Importance of Printed Circuit Board for Telecom Industry

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are the heart and soul of any electronic device. Since they connect and physically support different components within an electronic device, they are one of the most important pieces of technology for various industries. One of these industries is the telecom industry with electronic devices right at its core. This piece of information points us to the obvious assumption that the telecom industry will probably not exist without this brilliant invention. Printed circuit boards for the telecom industry are used in fixed telecommunication systems and also in mobile communications network.

The telecom industry has dynamic needs owing to their prolific growth, thus keeping the PCB manufacturers and researchers on their feet. Additionally, they require their PCBs to be resilient to temperature and weather changes. The PCBs thus designed have the ability to withstand extreme weather conditions when fixed in devices placed outdoors.

Applications of Printed Circuit Boards for Telecom Industry:

PCBs have found several applications in the telecom industry. Some of these are listed below:

• Wireless communication systems
• High speed servers and routers
• Mobile phone tower systems
• Mobile communication systems
• Online signal expansion systems

With the telecom industry growing at an exponential rate, their needs and expectations are growing too. Thus, the telecom industry relies heavily on PCB manufacturers to customize and produce PCBs that can provide support for a variety of products and systems.

For any telecom company looking to purchase PCBs, they must ensure that the PCBs are manufactured using high-grade quality materials and components, while being affordable. Since the demands of any telecom company are large, the PCBs can be customized to fit the needs of your application. Most companies offer assistance to help create PCBs that are tailor-made for your product.

Printed circuit boards are integral to the telecom industry and thus, have assisted the development of the telecom industry. The telecom industry has been able to provide us with exceptional services and products. This in turn has aided our evolution into a more technologically developed era.

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Factors to be considered in the PCB Layout Design Process

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout design is the core process in the manufacturing of circuit boards. The designing process provides a graphical representation of the circuits and thus gives reference to the manufacturers to work with. Further processes like placement and soldering of electronic components and PCB assembly are all dependant on the layout design. Thus, it is highly important to consider certain factors while designing a circuit board.

Which Factors should be considered in the PCB Layout Design Process?

The main aspect of designing process for circuit boards is the manufacturability value of the layout. Thus, as a designer, one must consider every factor involved in the manufacturing and assembly process of PCBs. Let us have a look at such factors.

1. Thickness and Width of the Circuit Board Conductor: A circuit board conductor provides path for the transmission of current. Thus, its width and thickness matters a lot in determining the amount of current that will pass through the tracks (current carrying capacity) of the PCB. As a designer, you will need to take into consideration the desired current carrying capacity and based on that, establish the width and thickness of the conductor of PCB.


2. Electromagnetic Interference and Electrical Clearance: PCB layout design has to be in accordance with the electromagnetic interference between the components and tracks of the circuit board. In order to make the PCB safe for use, there should be a minimum of 8mm electrical clearance between the main as well as isolated signal tracks. 


3. Number of Layers in the Circuit Board: A printed circuit board could consist of a single layer or multiple layers based on its type and number of components present. For a designer, it is essential to develop a PCB layout that thoroughly describes the layers, components, their position, etc. 

        Excellent PCB Layout Design Services by A-Flex

A-Flex is a service provider for simple as well as intricate PCB layout designing. Our dedicated and experienced team of designers provides you with high-end layout solutions at competitive prices. 

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Understanding Printed Circuit Board Layout

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout is a critical aspect when it comes to the creation of high speed circuitry. There are many factors that have to be considered to accomplish this. By paying attention to certain salient details, one can ensure that the layout is accurately completed.

Important Aspects of PCB Layout :

Addressing the following key points can provide results such as improving circuit performance, reducing design time, minimizing revisions.

• Schematic: A good layout always begins with a well-designed schematic. It is important to design the schematic in a manner that there will be a natural and steady signal flow on the board. Make sure that you fill important information regarding the layout as the designers and engineers will depend on it during PCB manufacturing process. This will include thermal information, controlled impedance lines, component value information and tuning ranges.

• Circuit Location: The location of the circuits on the board is a critical step. This will help you to decide on the location of the individual components. The only components that have clearly defined locations are the input, output, and power.

• Component Fixing: When deciding the location of the components, begin with the most critical components of the PCB. This will allow you to easily mark the signal routing paths and provide for better operation. Then decide the location of the other components, after which, mark the lands and vias.

• Bypassing the Power Supply: Minimizing noise is another critical aspect that may affect the PCB’s performance in an application. There are two way to accomplish this task. The first is to use multiple parallel capacitors, which need to be connected directly to the power supply pins. This ensures a low AC impedance across frequencies. Another configuration is to tie a bypass capacitor between the supply rails of the op amp. This method improves PSR and distortion performance.

Understanding the PCB layout can be of great help when choosing PCBs for industrialapplications. 

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Design Considerations for Flexible Circuits in Dynamic Applications

The importance of flexible circuits in industries is increasing every day. This is due to the constant changes taking place in the electronic device manufacturing industry. As electronic device designs continue to become smaller and lighter, the requirement for flexible circuits will continue to grow. This also means that the circuits can be used in varied electronic applications in markets such as consumer, industrial, military, medicine, and aerospace.

Most of the above mentioned markets will have dynamic applications that require effective flexible circuits boards products. That is why it is important for an electronic designer to understand the technology and know when and where it needs to be used.

Design Considerations for Flexible Circuits

In dynamic flex applications, the designer needs to incorporate certain design practices that will help to enhance the flex circuit’s service life

•  Use only Rolled Annealed Copper: This is an important point to consider when creating panels. Rolled annealed copper allows for the flexing motion to be lateral with the grain direction of the copper. 

• Create Neutral Copper Traces: The term ‘neutral’ here means that the amount of copper has to be equivalent to the dielectric on either side of the traces. This will prevent the copper from compressing during flexion.

•  Maintain a Gentle Bend Radius: In dynamic applications, the bend radius should be 10 times the thickness of the material.  For example, if a single sided circuit has a thickness of .005", then the appropriate bend radius would be .050".

• Incorporate Pads only Plating: This is used only for double sided circuits. The bend regions of the circuits should be fabricated with only a single layer of copper, and not with electroplated copper. This will allow for neutral flexing of the axis.

These are some important guidelines that any electronic designer can use as rule of thumb when designing flexible circuits for dynamic applications. 

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What are the Benefits of Flexible Printed Circuits

Flexible printed circuit boards are widely used in a wide array of applications that require compactly assembled electronic components such as cell phones and cameras. The flexible plastic substrate (such as PEEK, polyester or polyimide) makes a great flex mounting surface for electrical components.

Useful in simple as well as complex applications, flexible printed circuits are an integral part of various industries, like:

•         Electrical Devices Manufacturing
•         Automobile
•         Medical Devices Manufacturing
•         Telecommunication
•         Electronics

Benefits of Flexible Printed Circuit Boards:

As compared to rigid printed circuit boards, the flexible PCBs are rather efficient for different applications. Flex PCBs have several benefits, such as:

• Suitable for Complex Designing Options: Imagine how it would be to design a circuit board with only two dimensions. Doesn’t that sound too constraining? Well, unlike rigid PCBs, the flexible printed circuit boards are ideally suited for complex design patterns and configurations. This way you can design a high performance electrical device with aptly designed flex PCB. 

•  High Performance Even in Hostile Conditions: Electric and electronic devices often work in strenuous applications that are of demanding nature. Overheating, high voltage or voltage fluctuation, sparking, etc. are common issues seen with such devices. A flexible printed circuit board can withstand such hostile environment and it shows uninterrupted high performance even in such conditions.

• Minimized Wiring/ Assembly Errors: Automated production processes of flex PCBs along with highly precise design help in minimizing the wiring or assembly errors. As there is little or no human/ manual work involved in the assembly of flex PCBs, the level of accuracy in these boards is very high.

• Easy for Installation and Repair: Connection between the electrical components of a flex PCB is ingeniously established to reduce the package size and make the installation of circuit board highly efficient. This feature also makes the repair of such PCBs easy as well as reasonable.

Smartly Designed, High Performance Flex PCBs from A-Flex :

A-Flex is the leader in manufacturing superior quality flexible printed circuit that can perform exceptionally well in various demanding applications. We provide cost-effective yet excellent flex PCBs thatcan be used in board-to-chip, board-to-board, and chip-to-chip connections in compact packages.

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Steps Involved in Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used in a wide variety of electric and electronic products. The manufacturing of circuit boards is an intricate process that is carried out in several steps. While some PCBs can be manufactured in house by assembly of essential material, in other cases the process of manufacturing is outsourced to experts.

Material needed for printed circuit board manufacturing:

For successful printed circuit board manufacturing, you will need:

•       Epoxy resin base laminate
•       Conductive material for coating (copper or aluminum or nickel)
•       Drilling machine
•       Computer software for designing the PCB (Auto CAD)
•       Forks for assembly of small electrical components
•       Adhesives
•       Lamination devices

Steps involved in printed circuit board manufacturing:

In order to make a printed circuit board, you will need to follow certain steps:  

1. Prepare a layout of your PCB : With the help of a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system, make the design of your circuit board. You can take help of the standard output format developed especially for the PCB manufacturing industry 


2. Print the epoxy resin laminate: In order to print the inner epoxy resin layer, at first you will need to clean the metal (copper) coating and print the laminate in a dust-free, clean room. Later you need to cover the panel with a photoresist (thin film of photosensitive material).


3. Remove unwanted metal and etch the layer of PCB : In this step, with the help of a concentrated alkaline liquid, you need to remove the remove/ etch away the unwanted metal. Special care is to be taken while etching the exposed copper to avoid the thinning of conductor layers 


4. Drill holes in the circuit board : With the help of a drilling machine, you will need to drill holes on the metal (copper coated) laminate sheet) for the assembly of leaded components .


5.  Solder the PCB: In order to avoid any unwanted contact between the components of the circuit board, you have to apply a printed epoxy-ink solder mark on each side of the metal surface.


6. Profile the PCB : In order to profile the PCB, you need to cut out the production panel on a scoring machine or a V-cut system (cutter).

After the final assembly of PCB, it is always essential to inspect the board for any loose connections or detached connections.

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Design and Configurations of Flexible Printed Circuit Boards for Industrial Applications

Flexible printed circuit boards are widely used in a variety of industrial applications. The industries include but are not limited to aerospace, automotive, electronic devices, telecommunications, and maritime.  As these industries are looking out for printed circuit boards that are light weight and agile, flexible circuits are replacing rigid circuit boards in many applications. The reasons for this change are the many advantages that flexible printed circuit boards in terms of their design and configurations.

Design, Configurations of Flexible Printed Circuit Boards for Industrial Applications :

Flexible printed circuit boards are able to meet the main criteria of industrial applications – electrical, environmental, and mechanical performance as well as reliability and durability. Flexible circuit boards also allow for the reduction of the overall size and layers of the circuit board while increasing the number of panels. As a long term initiative, flexible circuits have been proven to be extremely cost competitive.
As industrial requirements and applications continue to change and grow, printed circuit board manufacturers also have the opportunity to design custom flexible printed circuit boards to meet specific requirements such as:

• Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
• Different types of circuit geometry (micro strip, dual-line, strip-line)
• Shielding
• Controlled impedance
• Increased thickness with dielectric layers
• Circuit signal control

Each type of the below mentioned flexible printed circuit boards is configured to meet specific needs in applications.

• Single Sided: These can be used in simple as well as dynamic applications. They generally consist of a copper foil layer, which is laminated to a dielectric material layer. These laminated foil layers are designed to withstand innumerable flex cycles. Single sided flexible printed circuit boards provide the desired performance while being cost-effective in terms of the number of processing steps and manufacturing cycles.

• Double Sided: This type of flexible circuit is able to generate more electrical signals in an application due to the larger number of conductors. Like the single sided circuit boards, these also consist of copper foil and dielectric material layers. Double sided flexible printed circuit boards are particularly adopted by the automotive and computer product manufacturing industries. This is partly due to the introduction of coverlays, which have helped to create high volume and cost-effective production cycles. High chemical resistance, strong thermal properties, and mechanical flexibility are a few other reasons for their popularity.

• Multi-layered: These are meant for applications that comprise populated designs. They usually consist of flexible layers that are unbounded in bend areas, although there are other layer options. PTH technology is used to create interconnections between the layers. Multi-layered flexible printed circuit boards are widely incorporated in commercial applications. This is thanks to the use of advanced military grade flex technologies and specialized adhesiveless flex materials.  

Distinctive designs and configurations have helped flexible circuit boards to become the favorable solution for many industrial applications.

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