How manufacturers carry out the PCB assembly process?

Designing and development of PCB board comprise of many complex steps, which are necessary needed to carry out by experts. This is because of the complicatedness of the procedure, due to which it cannot be carried out by anyone, who is not skilled in this job.

Multiple stages are carried during the assembly service, which are discussed in detail in the document further.

Before heading on for the procedure, manufacturer jots down all the things that are needed to make it. Ordering of silicon, semiconductors and other necessary board things are collected. Once collection is done, process for the making of board is followed, which involves different steps. Following are few processes that are involved in PCB assembly services:

·      Binding of chips on board: Solder paste printing is the foremost step carried out by professionals. In other words, chips are bonded on the board by a pasting material.

·      Placement of chips on assembly line: Picking and placing of chips on the assembly line is done. The placement needs to be done perfectly on respective designed place so that device functioning is carried out appropriately.

·      Through-hole curing: In order to bind the chips properly on board, another method carried out immediately after soldering process is hole curing. Binding of chips is incomplete without this process, in order to solder it well on the PCB board.

·      Protective layer coating: To safeguard the board from dust, dirt and harmful material, a protective layer covering called conformal selective coating is to be done, once the soldering process is over. This process is carried out by machines in order to make a fine layer of covering on board.

·      AOI and AXI: Inspection is an important step to carry out, once the soldering, placement of chips, through-hole and protective layering is done. This step is carried out to ensure that everything has been done correctly and there are no flaws in the design of board. Automatic Optical Inspection and Automated X-ray Inspection are two methods to inspect the performance of board. 

·      Reconstruction: If during inspection, any defects occur, board is sent for reconstruction. During this process, all the steps that were carried out for the assembling of board are reversed back. The board is heated, chips are removed, and replacement of defected chips is done with the right ones.

Once the replacement is done properly, chips are soldered again and inspection process is carried out to ensure whether now the functioning of board is done properly or not.

Why customized PCB boards are preferred over readymade ones?

In the efficient functioning of electronic equipment, PCB (Printed Circuit Board) has a major role to play. The board comprise of electronic components that are etched on conductive pathways and tracks with a copper sheet.

Considering the rising demand of industries in today’s time, designing of PCB’s has entirely changed. Readymade boards are a thing of the past now, as customized boards are preferred these days, because of the compact design, convenience, efficiency, and functionality they provide. Moreover, these boards are stronger than readymade ones because of numerous holes drilled into it that makes it weaker for the running application of equipment.

Following are the PCB layout services carried out to design the board:

1.      Jot down all tools and materials

Before heading towards creating the board, tools and materials are to be gathered, which are as follows:

Tools:

·         Drill

·         Iron

·         Laser Printer / Photocopying Machine

·         Latex Gloves

·         Eye Protection

Materials:

·         Etching Solution (Ferric Chloride)

·         PCB Board

·         Small Piece of Cloth

·         Sanding Paper

·         Fine Tipped Marker

·         Ruler

·         Glossy Paper

2.      Creating design

Before making customized board, it’s important to prepare a layout, so that expert can work accordingly. PCB designing software is used for this purpose.

3.      Printing of layout

Once design is made, a printout should be taken on a glossy paper via a laser printer or photocopying machine.

4.      Ironing of design on board

To create the exact designed layout board, experts need to iron the layout on the board via a hot iron machine. Depending on the paper quality, which is used for layout, the iron machine temperature should be set accordingly. For example, if paper is thick, temperature should be at highest point and if not, it should be set on medium.

5.      Rubbing paper off the board

Paper needs to be removed from the board. This is done by soaking the board into water for about 2 to 5 minutes. Till the time paper doesn’t become soggy, it is rubbed well under the water. However, experts make sure to rub gently so that ink on the board doesn’t get removed.

6.      Sawing the excess board

After paper has been removed, excess board is to be sawed and edges of the boards are to smoothen with help of sanding paper. Finer is used ate the end for giving it a finished look.

7.      Clean and etch the board

Excess paper or board is removed off well and then etched with an etching solution called Ferric Chloride.

8.      Rinse the board

To clean the etching solution properly from the board, PCB is rinsed under the tap water.

9.      Drill the holes

Lastly, drilling is done with a drilling machine on the copper side and cleaned well before soldering the components on it.