PCB DESIGNING

The term printed circuit board refers to that part of electronic circuitry in which
conventional wires are replaced by the pattern of conducting material over a insulating
base. PCB are the most important element in the fabrication of electronic equipment the
most important contribution is the tremendous reduction achieved in the size and weight
of electronic devices and the equipment error that occur due to loose connection or
improper grounding or shorting when components are connected using on a board can be
overcome by using properly designed PCB The field of PCB combines a wide range of
disciplines such as mechanics electronics designs production and process management

Classification of PCB :-
PCB’s can be classified depending on various parameters such as
1. APPLICATION:-
Professional PCB’s
non-professional PCB
2. Material base :
flexible
rigid
3. NUMBER OF SIDES OF LAYERS:- the major classification is based on
number of layers
Single sided PCB:- Di-Electric substrate with circuitry on only one side is known
as single sided PCB. It is simple in construction and offer very little precision the single
sided PCB are mostly used in the entertainment electronics where manufacturing cost
must be kept minimum and circuit are simple in nature jumper wires are used to jump
over conductor tracks
Double sided PCB:- Di-Electric substrate with circuitry on both sides are termed
as double sided PCB they can be made with or without plated through holes. In plated
through holes PCB the electrical connection is established by drilling holes through Di-
electric and plating copper through the hole. The production of holes with plated through
them is every expensive such boards are only chosen where the circuit complicity and
density do not leave any other choice. they provide high precision it is used used for
military application consumer electronics tech.
Multi layer PCB here two or more layers of di electric material with circuitry are
stacked and bounded together electrical connections are established from one side to
other and to the inner layer circuitry through drilled holes which are subsequently plated
through with copper

PCB designing involves 3 stages

circuit diagram
layout design
art work

circuit diagram- the detail circuit diagram is very important. For the layout
designer for simple circuit the components specification can be incorporated in the circuit
diagram.
 for complex circuit, a separate component list is prepared by the circuit designer
along with circuit diagram. The input have to be complete and must contain all the
information which is relevant to the layout design. The input and output connections,
critical signal path and components producing considerable heat have to be identified in
the circuit diagram

layout design is the 1st step in the production of PCB. the designing process
including the proper placing of components and the conductor interconnecting them
determine optimal size of the board and external connections.
the layout designing starts often obtaining a detail circuit diagram which include
all the information on the board relevant with PCB fabrication
the layout design is done by keeping in main Design rules ( DRC) which help in
production of good quality PCBs. since layout is the basic process and the quality of
further process depends on it care should be taken to design good layout
layout is defined as a sketch that depicts the printed wiring substrate. the physical
size and the location of all electric components are also the routing of the conductors that
interconnect the electronic parts. layout scale is chosen which depend on the accuracy of
board required. the layout is done to the same scale as the artwork because this prevents
the problem caused by redrawing of the layout to the artwork scale
The layout design is carried out with the help of a Grid system which consists of
equally spaced lines mutually perpendicular to each other
while designing the component layout larger components are placed first and the
space in between are filled with smaller components those components requiring input
and output connections are placed near the connectors while realizing supply and ground
Conductors. the fundamentals rules to be followed

W-gnd >>> W-supply >>> W-signal

where W-Gnd is the ground conductor width

W-supply- conductor width of the supply line
Wsignal- conductor width of signal line

the width of the lines and the pattern in which they are distributed is very
important for the stability of the circuit voltage. sharp corners and acute angle bend in
conductors should be avoided whenever possible. parasitic effects such as resistance
capacitance and inductance effecting the working of an equipment must be eliminated by
adopting suitable measures while designing the layout during layout design. 5% of the
total area has to be spared for later modifications in the circuit. After making the layout
check the layout against the original schematics for circuit continuity and completeness

Artwork:- artwork is an accurately scaled configuration of the printed circuit form which
the master pattern is made the artwork displaces only those item which have to be
reproduced as a copper pattern in the manufacture of the board. it includes all the solder
pads & the conductors true to the scale with respect to both their dimensions & clearance
artwork may also include identifying symbols & text pattern which may be required
there are different methods by which a good and accurate artwork may be prepared
the different methods used are
1. ink drawing on white card board sheet
2. Black taping on transparent base toil
3. Red/Blue taping an transparent base toil
4. Black taping on transparent films
5. cut and strip artwork method
The three methods which are most commonly used
1. In first method the artwork produced on a white card board paper by drawing with
ink. It needs good drawing skills and it is time consuming the precision obtained
by this method is low and it is difficult to make modification
2. in the second method the artwork is generated by facing the pads and topes to a
transparent has toil. The pads may be self adhesive type or transfer type
3. in 3rd method an artwork for double side PCB can be obtained on only one base
toil using Red & Blue tapes.

COPPER CLAD LAMINATES:- Copper clad laminates are used in PCB fabrication
process. The layout from the artwork is transferred onto the copper clad laminate a
laminate can be simply described as the product obtained by pressing layers of a filler
material covered with resin under heat and pressure
Materials used in Manufacture of copper clad laminate
The basic ingredients of a copper clad laminate over filler, resin & copper foil
Filters:- Filters are continuous webs of material such as paper glass, cloth etc. Are used
as reinforcing agents
Resin:- The filter are embedded in a matrix of resin when laminated the most commonly
used resin are phenol-formaldehyde
Copper foil :- The copper foil terms the surface of a copper clad laminate this is
manufactured by the process of Electo-deposition. A thin film of copper metal is
deposited on to a slowly rotating corrosion resistant cylinders whose lower part is
impressed in copper rich electrolytic solution. As the cylinder slowly rotates in plating
bath of the solution a thin film of copper deposited which gradually into a sheet of metal
foil on a cylinder which can be gently peeled off from the surface of the cylinder after it
is removed from the plating sol. The copper foil which is further processed to improve
its strength and corrosion resistance the nominal thickness of the copper foil is 35 um to
70 um

Manufacturing Process:-The sequence of manufacturing steps involves in the making of

copper clad laminate is as shown in the figure in the 1st step in manufacturing of copper
clad laminate involve clipping of a filler material in the resin solution which is partially
absorbed by the filter. the resin embedded filler forms the core layer of the laminate
the core layer along with the surface layer made of resin of greater composition
are put into packs for assembling each pack is treated layer i.e. base of copper clad
laminate is placed along with a copper foil between 2 flat steel plates the sheets are
pressed at a high temperature & pressure and cooled for further operations. the copper
clad laminate thus manufactured are subjected to finishing operations such as trimming &
inspection
Properties of Laminates:- The copper clad laminate should posses certain electrical and
physical properties. The manufactures of PCB must be provided data about the wide
spectrum of laminates properties such as di-electric strength di-electric constant
dissipative factors, surface & volume resistance. Foil to base bound strength water
absorption capability flame resistance capability & flexible strength

Image transfer is a process of copying pattern. the pattern obtained from this
method give low accuracy and precision seven screen printing is preferred when large no.
of PCB are being manufactured and batter precision is required however this method is
not free from defects but it give better resolution when compared to ink. For high
precision and accuracy photo printing technique is employed which is highly reliable

Photo printing :-the following steps are involved in photo-printing method of image
transfer
1. a master artwork which will be about 30 times the actual artwork is prepared
2. after thorough inspection of the artwork the master artwork is reduced to the
actually side by using a suitable reduction camera the artwork of actual size
obtained by suing a camera forms the negative film master
3. The copper clad laminate is cleaned thoroughly and coated with photo resist
material
4. the negative film master artwork is placed on the copper side of the board and U
V ray are passed over it in exposure unit
5. the exposed laminate is further subjected to developing by rinsing thoroughly in
photo resist developers and then washed with water
6. the pin holes and cuts on the conductor lies over detected by dipping the board in
a colouring dye the defects are corrected by conducting paste & covering it with
lacquer .

Preparation of film master:- The film master is the film positive or negative which is
used for direct exposure of the photo resist coated PCB or light sensitive screen. the
photographic film consist of 3 layer i.e. emulsion 5-10 microns thick and base 100-250
microns in thickness the emulsion is made of light sensitive silver halides stabilized in
synthetic suspension. the base is made of polyester or glass. the base provides the
dimensional stability under changing environment conditions.

The various stages in preparation of film master are

1. On the trans-illuminated table of the re-photographic camera, the artwork is
placed in such a way that it is readable through the camera lens the lens is focused
so that a clear image of the artwork is visible
2. On a sheet of paper the corners of the image obtained above is marked and cut.
the cut part of paper gives the size of the photo graphic film required the
remaining part indicate the position where the image falls
3. The photographic film is placed with emulsion pointing towards light the camera
timing is set about 3min for the exposure of the film
 4. the film is immersed in a developer solution on for about 3 min and then washed
in water if the development is completed the film is placed in a fixer solution for
about 4min and thoroughly dried thus the film master is obtained

Image transfer by screen printing method:-

The development of dimensionally highly accurately and stable fine mesh fabrics made
of polyesters with stainless steel frame made the screen printing process appreciable to
the fabrication of PCB. Screen printing offers the advantage of control on the ink
deposition thickness through the selection of suitable mesh density and ink composition.
The screen printing method is particularly suitable for large welcome production in its
basic form the screen printing arouses is very simple a screen fabric with uniform mesh is
stretched and fixed on a solid flame of metal or word. the circuit pattern is
photographically transferred on to the screen leaving the mesh in the rest of the area are
closed in actual. Printing ink is forced by moving the squeezer through the open mesh
onto surface of the material to be printed.

STEPS INVOLVED IN SCREEN PRINTING PROCESS

1.Screen fabrics:- the selection of the fabric for a given purpose is chosen by considering
many factor such as
1. thickness of ink deposited
2. durability of the screen
3. sharpness of the image required
4. mechanical strength
5. chemical resistivity .

2. Fixing the screen on to frame:- The frame on which the fabric is to be fixed is
cleaned thoroughly and the edges are rounded so as not to damage the fabric the
screen fabric is stretched with optimum tension so that the mesh are uniformly
distributed on the fabric after fixing on the frame.

3. Pattern transfer onto screen:- There are different methods of pattern transfer in
screen printing such as direct and indirect method
In the direct method the screen is prepared by coating a photo sensitivity
emulsion directly on the screen fabric and exposing it to UV light with the
film master. The process of developing the screen opens the meshes in the
pattern area
the indirect method makes use of separate screen process film supported on a
backing sheet the film. master is exposed to this screen followed by film
developing which dissolves the unexposed area of the film and lives the rest
on the backing sheet the film on the backing sheet is there after is pressed into
the screen fabric and sticks there. finally the backing sheet is pealed off
opening all those screen meshes which are not coloured by the film master
the direct method provides very durable screen with high accuracy but the final
details are obtained more clearly by indirect method
4. Image transfer onto PCB:- the circuit pattern to be formed on the PCB is
transferred onto the screen by using suitable photographic technic the screen thus
 obtained is fixed to the board using clamps on which printing has to be done. The
ink is applied to the wiper and swept over the pattern on the screen this causes ink
to be deposited on the board through the openings

SCREENING PRINTING INKS:- the ideal screening printing ink should have many
features
1. it should dry rapidly on PCB but must not dry rapidly on the screen
2. it should be highly resistant to the copper removal agents
The ink used in screen printing are mostly vinyl based and can be broadly classified into
2. groups
1. soluent soluable resist- stripping hasto be done with soluence tri-choloro ethylone
or tri-choloro ethane
2. solder resist:- stripping can be done by spray rinse with plastic soda solution
screen printing inks are characterized by the types of chemicals used to stripe them or by
curing method The commonly used screen printing ink are acrylic, epoxy, vinyl, as
plastic which are resistant to PCB processing chemicals and conditions

Purpose of plated through holes

when more than one layer of wiring is needed circuit pattern are placed on both sides of a
printer board and the inter connections between the 2 wiring layer is established through
P T H a conductor is plated in the holes to make connection

DRILLING:- drilling is done to the printer circuit board for the following reasons
1. to produce an opening through the board which will permit to produce subsequent
process to form an electrical connections between top bottom and sometime
intermediate conductor path ways
2. to permit through the board components mounting with structural integrity and
pros ion of location

Drilling of components mounting holes into PCB is the most important mechanical
operation in PCB production the importance of hole drilling into PCB has further gone up
with electronic components miniaturization and its need for smaller hole diameter and
density

HOLE DIAMETER TOLERENCE:- The drill bit diameter is chosen 0.05mm bigger
than hole diameter accepted. the generally accepted hole diameter tolerance are
< 0.8mm ---------->+0.05mm
> 0.8mm ---------->+0.1mm
ink plated through holes process the usual practice is to drill holes about 0.15 to
0.25mm bigger in diameter than the components lead to be inserted this is necessary to
compensate for the hole diameter reduction caused by plating inside the holes

DRILL BITS:- drill bits made of tungsten carbide are widely used in PCB drilling
operations. These type of drill bits are also preferred because of very high operation time
between re-sharping and also excellent quality of holes
 the drill used in printer circuit tab reaction are always twist drills. The rear portion
of drill which is grasped by drilling machine is shank. the hole size required by printer
circuit usually results in drill that have shank with larger diameter the drill points have 2
cutting surfaces
the chisel
the tip
the function of the chisel point is to start the cutting operation at the center
of the hole. the tip then takes over by cutting away material from center of the to its edge

The drill of are 2 types

1. common shank
2. straight shank

STRAIGHT SHANK drill bits are used in drilling with bushes, which give perfect
guidance when the bits enter the board & thus enables very accurate hole position. for
tungsten carbide drill bits the cutting speed very in the range of 70 to 200 m/min.

Drilling of small holes :- high density circuit board require small plating through holes in
order to consume less surface space for very high density PCB the feed through holes in
order to lonsu me surface space for very high density PCB the feed through hole range in
the diameter of 0.0006 inch to 0.015 inch

Drilling machines:- drilling machines for PCB applications are available in a wide range
of design and principles one common feature of all PCB drilling machines the high speed
range

NC Drilling:- numerically controlled drilling is as automatically drilling process where

the information on the holes position sequence and the diameter is stored on the paper
tape and the table or spindle arrangement move automatically according to this
information. NC. Drilling machine with 8 spindle at 240 strokes per min. and stocks of 4
PCB can produce theocratically 460 ,800 PCB holes/hour the punched tape can be
obtained from a film master on a digitizing machine where position sensors are provided
along with moving working table so as to give digital information about hole position,
however if cad is employed in designing the PCB the digitizing machine is not required
the latest development in automatic drilling include automatic drill bit changing last
positioning to enable up to 400 strokes/minute and C N C type of control

PCB cutting:-there are many method by which the laminates can be cut to the required
stage.

Shearing :-shearing is a suitable cutting method for almost any kind of base material of
less than 2mm thickness if boards are thickens than 2mm the finishing of edge will
become unclean . laminate shearing is done on a motor driven plate, shearing with a
cutting length of atleast 100rpm . But this method boards dimensions will come with 0.8
to 0.5mm tolerance which is not acceptable for many applications
sawing :- The shearing of laminates by means of a circular saw is preferred method of
many laminates manufacturers the edge finishing is smooth and acceptable.

Blanking is a method where clean cutting operation is done with a punching with a
blanking tool PCB dimension with in a tolerance of (+-)0.1-0.2mm.

Milling:- clean cutting of PCB by milling is preferred where good edge finishing and
exact overall dimension are required. for milling of PCB can be carried out on wood or
milling machine the use of tungsten carbide tool in milling machines will result in a much
longer life of the cutter

routing:- routing produces an excellent edge finishing similar to milling

TIP PLATING AND ETCHING

In PCBs, copper is used as the conduction material for forming the pattern if the
copper pattern is exposed to atmosphere over a long period of time, it is tarnished
reducing its soldaribility therefore in order to protect the copper a solder able metal is
plated over them
platting of a metal on a copper pattern can be done by 3 methods

TIN IMPRESSION PLATING:- Impression plating is a deposition of a metallic coating

on a substrate by chemical replacement
advantages of this method is minor capital expenses and simplicity but the thickness
obtain is very extremely limited and can be used for only that them protection to PCB
typically tin is immersed on copper conductor is printed on the circuit typical thickness is
about 3mm/hrs after immersion plating the PCB should be rinsed thoroughly to eliminate
all residual chemicals

Tin lead Electro Plating:- tin lead employed is the ratio of 60:40 has been found to have
the lowest melting point of all the alloys and hence has been adopted as PCB coating this
process improves solderability and good corrosions resistance. On account of its lower
melting point it is possible to re-flow it and there by achieve good edge coverage of
conductor tracks. the coating is provided by a process of electrolysis it is a process where
the process of the total depositing takes place due to the passage of current. in a
electrolytic cell the passage of unidirectional current through a solution is associated with
movement of charged particles called ions. the terminal loading the current into the
solution are electrodes. the poles at which the chemical reaction takes place in the
cathode and the hole at which the chemical reaction of oxidation takes place as the anode

purpose of etching etching is the process where the final copper pattern is formed by
selective removal of all the unwanted copper which is not protected by a etch resistance.
Etching of PCB is usually done using spray type etching machine the commonly used
etching machines are as follows
BUBBLE/TANK ETCHING
Here the boards on which the pattern is covered with etch resist are kept in a rack
and fully immersed. The etchent is agitated etchent tank this etching cannot provide the
fast & precise and uniform etching which is desired in electronic equipment production

Spray Etching
in this type etchant is pumped under pressure from the pump via a pipe network to
the nozzle and from there gets re splashed on to the boards these can offer very high
etching uniformity and fast etching rate

Etching Chemical
when it comes to the choice of the etching chemicals etchant it has to be matched
with the choice of resistant used. the various etchant suitable for photo resist and screen
resist are ferric chloride cuprite chloride and chemic acid cupric chloride has replaced by
ferric chloride in large scale etching of print and etch type board
for the etching of boards with metal resist alkaline ammonia based etchant are commonly
used handling of any etching chemicals suitable safety precaution have to be observed i. e
safety device like acid proof ground apron phase shield filter mark etc should be used

undercut/under etching
during the etching process it is excepted that the etching progress vertically but in
practice there is also an etching action sideways which attacks the pattern below the etch
resist if etching is not stopped immediately after all the unwanted copper has to be
removed the under etching will continue loading to considerable reduction of conductor
line width. this can be minimized by keeping the etching line as short as possible and by
spray etching etching is expressed as in terms of etch factor.

Etchfactor=a/b are a=copper foil thickness b=width of side attack

Over hang and out growth

when metal etch resist are used in pattern plating process the plating build up shows
growth sideways it varies the conductor width resulting overhang the difficulties with
overhang can be reduced with the use of dry film resist by using solder metal etch resist.

SOLDER MASK’S [SCREEN PRINTING]

The solder mask also called solder resist are organic coating which are applied selectively
to those area where no solder cutting is desired thus in a PCB only such areas to which
components are to be soldered are to left exposed to remaining areas the introduction of
solder mask may be fabricated by screen printing selective spraying through a mask and
by photo printing.

Solder mask’s advantages:-

1. avoids solder bridging
2. less contamination of solder alloy
3. better solder fillets resulting in more reliable pints
 4. lower costs for solder per units assembly
5. improved mechanical properties of the boards i.e. structural strength
6. acts as a barrier between the atmosphere and the board thus eliminating damage
of corrosion and leakage currents

Process:- solder masks are applied to the circuit board either as liquid films or as dry
films liquid films are sprayed on the board the screening of solder mask material include
the following process
1. the screen is prepared by stretching stainless mesh over a aluminum frame
2. the size of the mesh obtained will depend on a number of factor such as the
viscosity of the mask material the pattern to be screened and the accuracy desired
to the prescribed lightness with a high degree
3. after stretching the screen is aged for a day or two then re-stretching it
4. the screen is thoroughly cleaned before stainless steel material is fixed
5. the mask material can be liquid or dry film which is thoroughly cleaned photo
tooling and the image is washed using an organic solvent finally the edges of the
screen which are adjacent to the frame are tapped to prevent the mask martial
from seeping into the frame
6. the screen is mounted on the screening machine such that it is above the circuit
board in the correct position, the solder mask material is placed in the screen and
the sequence is passed over the screen to force the material on to the PCB

SCREEN PRINTING PROBLEMS

1. The screened masks are inherently inaccurate
2. The mis-regestration on smearing of a screened mask can lead to excessive solder
defects
3. A screened mask over tin/lead coated traces tend to warts during re-flow.
4. Excessive flowing may upset the components and produce solder defects or can
actually part the mask expose the traces

SPECIAL CONTACTS AND CONNECTORS

Gold Plated edge connectors:- PCB edge connectors are recapable type connectors and
have no plus they make directly with edge of PCB. They make contact on both sides with
the fingers etched on the edge of PCB.

Edge Connectors:- are used to 1.connect PCB to PCB 2. add on ckt board to mother
board edge board connectors are used in electronic equipment with modular constriction
where the connectors are provided with spring contact mounting gold is plated on the
edge connectors tab to provide low contact resistance as well as the high wear resistance.

Soldering:- Soldering is a process for the joining of the metal parts with the aid of a
molten metal (solder) where the melting temp. is situated below that of the material
joined and where by the surface of the parts are method without them becoming molten
the filler metal wets and alloy with the base metal and gets drawn by capillary action into
the gap between them forming a metallurgical band between the parts of the joint.
Soldering Technique:- A solder joint is obtained by heating the solder and the base metal
above the melting pint of the solder used the method by which the necessary heat is
applied give rise to various soldering technique such as iron, mass and electrical
soldering etc.

Iron Soldering:- The most common method for soldering is the use of the soldering from
in this method after the parts to be joined have been cleaned fluxed when necessary and
assembled for soldering the soldering iron at soldering temp is held on the work price to
weather the solder usually in the form of wire applied to work data to bit where it should
melt immediately and become bright and fluid if enough solder is applied to it, it
penetrates & fills the gap of the joint where the joint appear to be sufficiently filled. the
soldering iron is removed and the joint or point is allowed to cool down undisturbed

Mass soldering:- mass soldering include those techniques by which layer of joints are
used simultaneously using a solder paste both as the source of heat as well as of filler
metal in this techniques solder path mass soldering technique are much used in electronic
industries for assembling of PCB
1. Dip soldering:- In this method the pre fluxed assembly is lowered vertically on to
clean solder surface until it makes contact and is then immersed in the solder bath
2. Drag Soldering:- here a conveyer system is used to move the PCB so that it passes
successively used to over a fluxing station flux dryer and then over the surface of
the solder bath
3. Wave Soldering:- Where solder is pumped out of a narrow slot to create a
standing wave in the solder path even here a conveyer system is used for moving
the PCB

Solder Paste/Flux:- during the soldering operation an additional medium is used to

increase the flow properties of matter solder i.e. to improve the degree of wetting
1. it should carry unwanted elements away and exclude air up to the soldering temp.
2. It should dissolve any oxide on the metal surface on the solder and carry such
unwanted materials
3. it should be readily displace the from metal by molten soldering operation.
They are divided in to 3 types depending on nature of residues

Corrosive flux the most basic material in these type of flux are zinc chloride these type
flux are used to solder difficult materials to solder

Intermediate flux these are weak in nature and become active at soldering temperature
typical soldering flux are latic & glumatic amino acids
Non Corrosive flux These fluxes are used in electrical components, electronic
assemblies delicate instruments and other parts where it is difficult to wash off.
the most commonly used types are colophy etc.
Soldering Lead/Solder alloys:-
Soldering leads is the filler metal used in the soldering process to form metallurgical
bond between the parts of the joint. the different types of solders available are tin based
antimony tin, silver zinc etc, for applications requiring soldering of semi-conductor gold
tin is used as the solder alloy

Soldering Guns/Soldering Iron:- Soldering Iron Consist of as insulated handled connected

via a metal shank to the bit the face of the bit actually makes contact with the components
part of the joint and the solder and heat them up the electrical heating dement is usually
located in the hollow shank or in the handled and may be thermostatically controlled to
give a pre set temp. in due bit.

Soldering tip selection:- The bit of the soldering iron has to perform the follow As
1. it store heat and conveys it from the heat source to work
2. it may be required to store and deliver molten solder and often flux to the work.
3. it may be used to remove surplus solder from the joint
soldering bits are usually made of copper because this metal combines good wetting
properties with the optimum heat capacity and thermal conductivity the copper bit is
protected from erosion with thick iron coating followed by nickel/tin plating by this way
the life of the bits can be increased the size and shape of the bit is determined by the
amount of heat to be supplied during each joining operation. the bit must be sufficiently
large to enable soldering of the required no of joints before the heat is drained away.

Wave Soldering Machine:-

Wave soldering machine is one of the techniques used in mass soldering
In wave soldering instead of lowering the boards onto a solder path solder is pumped out
of a narrow slot to create a standing wave in the solder path.
The boards after passing over the usual fluxing and drying sections are conveyed across
the crest of solder wave by a conveyer.
The use of a solder wave brings a advantages of a virtually oxide free surface being
continuously generated on the solder while air flux and flux vapour are disloged by the
rapid movement of the solder.