Monday 21 October 2013

Why You Should Use Professional PCB Design Services

By Catalina Nielsen


In today's modern world have you ever noticed just how many different electronic devices you use in a day. Some are bigger than others, but they are all created to make life much easier. Maybe you have previously opened one up and have seen all of those odd looking components soldered to a board. In which case you might have been slightly confused with what they all do, some businesses are the same and so they use PCB design services.

For those who might not know those 3 initials mean printed circuit board, and when you look at one it is easy to understand why, when designing them, it is always preferable to utilize professional bodies. On its own the board is of a simple laminate structure, and will be available in a range of sizes and thicknesses. The size is determined by where it is due to fit in the equipment.

When the designers are aware of what size they will be limited to they can begin to make a template. By using a template they can take the position of the board's securing holes into account. Something else that these designers will be looking at is the closest point that they can obtain the required power to work the circuitry.

There are two basic forms of circuit boards, one is known as surface mount and the other is known as through board. Components on the surface mount type board are much smaller, and therefore more components can be placed in a limited area if the electronic application is more complicated. As they are smaller they also weigh less which might be beneficial if weight is a factor.

The through board is probably the most common form of circuit board that a person will come across. On there the components have metal legs which are passed through the board. The legs are the soldered to metal tracks which cross the reverse side of this circuit board. These metal tracks are there to direct the power to set points.

With the type of board selected the designer can now get down to the business of actually planning the circuit. The designer will have been briefed by the client and they are now totally aware of what the product should do. Two diagrams are produced alongside each other, these are a wiring diagram and a schematic diagram.

When everything has been worked out to satisfaction a prototype can be constructed. The schematic diagram is printed on the side of the board without the metal tracks. This enables the technician to know which component is meant to be positioned where. Once the board is fully assembled it can then be tested to ensure that it works as required.

It can be a time consuming process, which really benefits from a professional approach. This is why many businesses utilize PCB design services rather than try to come up with a solution from within the firm. So the next time that you change your TV channel with your remote controller you will have a bit more insight into the process which enabled it to operate as it does.




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