Switching Power Supply PCB: Design Guide and Best Practices Switch mode conversion has displaced linear regulation in almost every application above a few watts, because the efficiency gain translates directly into smaller heatsinks, smaller enclosures and longer run time from a battery. The price of that efficiency is a far…

Blind Via PCB in Automotive Electronics: Design and Cost Automotive electronics keeps getting more capable in a smaller volume, and the board has to keep up. Blind via PCB construction is one of the techniques that makes that possible: it allows a signal to move between layers without occupying the…

Custom Mechanical Keyboard PCB: Design and Assembly A custom mechanical keyboard PCB is what separates a kit from a product. It connects the switches, the microcontroller, and the lighting, and it decides which layouts are possible, whether switches can be changed without a soldering iron, and how deeply the keyboard…

PCB Via Stub Tuning: A Practical Review for Manufacturing Teams 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 via stub tuning from the perspective of a PCBA…

PCB Load Switch Inrush Control: What Matters on the Production Line 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 load switch inrush control from the perspective of…

PCB Edge Rate Control: A Practical Review for Manufacturing Teams 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 edge rate control from the perspective of a PCBA…

Flexible PCB Coverlay: Materials, Openings and Defects A coverlay is the flexible circuit equivalent of solder mask, but it does much more than a mask. It is a laminated layer of polyimide with an adhesive that is pressed over the finished conductors, protecting them from contamination and mechanical damage, defining…

PCB Prototype Pricing: What Drives the Cost of a Sample Order A prototype order is small, and that is the whole problem. Fabrication is organised around panels, chemical lines and machines that cost the same to start whether one board or a thousand comes out of them, so a sample…

PCBA Conformal Coating: Types, Methods and Standards Coating an assembled board is the step that turns a working circuit into a product that survives its environment. It is applied after soldering, so it protects components and joints rather than bare laminate, and the choice of material determines not only how…

PCB Copper Weight: 1 oz, 2 oz and 3 oz Compared PCB copper weight is one of the few board specifications that affects electrical performance, thermal behaviour, mechanical durability and price at the same time. It is also frequently specified by habit rather than by calculation, which is why some…