very impossible to completely trace high speed interfaces in a single layer and this will require introduction of vias in order to move the traces from one layer to another.
Vias are just electroplated holes that allows you to move the tracks from one layer of the board to the other.
It is very important to ensure that you accompany the track via with a ground via. These vias are called stitching vias and they help in maintaining the use of a single reference point in the high speed PCB design.
This is a basic thing in PCB design and it is very important to have a plan to avoid so much errors and issues in the design process. So before doing any connections of the symbols or the net list you need a checklist at hand so that you can confirm what to do next to ensure that you have done everything accordingly. The plan will help in;
This are not the only things that you will consider during planning but it is among the first things to do.
After having the plan, the next thing is to ensure that your layer stackup are documented. This is where you have to contact your manufacturer in order to know which material you will use in the design and also and what type of constraints you should employ in those designs.
Expect to work with the following type of materials;
Here you have to organize your board into logical sections. Remember high speed boards are organized into many subcircuits and it is your duty as a designer to determine where each subcircuit should be placed.
This is more so for the case of the analog and digital signals which require that they placed in separate places so that they cannot interfere with each other.
Your physical floor planning should have something like what is below;
Now that your plan and stackup is fully laid, it is time to get into important details that you will need in order to start the design.
I the previous design, you might have been using very large pads maybe for easier soldering and inspection. For the high speed design, the space you leave is the key for the success and therefore pads should be 0 to 5% of the size of the components. This drop in space will always help in improving the mechanical strength of the board.
The high frequency signals will be producing a lot of electromagnetic effects as they travel from the source to the sinking region. And this might lead to two signals having an interference on each other. To avoid this, consider each of the following;
This will involve the use of vias so that to avoid the current path from crisscrossing each other or the ground and to make sure that the signal integrity is maintained.
Hello friends and welcome to this article. Today we are going to have a look at the introduction to the ceramic printed circuit boards. we have previously introduced what a printed circuit board is and we noticed that it is a very important part that makes electronic circuits complete and well organized. Having that in mind, we had also discussed several materials that build up these PCBs and today our focus is on the ceramic types of PCBs.
There are many online PCB companies, where we can place our PCB orders and the best of them all is JLCPCB. JLCPCB is a China-based PCB Fabrication house and offers the cheapest PCB rates. It's quite simple to place your PCB order on the JLCPCB official site. Here are the steps:
In this discussion, we shall have a look at a single-layer ceramic PCB. It consists of; the ceramic substrate layer, the copper layer and the solder mask layer. Let us have a look at the image below which is a double-sided layer ceramic PCB constructed through the normal method of lamination.
Single-sided layer ceramic PCB is shown below;
Ceramic PCBs are classified according to ceramic substrate material used and also according to the manufacturing method that was used. Let us have a deeper look into these classifications below;
They are the most used types of ceramic PCBs and aluminum oxide is the most readily available substrate.
They are also commonly used PCBs but they are a bit expensive when a comparison is done with the alumina PCBs.
They gave high thermal conductivity and smartly higher frequency performance again when compared to the Alumina ones.
More costly when compared with the aluminum nitride PCBs. They have higher mechanical strength and toughness hence finding greater use in the power modules such as IGBT and military modules.
This is diamond and has high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. They find applications in the areas of laser technology.
Has dozen times boron activities than the alumina ceramics but this type of ceramic is very poisonous. They find use in high power and frequency applications
This is the earliest method known for PCB manufacturing. The method is suitable for high power and not for high speed or high-frequency PCB manufacturing.
This one requires lower temperature compared to the HTCC. They have no PTH vias and they are mainly preserved for power electronic module packaging.
This has a requirement that the circuit line space should be at 60 micrometers. They find their use in applications that require lower power utilization.
They are usually multilayer and normally three-dimensional. They are best suited for communication devices with high frequency.
Has very high precision circuits but the copper layer has a limited thickness. These types of PCBs find their use in high precision devices and also in very small devices development.
They are developed from thin-film technology and can be in 3D and has very high circuit precision. They find their use in high-frequency and high-power circuits.
Ceramic boards have very distinct characteristics that always give them an advantage over the other type of boards. below is the list of these special characteristics;
The ceramic PCB boards are given high priority due to a number of material features and characteristics that they offer which proves to be beneficial in the process of PCB manufacturing. The character of heat dissipation gives this board an advantage over the traditional types of PCB boards. components of the board are placed on the boards directly without the involvement of the isolation layer and this makes the flow of heat throughout the board better compared to the other types of boards. The following are some of the benefits that make this board the most preferred;
They are the most popular in the field of electronics due to their features that are unique. One of these features is that it provides a very high thermal coefficient expansion. These boards will still offer very high thermal conductivity even when operated at high temperatures.
These types of boards use a metal core. The metal core is used when the board is undergoing the engineering process. The board can be changed to a rigid carrier which will offer a stiff mechanical strength. This stiffness is very crucial as it allows the board to be used in both fluids and solids.
The ceramic material offers a lasting-results to the PCBs being manufactured. The toughness of the material used in the making of the board will protect it against routine wear and tear. In addition, these boards offer high thermal resistance which will slow down the decomposition of these types of boards and therefore increase their durability.
They offer very high stability which is a result of a stable dielectric property that originates from the dielectric materials. Due to the toughness of the ceramic materials, it has a natural resistance to many chemicals.
It has a very high melting point hence it can be used in many applications for both low and high temperatures. The best thing about these ceramic boards is that they will offer good thermal conductivity while distributing heat evenly throughout the board and different positions of the devices.
It was done in Japan when a company crested an SRAM memory module by the use of the multilayer ceramic PCB. The ceramic PCB is appreciated for both high-density PCB and low-density PCB. Another example is about the USA company that had developed the telecommunication, aerospace and missile products using this type of board.
This is being done by an American company that is determined is building a transmission module for radar communication using the ceramic PCB boards.
Japanese have used low-temperature PCBs in the manufacture of digital PCBs. This is used because it reduces the weight of the circuit greatly. It also reduces the volume of the circuit.
The ceramic boards are mostly used in printed circuit boards because they support the miniaturization of the devices. It has a very high probability in the application of the boards in multilayer interconnects.
HTCCs and LTCCs are both applied in the process of making photovoltaic panels. In this device, we shall use multilayer ceramic PCBs to make them tough and durable.
There has been an increase in the use of wireless power transmission systems and this implies that most power transmission system has to use ceramic boards to achieve that ability.
With the introduction of very small pocket gadgets, many electronic circuits are getting miniatured. To achieve miniaturization, it starts with the use of semiconductors that have a highly reduced size. The normal boards cannot give the support needed in order to make sure that the miniaturization process is fully achieved. In order to make this possible, ceramic semiconductors have been introduced and this is accompanied by the use of ceramic PCBs.
When you are choosing the person or the manufacturer who can produce your board, you have to consider the manufacturer who has the superior tooling that is required to make the process successful. The manufacturer should be able to control the oxidation process so that the board can have superior thermal conductivity and higher temperature resistance.
Ensure that the manufacturer uses the automated process to do the manufacturing and this will make sure that your board is in perfect condition and of very high quality and the process will be less time-consuming.