Learn About Different Types of PCBs and Their Advantages

A printed circuit board (PCB) is a thin board made from fiberglass, composite epoxy, or other laminate materials. PCBs are found in various electrical and electronic components such as beepers, radios, radars, computer systems, etc. Different types of PCBs are used based on the applications. What are the various types of PCBs? Read on to know.

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What are the Different Types of PCBs?

PCB’s are often classified on the basis of frequency, a number of layers and substrate used. Some popular types are discussed below.

• Single Sided PCBs
  Single sided PCBs are the basic type of circuit boards, which contain only one layer of substrate or base material. The layer is covered with a thin layer of metal, i.e. copper- which is a good conductor of electricity. These PCBs also contain a protective solder mask, which is applied on the top of the copper layer along with a silk screen coat. Some advantages offered by single sided PCB’s are:
  • Single sided PCB’s are utilized for volume production and are low in cost.
  • These PCBs are utilized for simple circuits such as power sensors, relays, sensors and electronic toys.
• Double Sided PCBs
  Double sided PCBs have both the sides of the substrate featuring metal conductive layer. Holes in the circuit board allow the metal parts to be attached from one side to the other. These PCBs connect the circuits on the either side by either of the two mounting schemes, namely through-hole technology and surface mount technology. The through-hole technology involves inserting of lead components through the pre-drilled holes on the circuit board, which are soldered to the pads on the opposite sides. The surface mount technology involves electrical components to be directly placed on the surface of the circuit boards. Advantages offered by double sided PCBs are:
  • Surface mounting allows more circuits to be attached to the board in comparison to the through-hole mounting.
  • These PCB’s are utilized in a wide range of applications, including mobile phone system, power monitoring, test equipment, amplifiers, and many others.
• Multi-layer PCBs
  Multi-layer PCBs are printed circuit boards, which comprise more than two copper layers like 4L, 6L, 8L, etc. These PCBs expand the technology used in double sided PCB’s. Various layers of a substrate board and insulating materials separate the layers in multi-layer PCBs. The PCBs are compact sized, and offer benefits of weight and space. Some advantages offered by multi-layer PCBs are:
  • Multi-layer PCBs offer a high level of design flexibility.
  • These PCBs play an important role in high speed circuits. They provide more space for conductor pattern and power.
• Rigid PCBs
  Rigid PCBs refer to those types of PCBs whose base material is fabricated from a solid material and which cannot be bent. Some salient advantage offered by them:
  • These PCBs are compact, which ensures the creation of variety of complex circuitry around it.
  • Rigid PCBs offer easy repair and maintenance, as all the components are clearly marked. Also, the signal paths are well organized.
• Flexible PCBs
  Flexible PCBs are constructed on a flexible base material. These PCBs come in single sided, double-sided and multilayer formats. This helps in reducing the complexity within the device assembly. Some advantages offered by these PCBs are:
  • These PCBs help save a lot of space, along with reducing the overall board weight.
  • Flexible PCBs helps in decreasing the board size, which makes it ideal for various applications where high signal trace density is needed.
  • These PCBs are designed for working conditions, where temperature and density is a main concern.
• Rigid-Flex-PCBs
  Rigid flex PCBs are the combination of rigid and flexible circuit boards. They comprise of multiple layers of flexible circuits attached to more than one rigid board.
  • These PCBs are precision built. Hence, it is used in various medical and military applications.
  • Being light-weight, these PCB offer 60% of weight and space savings.
• High-Frequency PCBs
  High-frequency PCBs are used in the frequency range of 500MHz – 2GHz. These PCBs are used in various frequency critical applications like communication systems, microwave PCBs, microstrip PCBs, etc.
• Aluminum backed PCBs
  These PCBs are used in high power applications, as the aluminum construction helps in heat dissipation. Aluminum backed PCBs are known to offer high level of rigidity and low level of thermal expansion, which makes them ideal for applications having high mechanical tolerance. The PCBs are used for LEDs and power supplies.

The demand for PCBs is catching up in various industrial sectors. Today, you will find various reputed PCB manufacturers and distributors, who cater the competitive connective devices market. It is always recommended to buy PCBs for industrial and commercial use from reputed manufacturers and suppliers. Twisted Traces is one such trusted and experienced manufacturers of different types of PCBs. The company has consistently provided their customers with high-quality circuit boards with excellent speed, and performance.

Jump To:
The Benefits of Prototyping PCBs | What Is a PCB Prototype? | Benefits of Prototyping | 1. Reduced Timeline | 2. Manufacturing Review and Assistance |  3. Accurate, Reliable Prototype | 4. Test Components Individually  | 5. Reduced Costs | When to Use Prototypes | Get Quality Prototyping From Millennium Circuits Limited

Benefits of Prototyping PCBs

Before beginning a full production run, it’s essential to ensure that a printed circuit board (PCB) is functioning properly. Regardless of how carefully designers work on the project, small mistakes and invisible problems always pose a threat to the functionality of the final product. If these problems aren’t caught before full production, it can be extremely costly for the project as a whole. As a result, many engineers regularly order prototype boards before full-scale manufacturing.

Prototyping is one of the essential services we offer at Millennium Circuits Limited, but not everyone is familiar with prototype services and their benefits to product quality. That’s what we’re here to explain.

What Is a PCB Prototype?

A PCB prototype is essentially an early sample of a product, built with the purpose of testing the design idea to see if it works. While most prototypes are made simply to test basic user functionality, PCB prototypes have the added need to be somewhat, if not entirely, functional. This is because PCB prototypes are made to test the total functionality of the design.

Different types of PCB prototypes are used to test different aspects of the design. Over the course of a project, a design team may use multiple PCBs at various stages of the design process. Some of these prototype types include:

• Visual models: Visual models are used to illustrate the physical aspects of the PCB design and show the overall shape and component structure. These are usually the first prototypes in the design process, and they are used to communicate and review the design in a way that is easy and affordable.
• Proof-of-concept prototype: Proof-of-concept prototypes are simple prototypes that focus on replicating the primary function of the board without carrying all of the capabilities of the final product. This kind of prototype is primarily meant to show that the design concept is viable.
• Working prototype: Working prototypes are functioning boards that contain all of the planned features and functions of the final product. These are usually tested to identify weaknesses or problems in the design and rarely represent what the finished product is going to look like.
• Functional prototype: Functional prototypes are meant to be as close to the final product as possible, providing the most accurate idea of what the design will look like and how it will work, with some basic material differences to keep prototyping costs low.

Engineers will usually work through this list from top to bottom throughout the design and testing process, starting with a visual model and ending with a functional prototype.

Benefits of Prototyping

PCB designers use prototype PCBs throughout the design process, repeatedly testing the functionality of their solution with every new addition or change. But, why do designers choose to use PCB prototypes instead of going straight into standard production runs?

While it may seem like prototypes add several steps and costs to the process, prototypes serve important functions in the design process. Prototyping allows designers, their teams and clients to test at multiple stages of design and make adjustments as needed to tailor the solution before the full production run. This creates several advantages for the client and designers, which are detailed below.

1. Reduced Timeline

When developing a PCB design, engineers will go through several iterations before creating the final product. While this can create lengthy timelines, PCB prototypes can help speed up the design and manufacturing process as a whole through the following means:

• Complete testing: PCB prototypes enable design teams to test designs and spot problems quickly and accurately, taking the guesswork out of the equation. Without this, spotting flaws would take significantly more time, potentially resulting in a longer time frame, lost revenue and unhappy customers.
• Visual assistance: Clients often want to see the product at several points in the production process, and providing prototypes as visual aids can help communicate the design more easily. This helps minimize time spent on explanations and client-requested redesigns.
• Minimized rework: Prototype testing allows you to see and test the board before a full production run. If a faulty product goes all the way to production, the required rework to fix the problem will take significantly longer and cost much more money.

These benefits are maximized when you work with a PCB supplier that specializes in quick PCB prototype turnaround. MCL’s in-house service creates high-quality prototypes, reducing the time frame for fabricating prototypes from weeks to minutes while also making sure you are independent of service suppliers.

2. Manufacturing Review and Assistance

When using a third party PCB prototyping service, companies can benefit from the assistance of a new set of eyes. Several things can go wrong in the design process that result in mistakes, including:

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• Excessive input: In the design process, customer and team changes can build up and overlap to the point where the design is unrecognizable compared to its first iteration. Eventually, the designers may simply lose track of design best practices in the rush to meet client demands.
• Design blindspots: Designers are human, and humans have blind spots. While a designer may create fantastic PCBs of one specific type, they may have less experience in another area and subsequently create a small problem in the design.
• Design-rule-check (DRC): While DRC tools are extremely helpful to catch glaring problems in a design, they have limitations. As an example, DRCs can verify that a return path to ground exists, but may not determine the best trace geometry, size and length to get the best results from that path.

These problems can result in inefficiencies, design flaws and other issues that designers miss in the review process. Third-party prototyping services are primed to catch these small problems. As a result, they can make design improvement suggestions before prototyping, making the prototype even more ready for the testing process.

This doesn’t mean that companies should work independently from their prototyping company — in fact, the opposite is true. Industry professionals recommend working closely with your prototype supplier to make the most of their expertise, adjust designs to their strengths and avoid technical issues like tool incompatibility.

3. Accurate, Reliable Prototype

Having an accurate, reliable PCB prototype makes it much easier to solve design issues throughout the development process. Quality PCB prototypes accurately represent the functionality of your final product, allowing designers to see and test the following aspects:

• PCB design: Prototyping enables designers to catch flaws early in the development process, and the more accurate the design, the more accurate the identification of the flaw. This helps minimize design costs down the line, while also reducing the project timeline.
• Functional testing: What works in theory doesn’t always work in practice. Accurate PCB boards will help assess the theoretical values of the board to see if they show up in the practical values. This allows any differences in value to be checked, updated and potentially reevaluated.
• Conditional testing: The real world is a brutal environment for products, so it is essential that PCB products go through appropriate testing to ensure that they will survive environmental conditions. For example, prototypes typically undergo temperature variation testing, power variation testing, shock resistance testing and more.
• Final product design: PCBs are usually incorporated into a final product, and prototypes help determine if the planned product or packaging need to be adjusted for the final PCB design.

For these purposes, having an accurate PCB prototype will help make other processes significantly easier, and will better prepare design teams for what to expect when they begin production runs.

4. Test Components Individually

Engineers frequently use prototype PCBs for testing, but the most beneficial testing occurs with simple PCBs that test singular components and functions. These prototype PCBs test single functions that are meant to be incorporated into a larger PCB, ensuring that they work as expected. This type of testing can be used for many purposes, including:

• Testing design theories: Simple PCB prototypes are used in proof-of-concept runs, allowing engineers to see and test a design idea before it goes further into the design process. This allows engineers to see whether the design works and, if it doesn’t, figure out what went wrong.
• Breaking down complex designs: Often, simple PCB prototypes break down the basic parts of a final PCB, ensuring that the design performs one basic function before moving on to the next. This piece-by-piece testing helps identify design issues in a compartmentalized manner, allowing for quicker, more accurate adjustments.

This individual testing method allows designers to test singular functions effectively and efficiently without ordering an entire PCB and breaking it down to figure out the problem when it doesn’t work.

5. Reduced Costs

Standard PCB production runs can get costly, and leaving things to chance can increase the bill. Prototypes are essential for reducing production costs because they help designers address and avoid the following issues:

• Catching design flaws: The sooner the development team catches a design flaw, the sooner it can be fixed and the less costly the fix is. The later on in the process the problem is caught, the more expensive the fix. If a problem persists all the way to full-scale production, it’ll likely destroy the budget completely. With a high-quality PCB prototyping service, design teams can catch and fix problems quickly and accurately, reducing costs in the long run.
• Pinpointing cost-saving adjustments: Depending on the specific design of a PCB, there may be several options available for materials and components. Prototyping allows design teams to test out different permutations of components, materials and assembly methods to find the one that best balances cost and functionality.
• Determining product adjustments: In some cases, adjustments to the PCB will result in the PCB taking on a slightly different shape or material than originally planned, which may affect the specifications and manufacturing needs of the product as a whole. Prototyping can help determine whether product adjustments are needed early on, allowing for improved planning and reduced redesign costs for the product and any associated packaging.

In short, prototyping services can help improve your product quality while reducing the cost of your manufacturing process as a whole.

When to Use Prototypes

Prototypes are essential to the testing and design process as a whole, but if you’re looking to keep prototyping costs to a minimum, here are the most essential conditions in which to use prototypes:

• New product production: If a project involves a novel design or function, prototyping is going to be critical. Prototyping allows the design team to test the desired function and the design as a whole, which enables them to detect issues early on in the design process. Even in cases where the project is similar to one your team has done before, prototyping is essential to ensure the overall functionality of your product before you continue with the design process.
• Testing: For any type of testing, from quality assurance tests to environmental tests, prototypes are a necessity. Rapid prototype PCB production allows your team to begin conducting tests quickly to prepare for official third-party testing, and the more accurate the PCB, the more accurate the tests.
• Complex components: If a project is particularly complex, containing multiple components and structures, prototyping is going to be the best option. Complex structures are notoriously difficult to fix when problems occur, and breaking each function down with simple PCB prototyping can help pinpoint problems early on in the design process. This way, your team will spend less time figuring out the source of the issue and more time improving the overall product quality of your circuit boards.
• Modeling purposes: Sometimes you need a visual representation of the physical design, but don’t need a functioning PCB. In this case, a prototype made with basic materials can be an excellent solution. This way, you can have the visual aid without spending money on a standard production board.

Because of the benefits of PCB prototyping, industry professionals generally recommend that prototyping be used to test any design revisions. Though these rapid prototype PCB productions do present upfront costs, they’re a cost-effective way to improve product quality every time.

Get Quality Prototyping From Millennium Circuits Limited

PCB prototyping is a powerful tool for designers, offering time and cost-saving benefits while also ensuring that your final product is top-quality. If you are interested in using PCB prototype services for your next project, contact Millennium Circuits Limited today.

MCL is a leader in PCB prototype services, serving over 400 clients across the United States. Our attention to detail and commitment to quality is what makes us stand out from the crowd, fabricating complete, accurate prototypes to your specifications every time. Our PCB design experts can deliver virtually any type of PCB prototype, from single and double-sided FR4 boards to complex multi-layered prototypes. MCL can provide your prototype quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively, with no hidden fees.

Our process is simple — we use CAD software to prepare the prototype layout, choose the material for fabrication then cut and assemble the board. From there, you’ve got a circuit board that’s ready to test. Once you’re ready, we’ll also help you transition from prototyping to the manufacturing process.

If you’re ready to work with a company that can help you benefit from high-quality PCB prototype services, MCL is ready to help. Contact us today to speak with one of our service team members about how MCL can meet all of your PCB prototyping needs.