-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueEngineering Economics
The real cost to manufacture a PCB encompasses everything that goes into making the product: the materials and other value-added supplies, machine and personnel costs, and most importantly, your quality. A hard look at real costs seems wholly appropriate.
Alternate Metallization Processes
Traditional electroless copper and electroless copper immersion gold have been primary PCB plating methods for decades. But alternative plating metals and processes have been introduced over the past few years as miniaturization and advanced packaging continue to develop.
Technology Roadmaps
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we discuss technology roadmaps and what they mean for our businesses, providing context to the all-important question: What is my company’s technology roadmap?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Rainbow Technology Systems Investing in Fine-Line Technology
June 18, 2018 | Rainbow Technology SystemsEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Rainbow Technology Systems, based in Scotland, recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Throughout this time the company has maintained a focus on investment in the development of chemistry and equipment to enhance the manufacture of fine line circuits. This has seen the introduction to the market of the Rainbow Coating Line and Rainbow Etch Resist, making it possible to efficiently manufacture circuits in finer detail—repeatable sub-50-micron track and gap—in a small production area using minimum energy.
The Rainbow Panda Line enables artworks to be permanently coated with an ultra-thin layer of Rainbow Phototool Protect Coat to deliver significantly increased repeatability of perfect fine line imaging from one phototool.
As demand to include more functionality into ever smaller packaging grows, the challenges for high-yield production of fine line circuits intensify. These include the handling and the processing of materials and parts. Rainbow Technology are committed to being at the cutting edge of fine line production and have added further expertise and experience to their product offerings. Today, the company continues to invest further in fine line technology with the development of the Rainbow Singulation Line. This line receives a copper panel, coats the panel with a UV-curable solvent-free proprietary wet etch resist and laminates the panel with thin mylar ready for imaging with direct image systems including LDI. A horizontal flow enables the process to be installed in-line.
Airborne contamination, along with contamination inherent in materials and material processing, presents continual challenges to meeting yield targets for the manufacture of fine line circuits. In recognition of this, Rainbow Technology have acquired KSM Superclean, a leader in contact cleaning technologies. KSM’s portfolio of products permanently remove surface contamination from a wide range of materials used in critical processes for fine line manufacture to include imaging, laminating, printing and inspection. Since the acquisition, Rainbow Technology have implemented new branding and substantial enhancements to the KSM product range in terms of functionality, efficiency and design—all of which deliver increased value to customers.
David Westwood, sales & marketing manager of Rainbow Technology Systems, said: “With the commercial and technical backing of Rainbow, the KSM Superclean brand is now positioned to be an even greater force in contact cleaning. Our team has decades of experience in this sector on a global basis across many industries. Our product spectrum ranges from the manufacture of custom-made contact cleaning equipment to the supply of the highest quality consumables. We continue to innovate the fundamental characteristics of our products to deliver increased operational efficiencies and performance.”
He added: “Rainbow Technology is enjoying major growth in multiple market sectors across a broad range of products and services. This growth is enabling us to invest further in our program of development for fine line circuit manufacture, and we have some extremely interesting technologies in process. A huge factor in this is being able to call on Rainbow’s extensive in-house expertise in PCB manufacture and chemistry.”
For further information about Rainbow and KSM please click here.
Suggested Items
Fresh PCB Concepts: PCB Design Essentials for Electric Vehicle Charging
11/27/2024 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsElectric vehicles (EVs), powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels, are transforming transportation and reducing environmental impacts. But what good is an EV if it can't be easily charged? In this month's column, Ramon Roche dives into the role of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in electric vehicle charging (EVC)—and the design considerations.
Unlocking Advanced Circuitry Through Liquid Metal Ink
10/31/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamPCB UHDI technologist John Johnson of American Standard Circuits discusses the evolving landscape of electronics manufacturing and the critical role of innovation, specifically liquid metal ink technology, as an alternate process to traditional metallization in PCB fabrication to achieve ever finer features and tighter tolerances. The discussion highlights the benefits of reliability, efficiency, and yields as a tradeoff to any increased cost to run the process. As this technology becomes better understood and accepted, even sought out by customers and designers, John says there is a move toward mainstream incorporation.
Fresh PCB Concepts: The Critical Nature of Copper Thickness on PCBs
10/31/2024 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsPCBs are the backbone of modern electronics and the copper layers within these boards serve as the primary pathways for electrical signals. When designing and manufacturing PCBs, copper thickness is one of the most critical factors and significantly affects the board’s performance and durability. The IPC-6012F specification, the industry standard for the performance and qualification of rigid PCBs, sets clear guidelines on copper thickness to ensure reliability in different environments and applications.
Book Excerpt: The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to... DFM Essentials, Ch. 1
10/25/2024 | I-Connect007The guidelines offered in this book are based on both ASC recommendations and IPC standards with the understanding that some may require adjustment based on the material set, fabricator processes, and other design constraints. This chapter details high-frequency materials, copper foil types, metal core PCBs, and the benefits of embedded capacitance and resistor materials in multilayer PCBs.
The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Direct Metallization
10/21/2024 | Carmichael Gugliotti, MacDermid AlphaCarmichael Gugliotti of MacDermid Alpha discusses the innovative realm of direct metallization technology, its numerous applications, and significant advantages over traditional processes. Carmichael offers an in-depth look at how direct metallization, through developments such as Blackhole and Shadow, is revolutionizing PCB manufacturing by enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. From its origins in the 1980s to its application in cutting-edge, high-density interconnects and its pivotal role in sustainability, this discussion sheds light on how direct metallization shapes the future of PCB manufacturing across various industries, including automotive, consumer electronics, and beyond.