What is a PCB Prototype?

PCB prototype refers to the trial production of printed circuit boards before mass production. After the electronic engineer completes the PCB circuit design, the process of small batch trial production to the PCB factory is the so-called “PCB prototyping”

The printed circuit board (PCB) is the foundation of every electronic device in the world today. The versatility of high-tech products determines the complexity and high performance of the PCB.

The PCB prototype is an indispensable step before a new product enters mass production. The PCB prototype can correct design defects and improve design performance at a lower cost and faster speed. In addition, it helps to avoid more problems and reduce risks in mass production. Below JHD will walk you through everything you need to know about PCB prototyping.

What Does PCB Testing Check?

The purpose ofPCB testing and inspection is to check whether the PCB conforms to standard printed circuit board performance. Ensure that all PCB manufacturing processes are functioning properly to project specifications and are free of any defects.
A PCB consists of different components and assemblies, each of which affects the overall function of an printed circuit board. These elements are analysed in detail to keep PCB quality well. The test content to be performed should include the following checks:

• Lamination: Lamination quality is critical to the longevity of a PCB. Peeling laminate can directly cause problems with board functionality. Typically, lamination tests are used to test the resistance of laminates to peeling by force or heat;
• Pore Wall Quality: Pore walls are typically analyzed in environments with cycling and rapid temperature changes to understand how they respond to thermal effects. Make sure that the hole walls do not crack or delaminate when the PCB is put into service.
• Copper Plating: The copper foil on the PCB is attached to the PCB board to support conductivity. Test the quality of copper, detailed analysis of tensile strength and elongation.
• Cleanliness: The cleanliness of a PCB is a measure of the board’s ability to withstand environmental factors such as weatherability, corrosion and humidity.
• Solderability: Materials are tested for solderability to make sure that components can be fixed stably to the board and prevent soldering defects in the final product.
• Electrical Testing: Conductivity is essential to any PCB, and the ability to measure the minimum leakage current of a PCB is essential. For detailed electrical testing content and methods, please refer to “Comprehensive Understanding Of PCB E-Testing“.
• Cleanliness: The cleanliness of a PCB is a test of the board’s ability to resist environmental factors such as corrosion and humidity.
• Environmental Testing: This is a performance and quality change test for the PCB to run in a humid environment. A weight comparison is usually made before and after placing the PCB in a wet environment, and a significant weight change is considered a rejection.

What Is A Flexible PCB?

As the name suggests, flex circuits is a bendable PCB, which is used in some products that require a PCB that can be bent. Similar to the structure of rigid PCB, the flexible board uses a layer of PI (Polyimide) with high temperature resistance and good dielectric layer as the base material, and then uses the adhesive layer of Epoxy to bond the copper foil layer on the top layer. If it is a double sided flexible PCB, the upper and bottom layers of copper foil need to be bonded.
For more PCB substrate properties, please refer to “Introduction To The Material Properties Of PCB CCL”