The Importance of Best Practices in Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing

The immensely growing competition in the printed circuit board manufacturing industry is creating a situation of ‘survival of the fittest’. Quality is still the name of the game, and companies are doing their best to ensure that they stay ahead.

While new technologies and custom designs will provide support, the inherent factor is the manufacturing process that is followed by companies. To ensure that the process always stays at a high level of excellence, best practices need to be followed.

Back to Basics

This is something you may have heard before. However, it doesn’t stop it from being true. Consistent use of practical techniques can provide superior results in printed circuit board manufacturing. Best practices can also be used in process analysis to identify any areas that need improvement.

• Annular Rings: These can be used to help reduce costs when it comes to board thickness and drilled holes. Smaller holes mean that annular rings can be used to maintain performance and durability. The small size can lead to lesser costs for the customers. Generally, the annular ring widths are of 0.005″.
• Greater Spaces and Traces: The smaller the size of the spaces and traces, the higher your costs will be. It is important that the spaces and traces be at 0.007″/0.007″ or higher. There should be space between traces and the ground plane, and the plane should be at least 0.020″ from the circuit board edge.
• Changes in Documentation: Undocumented changes are one of the biggest causes for errors. This can lead to complete cancellation of the orders. When changes occur, your documentation should contain a revision number as a notation of the change. The change should be maintained throughout the manufacturing process.
• Routing Patterns: The general gap between boards is measured at 0.100″. During routing, the hole, position, and patterns for the breakout tabs can be edited to help improve the product’s manufacturability.
• Unplated Slots: Plated slots tend to increase the manufacturing costs, especially when they are specified in unnecessary places. Using unplated slots is better as there are no extra charges for them.

By carefully following these steps at the right time in design and production, one can easily improve the entire printed circuit board manufacturing process.