PCB Routing Techniques That Improve Manufacturability A layout can be electrically correct and still be difficult to build. Manufacturability problems do not show up in a simulation, and they do not show up on the bench prototype, because the prototype was made with extra care. They show up in production,…

EMC Design Techniques for PCB Layout Electromagnetic compatibility is usually treated as a test that happens at the end, when the board is finished and the enclosure is closed. By then most of the outcome has already been decided, because emissions and immunity are properties of the layout, and the…

Perfboard Soldering: Tools, Five Steps and Good Joints Perfboard, also called dot matrix board or protoboard, is a sheet covered with pads on a standard 2.54 mm pitch that lets a circuit be assembled by inserting components and wiring them point to point. Compared with ordering a fabricated board, it…

Common PCB Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them The electronics industry moves quickly, and the pressure to release a board early is one of the reasons design errors survive into production. Most of the common PCB design mistakes described here are not subtle. They are the ones that look…

PCB Cavity in Multilayer Board: Practical Process Controls 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 cavity in multilayer board from the perspective of a PCBA factory…

PCB Buried Resistor Process: Practical Process Controls 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 explains PCB…

PCB Embedded Capacitance Material: Power and Ground Close Together 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…

High Current Path Planning on a PCB: Routing Strategy When a board has to deliver tens of amperes, the usual assumption that a trace is just a connection stops being adequate. A high current path has resistance, it produces heat, and the heat changes the resistance, so the design has…

PCB Copper Coin Insertion: Design, Process, and Quality Notes 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 Metal Core Board Insulation: What Buyers and Engineers Should Check 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 metal core board insulation from the perspective of…