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Printed Circuit Board Fabrication

What You Actually Need to Make a Printed Circuit Board?

What Do You Actually Need to Make a Printed Circuit Board?

Printed circuit boards are in all manner of electronics. If it has computing power, then it is likely to include a printed circuit board. What is a PCB actually made of, and what components does it include? Surprisingly, PCBs are not too complicated.

The first ingredient you’ll need is the printed circuit board itself. The board won’t be of much use until you assemble it. To do that, you’ll need electronic components, soldering materials, soldering flux, and the soldering equipment.  Using the soldering equipment, printed circuit board assemblers, like Acme PCB Assembly, solder on the electronic components. The soldering equipment includes things like solder wire, solder paste, solder bar, and solder performs.

The Components Involved in Printed Circuit Boards

If the copper traces behave like the skeleton of the PCB, acting like the basic structure – then the components are the vital organs. Each component used has a different function. Using all these different components gives the circuit the unique qualities that it needs to fit for its intended purpose. Depending on what the device is or what the electronic item is, a PCB is designed for a variety of different components that will be needed for different circuits. These components can consist of a wide range of electronic parts. Some common PCB components include:

Battery: Provides the voltage to the circuit.

Resistors: Control the electric current as it passes through them. They’re color coded to determine their value.

LED’s: Light emitting diode. Lights up when current flows through it, and will only allow current to flow in one direction.

Transistor: Amplifies charge.

Capacitors: These are components which can harbor electrical charge.

Inductor: Stores charge and stops and change in current.

Diode: Allows current to pass in one direction only, blocking the other.

Switches: Can either allow current or block depending if they are closed or open.

Of course, there’s a lot more to printed circuit board assembly, but we’re not about to give away all of our secrets! If you want to work with a trusted and experienced printed circuit board assembler, contact us today!

 

pcb-fabrication-and-assembly-in-usa

Understanding Quick Turn PCB Fabrication

Quick turn is imperative when it comes to PCB fabrication. Quick go-to-market can be a large source of having a competitive advantage. At ACME PCB Assembly we tend to place a great deal of importance when it comes to providing a prompt delivery service of your order, while complying with all quality control and certification measures. ACME PCB Assembly provides many different types of quick turn flex PCB fab, quick turn multi-layer PCB fab, quick turn rigid PCB fab, quick turn rigid-flex PCB fab and much more.

We incorporate strict testing protocols and our outstanding inspection systems insure that the quality is authenticated, while we still meet your timeline. Regardless if your requirement is simple or multi-layered boards, we ensure that the Quick Turn PCB Manufacturing process is seamless.

Understanding the Benefits of Quick Turn PCB Fabrication

One of the biggest benefits is the quick turnaround time, meaning that you can get your product to market without any manufacturing delay.  This in turn gives you a leading advantage from the other competition, especially since you are likely to be operating in a highly competitive market.  ACME PCB Assembly ensures that your go to market plans are not ruined or delayed by the non-availability of PCB boards.  We offer high quality boards in a timely manner, which helps getting through the initial product launch and marketing plan seamlessly.

Applications Available for Quick Turn PCB Fabrication

Turnkey PCBPCB Prototypes

Quick turn PCBs hold their importance in prototyping because when you need a quick and accurate idea of how your final product will look and perform, they are done quickly and available right away. Quick turnaround times come in handy, in determining the efficacy of the product before investing in a large production run. It’s also an advantage in the fact that any improvements or changes can be made in a timely matter holds it’s perks also.

Standard Production Run

When you are ready and start looking for larger production runs, the one thing that is of most importance is the delivery time.  Quick turn PCBs ensure that there are no delays, making it possible for device manufacturers to reach their end consumer quickly.  Another factor to look at is that shorter manufacturing times with standard SOPs can also result in optimization of costs, which is a significant source of competitive advantage.

Flexible Circuit board

An Overview of Constantan in Flexible Circuit Boards

The electrical and thermal conductivity that copper creates makes it an obvious choice as a conductor in printed circuit board (PCB) construction, but in many applications that require flexible circuit boards, copper alloy metals can be far better to use. Some of those applications include using conditions of extreme heat or cold, where copper’s low resistance becomes a liability. Constantan is an alloy consisting of 55% copper and 45% nickel, this is one of several metals that has been proven effective for its higher resistance and lower thermal conductivity. Constantan used in flexible PCBs is an ideal choice for many applications.

Flexible circuit

Constantan is the oldest and most commonly used of what are known as “strain gauge alloys,” which are metals used to measure how materials react to stress from various forces. These alloys have become very important to the construction of many flexible circuits. Flex circuit boards are often designed for technologies that operate in harsh environments and require a high density of circuitry in enclosures with limited space. The market demand for flex PCBs that can withstand high temperatures has increased as such components are routinely used in oil drilling, semiconductor processing, medical diagnostic technology, and the construction of airplanes and defense systems.

Flexible circuits are small and light when compared with rigid PCBs and cable bundles. Flex circuits fit into many tight spaces, they can also bend around corners, and can better withstand vibration, high pressure, and extreme temperatures. They take up 75% less space than rigid PCBs and can be designed to accept virtually any necessary connectors. This makes flexible circuit boards ideal for many defense, medical, and aerospace technologies, like cryogenics, infrared imaging, and the construction of satellites, which often must withstand temperatures down to -150°F and up to 550°F.

Flex circuits can be printed single- or double-sided, multi-layer, or in combinations of rigid and flexible boards. All require unique processing in their fabrication. The choice for many designs includes thin, durable, material like Constantan in flexible PCBs. Constantan’s resistance remains stable across an extreme range of temperatures as well as in high pressure and other stressful situations. These qualities, plus its relatively low cost, have made Constantan foil a desirable conductive material for flex PCBs designed for hostile operating environments and rugged electronics.

In addition to solving the problem of thermal conductivity due to extreme external temperatures, Constantan in flexible PCBs can help maintain long-term reliability in situations when internal temperatures remain high. As electronics become faster and smaller, they require innovative designs and materials to deal with heat buildup. Along with the effective design of heat sinks and air flows, the use of Constantan as a conductor can lower thermal conductivity in flexible PCBs.

ACME PCB Assembly ready for RoHS 2

ACME PCB Assembly provides RoHS 2 PCB and PCBA service

The RoHS 2 Directive 2011/65/EU must be transposed into national laws by 2nd January 2013.

ACME PCB Assembly ready for RoHS 2

ACME PCB Assembly ready for RoHS 2

Directive 2011/65/EU entered into force on 21st 2011 and requires the Member States to transpose the provisions into their respective national law by 2nd January 2013. The RoHS 2 Directive is part of the European Union’s horizontal waste management legislation.

The RoHS 2 Directive is part of the European Union’s horizontal waste management legislation. As we know, the RoHS 1 Directive is for 2002/95/EC. On the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electronic and electrical equipment (EEE). The Directive 2011/65/EU is reffed to as RoHS 2.

RoHS and REACH are two different acts with different scopes and objectives. When overlaps occur, the strongest restriction should be applied.

ACME PCB Assembly provides RoHS 2 Directive assembly service in Carson, California. and Our PCB Suppliers to ACME PCB Assembly conform with RoHS 2 Directive.

How do you know if RoHS 2 applies to your products? if your product not EEE, or out of scope, provisions of RoHS 2 don’t apply, you don’t need to worry about it. By the way, automated integrated circuit board and printed circuit board (bare board) testers, CNC lathes, bridge-type milling and drilling machines, metal forming presses, they all benefit from an exclusion. The list below is the EU RoHS 2 Directive Exemptions to RoHS 2

A total of 16 new exemptions, primarily for specific medical devices applications have been added to the EU RoHS 2 Directive 2011/65/EU.

  • 2014/1/EU Exemption for lead as an alloying element for bearings and wear surfaces in medical equipment exposed to ionizing radiation
  • 2014/2/EU Exemption for cadmium in phosphor coatings in image intensifiers for X-ray images until 31 December 2019 and in spare parts for X-ray systems placed on the EU market before 1 January 2020
  • 2014/3/EU Exemption for lead acetate marker for use in stereotactic head frames for use with Computed Tomography and MRI and in positioning systems for gamma beam and particle therapy equipment
  • 2014/4/EU Exemption for lead enabling vacuum-tight connections between aluminum and steel in X-ray image intensifiers
  • 2014/5/EU Exemption for lead in solders on printed circuit boards, termination coatings of electrical and electronic components and coatings of printed circuit boards, solders for connecting wires and cables, solders connecting transducers and sensors that are used durably at a temperature below – 20 °C under normal operating and storage conditions
  • 2014/6/EU Exemption for lead in the surface coatings of pin connector systems requiring non-magnetic connectors which are used durably at a temperature below – 20 °C under normal operating and storage conditions
  • 2014/7/EU Exemption for lead in solders, termination coatings of electrical and electronic components and printed circuit boards, connections of electrical wires, shields and enclosed connectors which are used (a) in magnetic fields within the sphere of 1 m radius around the isocentre of the magnet in medical magnetic resonance imaging equipment, including patient monitors designed to be used within this sphere, or (b) in magnetic fields within 1 m distance from the external surfaces of cyclotron magnets, magnets for beam transport and beam direction control applied for particle therapy
  • 2014/8/EU Exemption for lead in solders for mounting cadmium tellurium and cadmium zinc tellurium digital array detectors to printed circuit boards
  • 2014/9/EU Exemption for lead and cadmium in metallic bonds creating superconducting magnetic circuits in MRI, SQUID, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance or Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometer detectors
  • 2014/10/EU Exemption for lead in alloys, as a superconductor or thermal conductor, in medical devices (category 8) and/or in industrial monitoring and control instruments
  • 2014/11/EU Exemption for hexavalent chromium in alkali dispensers used to create photocathodes in X-ray image intensifiers until 31 December 2019 and in spare parts for X-ray systems placed on the EU market before 1 January 2020
  • 2014/12/EU Exemption for lead in solders on printed circuit boards of detectors and data acquisition units for Positron Emission Tomographs which are integrated into Magnetic Resonance Imaging equipment
  • 2014/13/EU Exemption for lead in solders on populated printed circuit boards used in Directive 93/42/EEC class IIa and IIb mobile medical devices other than portable emergency defibrillators
  • 2014/14/EU Exemption for 3,5 mg mercury per lamp in single capped compact fluorescent lamps for general lighting purposes < 30 W with a lifetime equal to or above 20000 h
  • 2014/15/EU Exemption for lead, cadmium and chromium in reused spare parts, recovered from medical devices placed on the market before 22 July 2014 and used in category 8 equipment placed on the market before 22 July 2021, provided that reuse takes place in audible closed loop business-to-business return systems, and that the reuse of parts is notified to the consumer
  • 2014/16/EU Exemption for lead as an activator in the fluorescent powder of discharge lamps when used for extracorporeal photopheresis lamps containing BSP phosphors

 

 

PCB Assembly service in Los Angeles

Offshore Support Chain Services

ACME PCB Assembly add new service in offshore as below service. If you need many other services to support your supply chain and your printed circuit board assembly.

  • Chip-on-board bonding service.
  •  Plastic Injection.
  • Range of force is 80 ~ 600 Ton
    • Use either pieces of raw plastic or powder.
    • Making tooling, molding for
    • CNC Turret Press punching.
      • 10 ~ 200 tons.
      • Die Casting.
      • Ultrasonic welding
      • Silk-screening, pad-printing, painting and powder coating with spectrophotometer inspection.
      • Enclosure
      • Metal Stamping.

for more information about our offshore support chain, please call 310-715-1898

We want to be your assembly resource for prototype Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA). Our certified IPC trainer in house to make sure that ACME PCB Assembly will do the quality prototype board build. We can handle prototype board build by hand from 1 piece though 50 pieces. We can also can handle your prototype PCB assembly from 1 piece prototype to 10,000 pieces production run through our FUJI SMT pick and place line. ACME capable to install as small package as 01005, and 4mil ball BGA to large components as 5cm to 5cm BGA parts. assembly the PCB layer from 2 layers to 32 layers.

Contact us for more information.