There is no doubt that the printed circuit board (PCB) is regarded as a landmark tool in human technology. why? Because it’s so essential that you can find it on almost all electronic devices nowadays. Like other great inventions in history, PCB has gradually matured with the advancement of the wheel of history. With more than 130 years of development history, it becomes a beautiful scenery during the journey of the industrial revolution.
For those traditional electronic devices manufactured manually, PCB is taken as a fine alternative and a better choice for optimizing the generation process of electronic equipment. In this article, you can know 9 facts about PCB that bring your surprise.
Color
Even if you know nothing about PCB, you must have a general appearance about it. PCB is usually viewed as green, which comes from the light transmitted from the solder mask glass painting. The solder mask is mainly used to protect the covered circuit from moisture and dust.
Why is the PCB solder mask green? For the earlier generation of military PCB, green, which was regarded as an army protection standard, was selected for protecting circuit reliability. Others take the opinion that the color of the epoxy resin used in the incipient solder mask painting is green, which is kept and used nowadays. As ages advance, green is not the exclusive choice. Multiple colors of solder masks are gain popularity as well.
Who invented the PCB
It’s well known that Bi Sheng, who lived in the Northern Song dynasty of China, invented printing. The earliest PCB, however, can go back to 1920, when the Austrian engineer Charles Ducas put forward the concept of conducting electricity through ink. Through electroplating technology, the wire can be directly made on the insulator surface, which is the prototype of the PCB.
Originally the metal wires on PCB were brass which is an alloy of copper and zinc. This great change not only eliminated the complex wiring procedure of electronic circuits but also ensured the reliability of circuit performance. However, it did not enter the practical application stage until the end of World War II.
Mark
When you take out a PCB in green, you can discover numerous white markings on the surface. For many years, people wondered why these white printed marks were called “screen mesh layer”. In fact, they are mainly used to identify the information of the components on the PCB.
Used as a method to check the faults on the PCB for engineers, related electronic component information is printed on the PCB through screen printing at an earlier age. Afterward, the screen mesh is replaced by a kind of exclusive inkjet printer.
Electronic components
The function of the PCB is mainly accomplished by effectively connecting the components according to the schematic diagram. Each component plays its respective role, even the combination of every two parts that are closely adjacent on a PCB can also make a great difference. Basic components include resistors, diodes, transistors, PCB capacitors, batteries, transformers, etc.
Indispensability
It is no exaggeration to say that PCBs can be found everywhere. From computers to digital clocks, microwave ovens to televisions, as long as it is electronic supplies, more than 99% of them are used PCB. There’s some truth to believing that PCB is to electronic devices what water is to fish.
NASA
In the 1960s, characterized by light in weight and lower power consumption, PCB was adopted on the Apollo 11 rocket. This was a magnificent moment in humankind that sent the astronaut to the moon for the first time and PCB contributed a significant part.
SMT (Surface mounted technology)
Surface mount technology has modernized PCBs. Unlike the traditional assembly, the SMT used special glue to paste the component on the PCB first and connects the components and PCB through special reflow soldering.
Flex PCB
Not every PCB is rigid and flat, there also have some flex PCBs that construct partly circuits or form multilayer stereoscopic circuits in numerous electronic devices.
The longest PCB in the World
A 28 meters flex multilayer PCB, the world’s longest PCB, is used in an unmanned solar aircraft by Johnson Electronics in the UK. The PCB is made of soft polyimide as the base that has better heat dissipation and higher conductivity density. Such a long PCB is made by etching in sections through a special production process.
Conclusion
After you read the above content, I believe that you have a brand new view about PCB. In our daily life, PCB is usually neglected but exactly crucial for some electronic equipment. Hence, if you are not familiar with PCB, IBE can be your better guide.
With more than 17 years of experience in PCBA manufacturing, IBE is a professional PCBA manufacturer focusing on the research and development of laser ranging, new energy, medical devices, automotive electronics, industrial control, consumer electronics, etc other products. We aim to be your highly reliant strategic ODM/OEM global partner for success by providing high-technology services, products and solutions.
A PCB is a thin board constructed of a non-conductive substance designed to accommodate copper circuitry.
Single-layer PCB, double-layer PCB, multilayer PCB, aluminum PCB, CCL PCB, MCPCB, etc.
For the earlier generation of military PCB, green, which was regarded as an army protection standard, was selected for protecting circuit reliability. Others take the opinion that the color of the epoxy resin used in the incipient solder mask painting is green, which is kept and used nowadays.
