A Printed Circuit Board, abbreviated as PCB, is a board of electronic components arranged to form an electronic circuit or a circuit place that connects electronic components without using cables. It is called a circuit board because it is mass-produced by printing.
Three types of PCBs are often used namely single side, double-sided, and multi-layer. A single side means that the PCB board only has one side coated with copper plates. The double side means that the PCB board has two sides covered with copper plates and the fiber layer is between the two copper layers so that it can create a path on the upper and lower layers. The multi-layer consists of several layers of copper which are conductors arranged alternately.
PCB Manufacturing Process
In PCB manufacturing there will be several stages which will then end in the design of the manufacturer which becomes the product. Each of these stages requires specific software. Among them are CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering), CAD (Computer-Aided Design), and CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing).
- CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering)
CAE or Computer-Aided Engineering is a technology to calculate the characteristics of a product or part of a product with the help of a computer. In designing a product, it is also necessary to know the characteristics of the designed product both mechanically, dynamically, and thermally, and other characteristics by analyzing the design product.
The first step in the PCB design stage is to create a schematic circuit from the PCB. Then in the process, we will draw the circuit, place the electronic symbols and connect them between the terminals of the symbols concerned. Of course, this process will require a schematic and the form of the component footprints stored in the form of a library file.
- CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) CAM
Is technology for planning, controlling, and controlling the manufacture of products with the help of computers. The CAM system covers areas of expertise such as CAPP (Computer Aided Process Planning or computer-assisted job preparation), NC (Numeric Control) programming and robot programming, creation of work instructions, material planning and provision of cutting tools and clamping tools, and includes also FMS (computer system for flexible control of production systems). One of the most developed parts of CAM is NC. This is a technique of using programmed instructions to control a machine tool that grinds, cuts, mills, bends, perforates, or converts raw materials into finished goods. Several NC instructions are based on geometric data from the CAD database, plus additional operator information.
- CAD (Computer-Aided Design)
Computer-Aided Design or abbreviated CAD is a computer program software used to draw a product or part of a product in the form of 2D. This function is to change the electronic circuit that has been created on the CAE to the physical form of the components and PCB paths. This stage is the advanced stage of the netlist and component list so this stage is the process of designing a PCB layout. What will be done later, such as creating or connecting related paths, making layout size settings, placing components, and other design activities. A design check is also a tool that has been provided by each software, namely the DRC tool.
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