As an integral part of all electronic devices, the world’s most popular technologies require perfect PCB design. However, the process itself is sometimes anything but. Sophisticated and complex, errors often occur during the PCB design process. As board rework can lead to production delays, here are three common PCB errors to look out for in order to avoid functional errors.
I. Landing mode
Although most PCB design software includes a library of General Electric components, their associated schematic symbols and landing patterns, some boards will require designers to draw them manually. If the error is less than half a millimetre, the engineer must be very strict to ensure proper spacing between pads. Mistakes made during this production phase will make soldering difficult or impossible. The necessary rework will result in costly delays.
II. Use of blind/buried holes
In a market that is now accustomed to devices using IoT, smaller and smaller products continue to have the greatest impact. When smaller devices require smaller PCBs, many engineers choose to utilise blind and buried through-holes to reduce the footprint of the board to connect internal and external layers. While effective in reducing the size of a PCB, through-holes reduce the amount of wiring space and can become complex as the number of additions increases, making some boards expensive and impossible to manufacture.
III. Alignment width
In order to keep the board size small and compact, engineers aim to make the alignment as narrow as possible. There are many variables involved in determining the PCB alignment width, which makes it difficult, so a thorough knowledge of how many milliamps will be required is necessary. In most cases, a minimum width requirement will not be sufficient. We recommend using a width calculator to determine the appropriate thickness and to ensure design accuracy.
Recognising these errors before they affect the overall functionality of the board is a good way to avoid costly production delays.
Post time: Mar-22-2022