Information on PCB's

[Badar]

There are a lot of types of PCB's but i know about a few of them.
I don't know even the exact names and purposes of them.
Now i want some references about them and want to know what exactly a certain PCB for.And what is it's name.If i am buying them how will i demonstrate them

 

[Optikon]

There are a lot of types of PCB's but i know about a few of them.
I don't know even the exact names and purposes of them.
Now i want some references about them and want to know what exactly a certain PCB for.And what is it's name.If i am buying them how will i demonstrate them

You need to be more clear about what you are asking.

The names and purposes of them? Are you refering to the dielectric material used such as FR4, FR2, Rogers 3000, Rogers 4000, Teflon, Arlon, Getek/PPO etc...?

Most of the material variations are tradeoffs between cost, material property stability, flexibility & safety.

Some are good for low cost - but might catch fire.
Others are very expensive but are excellent for designing GHz circuits.
Others are middle of the road cost wise but have varying material properties like dielectric constant (er) on a per PCB basis.

If you want to demonstrate the properties, you need identical circuits built on each type and show how performance improves/suffers.

 

[RadioRon]

Here's a link for your reading enjoyment:

**broken link removed**


The best way to learn about the different characteristics of copper-clad laminates is to review data sheets and application notes from the websites of their manufacturers. There are many, including DuPont, Rogers, Getek, Toray to name just a few of the many hundreds around the world.

 

[Badar]

You need to be more clear about what you are asking.

The names and purposes of them? Are you refering to the dielectric material used such as FR4, FR2, Rogers 3000, Rogers 4000, Teflon, Arlon, Getek/PPO etc...?

I have seen and used PCB's on which copper is coated.Even don't know how much copper.
Here in my town if i go to a local shop to buy a PCB, all i need to do is to tell the shopkeeper the size and he'll give me the PCB.I haven't seen any other type of PCB here in market.Shopkeepers don't know for what circuits this PCB's are suitable and for what circuits are not.
I am not very much clear about the dielectric difference.
So i just asked you to gimme some if not all examples, use, names of PCB's

 

[Papabravo]

FR4 is fiberglass bonded with an epoxy resin. The copper cladding is specified as a certain weight per unit of area. This weight per unit area implies the thickness of the copper coating. In English units we have
1 oz., 2 oz., and 3 oz. copper. These are suitable for most general purpose applications at low to medium frequencies and power levels. In countries which use the metric system I don't know how the amount of copper is specified. It's got to be newtons or dynes since those are the SI units for the MKS and cgs systems.

The dielectric constant of the material comes into play if you are designing RF and microwave circuits with striplines.

That's about the limit of what I know.

 

[Optikon]

I have seen and used PCB's on which copper is coated.Even don't know how much copper.
Here in my town if i go to a local shop to buy a PCB, all i need to do is to tell the shopkeeper the size and he'll give me the PCB.I haven't seen any other type of PCB here in market.Shopkeepers don't know for what circuits this PCB's are suitable and for what circuits are not.
I am not very much clear about the dielectric difference.
So i just asked you to gimme some if not all examples, use, names of PCB's

Well, things are a little more sophisticated here in the U.S. I use quality board houses where I absolutely have to specify the material, copper thickness, stackup etc... and most board houses are competent in knowing what kind of materials can produce stable dielectric constants etc..

A PCB is a stackup of core material that is etched and glued together with a prepreg. It is not really worded correctly to say the "name" of a PCB. Rather, you must be talking about the "name" of the dielectric material used.

If you can get the names of the materials, you can do your own research on why they might be used. I only know of a few examples since I mostly use FR4 (as do many people - very common)

Your shopkeeper may only stock ONE type and so if you use this guy, that's all you can get.

 

[HarveyH42]

For the vast majority of hobby projects, the PCB specs aren't much of a consideration. Most of us stick to making single-sided designs, occasionally struggle with a two-sided board. Anything more complicated is usually sent out to be made. Its no fun drilling a hundred or so holes.
I only look for two things when I'm shoping for copper board, 1 ounce copper, and thin enough to run through the laminator. The light copper doesn't take abuse well, so need to get the soldering right the first time.

 

[gramo]

If your looking for a generic pcb protoboard, I've found these to be very handy;

**broken link removed**


Available from www.futurlec.com for $1.50

 

[Sceadwian]

I picked up a few boards like this (don't have em yet, see my ***** thread about futurelec in the ****-chat forum), they're nice because you can take your design straight from a breadboard and wire it up on one of these things in minimal time.

 

[Ambient]

Harvey get a dremel drill press. I did approx 230 holes in 6 minutes the other day.

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83453

 

[gramo]

I don’t know what the equivalent is in the US, but go to a generic hardware superstore (the cheap type), and you can pick up a mini-drill press cheap as. In Australia they are around $50-60. If you brought the dremel drill press and accessories shown above, it would be much more than that

 

[3v0]

I use this to drill holes. They list for $70 but can be found on sale for $35 or $40. There are 2 very similar units be sure to get the [FONT=arial, sans-serif]38119-3VGA. The other is not as well made.

Although the max speed is [/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]3100 I am able to use carbide bits without breaking. I only drilled a few boards with it prior to switching to a CNC machine. [/FONT]
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**broken link removed**
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