Types of Printed Circuit Board

Printed circuit boards are considered as the backbone of the majority of the electrical devices out there. Without a circuit board, none of these electrical devices can turn on. Mainly PCBs come in green colour, but you can get them in any colour that you want.

Recently, many advancements are made in the sector of technology. Various types of circuit boards are developing over time. The most common type of circuit board nowadays is the Blank PCBs.

Details regarding Blank PCBs and other types of circuit boards will be mentioned below in this article.

There are several types of circuit boards available in the market.

Blank PCBs or empty PCBs is one of the most versatile types of circuit board available in the market. It comes in several sizes like medium, large and small. These circuit boards do not contain any components or wires. You can shop on websites like Amazon, Ali express, eBay and others for empty PCBs.

The components of single sided PCBs are attached to one side of the board and, the wiring on the other side. Single sided PCBs are common because these consist of simple components and are easy to manufacture. The usage of these types of boards is in the electrical industry. In the electrical field, the single sided printed board is used in cameras, printers, communication mediums and several other products.

There are various advantages of single sided PCBs.

• The single sided PCB board are manufactured at low costs because they do not have fancy designs. Due to their production cost, these boards have a low price tag and attract lots of customers.
• Single sided PCB board do not have complicated structures. Due to this reason, few problems occur in these single sided PCBs. Because of a low error percentage, companies’ manufacture single sided printed boards in high quantities and at a rapid pace.
• You are not required to contact the manufacturer for the development of a single sided printed circuit board. You can visit any electrical shop and find these.
• Because their simple design, you can repair any error that occurs inside this type of circuit board.

It is one of the most effective types of circuit boards available in the market. A double sided PCB board is quite similar to the single sided Printed circuit boards in many aspects. A two sided PCB contains two layers. On these layers, you can add the copper wiring and, the other components on both sides of this circuit board. Due to this, the traces of a double sided PCB board can intersect each other. A two sided PCB is a high-density PCB and, it does not require precise soldering on it. Double sided PCB mostly consists of complex structures. But some Double sided PCBs do have simple designs. Because of their complex designs, it becomes difficult to manufacture and is only made by specific companies.

Double sided PCBs are a popular type of circuit board because the complex designs increase its versatility. Addition of Latest technological components can be done. But because of the addition of high tech components, prices of this circuit board tend to increase. This attracts a small audience towards a double sided printed circuit board.

A double sided circuit board usage is done in the lighting sector, within amplifiers and dashboards of cars. It also used for the operations of a vending machine.

Some benefits of double sided PCBs outweigh the cons of it.

• An advantage of a double sided printed circuit board is it provides an extra layer. On this layer, you can add several electrical components that help to increase the effectiveness of a circuit board.
• Because of the addition of more advanced electrical components, a double sided circuit board could be used for the development of several electronic devices for the future.
• A double sided circuit board might be expensive to purchase, but it is durable and lasts for a long time. Also, both of its layers can be used at the same time. This a makes a double sided circuit board much cheaper than a pack of single sided circuit boards.

These are types of circuit boards that are used in the production of electrical devices. A multi layer printed circuit board consists of a combination of a double sided circuit board and a single sided circuit board. It contains at least three layers. The area of wiring is more in a multi layer printed circuit board as compared with a double sided circuit board. An insulating material is between the layers of a multi-layer printed circuit board for providing durability to it. A multi-layer PCB design is quite flexible as you can add more than 100 layers in this circuit board. Generally, people do not add more than 12 layers in a multi layer PCB design because this number of layers provides the maximum effectiveness.

Multilayer PCBs is used in several departments that are related to computer and technology. These types of circuit boards are used for file servers, data storage, communication mediums and some other electrical devices.

A multi-layer circuit board usage is in the medical field. These types of circuit boards exists in the production of X-ray machines, Heart monitors, CT- scan equipment and several other products.

Like single sided and double sided printed circuit boards, a Multi-layer PCB contains many benefits.

• Multi-layer PCBs might contain lots of layers. But the size of this circuit board is small as compared with other PCBs. Due to this reason, a multi-layer PCB is placed in powerful products like smartphones, computers and others.
• Due to the small size of Multilayer PCBs, these are lightweight.
• Multilayer PCBs have more complex designs than double sided circuit boards. Due to this reason, the high quality of the material is used in the production of a multi-layer PCB. The material enhances the durability of a multi-layer PCB and lets it to last for a long time.
• A benefit of multi-layer PCBs is that its design contain only one connection point. This provides benefit to those manufactures of products, who would include a multi-layer PCB in their device. These manufactures would now only need to make one point of connection in their device, this move would save the manufactures lots of money.

These types of circuit boards are increasing in popularity at a rapid pace. In an HDI PCB design, there are wires known as blind vias. These wires are thin in length (.006 or lower in diameter). Due to the thin wires, the HDI circuit board is of higher density as compared with other types of circuit boards.

Six types of HDI PCB designs are known till now. One contains the Vias that is buried within its structure. One’s Vias goes through its structure. One HDI circuit board contains Vias, which goes through 2 or more layers. One type of HDI circuit board contains no connections at all. There is another type of HDI circuit boards that do not have any core between its layers.

An HDI circuit board contains some advantages.

• HDI circuit boards are the king of versatility. HDI PCB manufacturer produces boards that have ample space, are lightweight and can power high-end electrical components.
• Because of the Vias, they tend to receive signals easily. The signals of an HDI Circuit board rarely dropdown.
• Stacks of Vias are placed by an HDI PCB manufacturer inside this circuit board. This help to improve its durability.
• Because it can consist of various layers, it proves to be cost-effective in the long run.

These types of circuit boards consist of a PCB, which cannot be twisted or turned in any way. The reason is that a material named “FR4” is placed along with the components of Rigid PCBs. This material provides rigidity to the structure of Rigid PCBs and drops down its flexibility.

The main product in which Rigid PCBs is used is the Computer motherboard.

There are several advantages to purchasing a rigid PCB.

• A Rigid Printed Circuit board is cheaper to produce and buy than a flexible PCB. The reason is that a flexible PCB contains several expensive materials for its flexibility.
• As a Rigid Printed Circuit board cannot be twisted or turned in any way, this makes its one of the most durable types of circuit boards available.
• The materials used in a Rigid PCB are of the highest quality.
• A rigid PCB is bought through any electrical store as it is high in demand because of its key features and low price.

Rigid Flex PCBs

These types of circuit boards are developed to act as an alternative for Rigid PCBs. Rigid Flex PCBs are a combination of both RIGID PCBs and flexible PCBs. Thus Rigid Flex PCBs reflects the benefits of both of these types. Rigid Flex PCBs contains many flexible layers, which are connected to rigid boards.

Some advantages of a Rigid flex circuit board are mentioned below

• A Rigid flex circuit board would provide you flexibility and, the durability of a rigid PCB in the same package.
• Huge spaces are provided in a Rigid flex PCB design. But the production cost of a rigid flex PCB is low.
• Because of the compact size of a Rigid flex PCB design, the components are held tightly together. It provides better stability to the circuit board.

These are types of circuit boards that can be turned and twisted in any way. Multiple components are connected on a single layer of Flexible PCBs. Special chemicals are applied on Flexible PCBs that held components together and provides the circuit flexibility.

Flexible PCBs are becoming popular in demand in the tech industry. Flexible printed circuit board are being used in wearables, automotive, aerospace and other products.

Flexible printed circuit board consists of several advantages.

• Flexible circuit board only need 10% of the total space of a regular circuit board. Due to this, the production cost of a Flexible circuit board is usually low. This factor attracts an audience towards this product, due to which the manufacturing is done in huge batches.
• There are fewer interconnections in a Flexible circuit board than there are in any other circuit board out there. Due to this reason, it is said that a flexible PCB is quite durable.
• Several types of components or connectors are attached to a flexible PCB. A flexible circuit works well in areas, which have high temperatures.

These types of circuit boards are developed for the lighting sector. LED PCB assembly is simple as it consists of 1 or more connectors. During the LED PCB assembly, the majority area of this board is filled with LEDs. LED is a light-emitting diode and is also a semiconductor.

LED PCBs is used in the Technology sector and the lighting industry.

There are some advantages to LED PCBs.

• LED PCB board are compact in size and are light in weight.
• These can operate in areas, which have high temperatures.
• Due to their size and weight, the production cost of a LED printed circuit board is low.
• LED PCB board come in different colours, shapes and sizes.
• Custom PCBs

You can get a Custom circuit board made for yourself. All you are required to do is to contact a manufacturer of custom PCBs. The manufacturer would ask you to write down your requirements for a custom circuit board. You will be allowed to choose how many layers your Custom PCBs can have. You can choose the colour of a custom PCB board. The manufacture would even allow you to design a layout for custom PCBs.

Once all of your requirements are noted, the manufacturer would give you a date. On this date, you will receive the shipment of a custom PCB board.

Any circuit board plays an important in the operation of several electrical products. Many types of circuit boards have been mentioned above in the article. Choose the one, which fulfils your requirements.