Without printed circuit boards (PCBs) and PCB manufacturing, it is impossible to imagine our current consumer electronics industry. They are the basic components of everything we consider electronic. From radios to cell phones to digital cameras, every consumer electronics device contains PCBs. Without them, there would literally be no consumer electronics industry.

 

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Types of PCBs in PCB Manufacturing

There are generally two types of PCBs, rigid or flexible. Whether PCBs are flexible or rigid depends upon the type of substrate used in PCB manufacturing.

 

Most of today’s PCBs are still made of rigid dielectric substrate material with numerous through holes drilled into them. The through holes are for the lead wires of electrical components used in the circuit design. The PCB design is printed with an electrical conductor on one side of the substrate. The side receives the solder of the inserted component leads. Electrical current can then be sent through the circuit and into the components. Some common usages for rigid circuit boards are motherboards in computers, cell phones, automobile computer controls, and camcorders.

 

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Flexible circuits are often used where flexibility, space savings, or physical production constraints limit the use of rigid circuit boards. Flexible circuits enable PCBs to conform to a desired shape or to flex while in use. PCB manufacturing’s most common use for flexible circuits is the folding cell phone, where the two phone halves are connected by a flexible circuit. In recent years, flexible circuit structures have seen a boost in popularity because of several key advantages over rigid PCBs. Flexible circuits are lighter, softer, and more ductile than rigid PCBs. Unlike more standard sized rigid boards, flexible circuits can be altered to fit the specific space requirements of a product.

 

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PCB Manufacturing and Circuit Types

The type of circuit board you choose should be determined by the type of product you are designing. Hobbyist most often choose rigid boards because of their ease of use and lower price point than flexible circuits. Many newer electronic devices with tighter space and functionality constraints utilize the versatility of flexible circuits over rigid ones. There are dozens of rigid circuit board manufacturers to choose from. Flexible circuit manufacturers are far less numerous than their rigid board counterparts. Consider the choice between rigid and flexible circuits carefully.