Department of ECE, SSET Electronics Workshop Lab Manual

Experiment No: 5
Printed Circuit Board

Aim
To study the basics of Printed Circuit Board and its fabrication methods.

Introduction to Printed Circuit Board

Printed circuit boards are electronic circuits boards created for mounting electronic components
on a nonconductive board, and for creating conductive connections between them. A printed
circuit board, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components
using conductive pathways, tracks or traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-
conductive substrate. Printed circuit boards are electronic circuits boards created for mounting
electronic components on a nonconductive board, and for creating conductive connections
between them. The creation of circuit patterns is accomplished using both additive and
subtractive methods. The conductive circuit is generally copper, although aluminum, nickel,
chrome, and other metals are sometimes used. It is also referred to as printed wiring board
(PWB) or etched wiring board. A PCB populated with electronic components is a printed
circuit assembly (PCA), also known as a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). Printed circuit
boards have copper tracks connecting the holes where the components are placed. They are
designed specially for each circuit and make construction very easy.
Types of PCB

PCB’s are mainly classified into 3 types –

i) Single Sided PCB ii) Double Sided PCB and iii) Multilayer PCB

1) Single sided PCB

In this type of PCB, the conductor patterns are only on one side of the board. The
components are mounted on the other side.

2) Double Sided PCB

In this type of PCB, the conductor patterns are on both sides of the base material. The
components are mounted only on one side of the board. They can be made with or
Department of ECE, SSET Electronics Workshop Lab Manual

without PTH. The production cost of boards without PTH is considerably lower
because platting can be avoided. Here contacts are made from one side of the board to
the other side by soldering the components leads on both sides of the board.

3) Multi‐layer PCB: Conductors on 3 or more layers separated by dielectric material and

the layers are interconnected by PTH or pads 4 layer PCB is a sandwich of 2 double
layered PCBs. Likewise 6 layer PCB is a sandwich of 3 double layered PCB. This
sandwiching is done by placing oxidizing material between double layered PCBs. The
spatial and density requirement and the circuitry complexity determine the type of
board to be produced.

Process involved in PCB fabrication

Following are the steps involved in fabrication of PCB.

1. Preparation of the layout of the track
2. Transferring the layout of the track
3. Etching to remove the copper from the copper clad wherever it is not required.
4. Drilling holes for component mounting.

Preparing Layout: The track layout of the electronic circuit must be drawn on a white paper.
The layout should be made in such a way that the paths are in easy routes. This enables the
PCB to be more compact and economical.

Transferring the layout to copper: The layout made on the white paper should be redrawn
on the copper clad using paint or nail polish.

Etching: Ferric chloride solution is the popularly used etching solution. The ferric chloride
powder is made into a solution using water and kept in a plastic tray. Marked copper clad is
immersed in this solution for two hours.
Due to the reaction, the solution will become weak and it is not recommeneded for another
etching process. The copper in the unmarked area will be etched out. Take out the etched sheet
from the tray and dry it in sunlight for an hour. Later remove the paint or nail varnish using
turpentine.
Drilling: The holes are made by a drilling machine for the component insertion.
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
Department of ECE, SSET Electronics Workshop Lab Manual

PCB LAYOUT FOR THE ABOVE CIRCUIT

PCB Design Rules

Department of ECE, SSET Electronics Workshop Lab Manual

Layout Design

Layout design is the first step of the PCB design and it is a rough design of the artwork which
contains proper information for PCB. For the preparation of layout, designer should have the
following information
1. Physical size of each component
2. Pin configuration details of components
3. Design rule for particular application
4. Preferable size of PCB
5. Termination of connection

Layout scale

Depending on the accuracy required, layout should be produced at 1:1, 2:1 or 4:1 scale. 2:1
scale is commonly used.

Layout procedure

1. Prepare component layout

2. Layout should be prepared in the direction of signal flow as far as possible
3. Among the components, larger ones are placed first and the place in between this is
filled with smaller ones.
4. Components that require input output connections are placed near the PCB edge
5. All components are placed in such a manner that desoldering of other components is
not necessary if they have to be replaced.
6. The circuit can be subdivided into functional subunits and each subunit is realized on a
definite position of the board.
7. While preparing the layout it is a common practice to draw conductor lines only on
graph sheet.
8. Spacing between the components must be uniform.
9. Components producing considerable heat have to be identified so as to avoid
concentrated heat on the board.

Component list
Department of ECE, SSET Electronics Workshop Lab Manual

A separate list giving all the desired information about the components is needed with the
circuit diagram for layout preparation. A component list may include the following details –
component code, exact specification, supplies of the component, price, matching requirements
and mechanical dimensions.

Result

Study of PCB designing and fabrication.