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Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Mar 13, 2022

A 4-layer PCB Stackup is a multilayer PCB that consists of multiple layers of copper and insulating materials stacked one above the other. For maximum efficiency and minimum losses and EMI, it is important to plan the right stack up of layers before starting the fabrication process. 4-layer PCB is the most common stack-up arrangement used in modern electronics.A 4-layer PCB stack up consists of to...read more

Causes of PCB Corrosion and How to Prevent it?

PCB Basics

Editorial Team

RUSH PCB Inc.

Failure of electronic devices is a major concern anywhere in the world. One of the major causes of failures is corrosion. Corrosion increases the resistance of the copper tracks on the surface of a circuit board. Progressive corrosion can make the board work ineffectively, or even make it stop working altogether. We recommend understanding the basic causes of PCB corrosion. This paves the way for ...read more

What is Peelable Solder Mask?

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Feb 15, 2022

A Peelable solder mask is a type of solder mask that can be peeled off the surface of a printed circuit board. This type of solder mask is used to protect specific areas of a PCB during reflow soldering, wave soldering, or surface finish process. It is applied over the pads or plated through holes prior to the PCB assembly process and prevents the accumulation of excess solder on empty pads during...read more

What is Interfacial Stress in PCBs?

Soldering

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Nov 27, 2021

Interfacial stress is the stress that is generated as a result of soldering two different metals together. Different metals have different CTEs (coefficient of thermal expansion) and thus expand and contract by different amounts as the temperature changes. When two different metals are soldered together, changes in temperature can cause one metal to expand more than the other. Stress caused due to...read more

What is Turnkey PCB Assembly?

PCB Basics

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Nov 27, 2021

Turnkey PCB Assembly is the complete PCB Assembly process which includes the fabrication of the board, procurement of components to be placed on the board, the PCB assembly process and other testing or quality control processes that are required to give customers the final assembled printed circuit board.So, when a customer asks for turnkey PCB assembly, this means that they are looking to get a f...read more

What is the Standard PCB Thickness?

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Nov 13, 2021

The most common PCB thickness for an FR-4 Printed Circuit Board is 1.57 mm (0.062 inch). This is most the widely used PCB thickness in the industry and is usually the default thickness offered when using the FR-4 substrate.However, as technology advances and circuits become more complex, the number of layers increases and so does the copper weight. This has resulted in a few more common PCB thickn...read more

What are Copper Clad Laminates?

PCB Basics

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Nov 13, 2021

A copper clad laminate is a laminate that has copper foil as its conducting layer. Laminates form the core of a PCB. It consists of layers of metal foil and prepreg (resin + reinforcement material) laminated together with heat and pressure. A laminate used for Printed Circuit Boards can have many different types of metal foil as its conducting layer. These include copper, aluminum, uranium, gold, ...read more

What is Wave Soldering?

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Nov 13, 2021

Wave Soldering is the process of soldering through hole components onto a PCB by passing the exposed leads of the components placed on a board over a wave of molten solder. The solder wave flows under the PCB board and applies solder to the leads of components placed on the PCB board. It is primarily usedto solder thru hole components on printed circuit boards. It is not usually used to solder sur...read more

What is Reflow Soldering?

Soldering

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Oct 26, 2021

Reflow soldering is a soldering process that is used to solder components on a Printed Circuit Board. A mixture of solder paste and flux is deposited on the PCB where the component leads need to be connected to the copper traces. The paste is sticky, so the components stick to the board. The PCB is then passed through a reflow oven which is maintained at a particular temperature that results in th...read more

What is the Thermal Resistance of a PCB?

PCB Basics

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Sep 5, 2021

Thermal Resistance is a property of a printed circuit board that specifies its resistance to heat dispersion. A low thermal resistance in a PCB makes the dispersion of heat easier. This is basically the inverse of thermal conductivity. The thermal resistance of a PCB can be calculated by evaluating all the layers of the board and the heat parameters of the material.To find the total thermal resist...read more

PCB Power Supplies - Power Electronics in the Automotive World

PCB Basics

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

May 25, 2021

A power supply is the circuit in charge of supplying an electrical power to a circuit. Electronic devices can have two types of power supplies, linear and / or switched.We can notice for one century all the efforts that are being made towards electricity. Power electronics itself is changing towards a new, more sustainable technological generation.Tomorrow's transportation will be motivated by...read more

What is Solder Flux?

Solder

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Jan 22, 2021

Solder Flux is a chemical cleaning agent used when soldering electronic components onto printed circuit boards. It is used in both manual hand-soldering as well as the different automated soldering processes used by PCB contract manufacturers.Printed Circuit boards usually have copper traces which can oxidize when exposed to air or get contaminated while handling the board. This can prevent the fo...read more

What is Water-Soluble Solder Paste?

Solder

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Jan 17, 2021

Water-Soluble Solder Paste as the name suggests is solder paste whose flux residue left after the solder reflow process can be dissolved or removed with water.The PCB assembly world now mostly uses no-clean solder, where flux residues can also be safely left on the board, without creating leakage current or corrosion issues. However, though the flux residue of no-clean solder paste is not conducti...read more

What is a Cold Solder Joint?

Solder

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Jan 11, 2021

A Cold Solder Joint occurs when solder fails to melt entirely to form a proper joint. A cold solder joint or an improperly formed joint can be the trigger for reliability problems of an electronic assembly. Cold solder joints increase the electrical resistance of the solder joints, and hence reduce the reliability of the solder joints.There are a number of factors that can cause cold solder joints...read more

What is Eutectic Solder?

Soldering

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

May 18, 2021

Eutectic solder is a type of solder that melts and solidifies at one single temperature. For example, Tin 63% / lead 37 % that melts and freezes at 183°C (see figure below). Most solder starts to soften at a certain temperature and only fully melts at a higher temperature. For instance, the Sn96.5Ag3Cu0.5 solder starts to melt at 219°C (426.2°F), but only reaches its full liquid state ...read more

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