PCB Solder Mask Color Options and What They Cost More Than a Paint Job Solder mask is a photoimageable epoxy coating that sits over the copper, opening only at the pads. It stops solder from bridging between adjacent pads, keeps the copper from oxidising, raises surface insulation resistance and protects…

PCB Board to Board Connector Alignment: Lining Two Boards Up Electronics manufacturing has become a discipline of small details. Solder paste volumes, placement accuracy, temperature profiles and inspection limits all add up to the final result. This guide looks at PCB board to board connector alignment from the perspective of…

PCB Plating Thickness Guide: Copper, Nickel and Gold Three Metals, Three Jobs Plating thickness is one of the few numbers on a fabrication drawing that reaches into electrical performance, mechanical life and cost at the same time. Copper carries current and holds the barrel together, nickel stops copper from diffusing…

PCB Wire Harness Strain Relief: Taking the Pull Off the Joint Modern electronics depend on boards that are assembled correctly the first time. Every product – a phone, a charger, a medical instrument or an industrial controller – relies on thousands of solder joints that must conduct current for years.…

Impedance Discontinuity in PCB Manufacturing: Causes and Fixes What an Impedance Discontinuity Really Is Every high speed net carries a target impedance: 50 or 75 ohm single ended for most RF and clock nets, 90 ohm for USB, 100 ohm for PCIe, HDMI and differential pairs, 120 ohm for some…

PCB Keying and Polarization: Making the Plug Fit One Way Electronics manufacturing has become a discipline of small details. Solder paste volumes, placement accuracy, temperature profiles and inspection limits all add up to the final result. This guide looks at PCB keying and polarization from the perspective of a PCBA…

PCB Connector Pin Assignment: Giving Every Pin a Job Modern electronics depend on boards that are assembled correctly the first time. Every product – a phone, a charger, a medical instrument or an industrial controller – relies on thousands of solder joints that must conduct current for years. This article…

PCB Manufacturing Cost Per Board: Quantity, Layers and Charges The Number Everyone Wants and Nobody Can Give Simply Cost per board is the question every project starts with, and it is impossible to answer without three other numbers: the layer count, the material, and the quantity. The same board can…

PCB Hot Swap Circuit Design: Plugging In Without a Spark Modern electronics depend on boards that are assembled correctly the first time. Every product – a phone, a charger, a medical instrument or an industrial controller – relies on thousands of solder joints that must conduct current for years. This…

Low Volume PCB Manufacturing: 10 to 500 Boards The Middle Ground Between Prototype and Mass Production Volume manufacturing rewards predictability: a fixed design, a large order and a long lead time. Prototyping rewards speed. Neither suits a product that is still being refined, or a market that does not yet…