Podcasts
Podcasts
In this podcast series, we’ll be speaking with Matt Stevenson, vice president and general manager at ASC Sunstone, and author of
The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to: Designing for Reality.
Why is a working knowledge of manufacturing helpful? How does it improve manufacturability? We start at the beginning with the role CAD tools play in preparing the design for transfer to manufacturing.
In this podcast series, we’ll be speaking with Matt Stevenson, vice president and general manager at ASC Sunstone, and author of
The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to: Designing for Reality.
In this episode, we begin at the beginning: the design process. Matt Stevenson provides a thoughtful analysis of CAD tool features and data formats intended to give designers feedback on design decisions and transfer designs to manufacturing, respectively. Stevenson then describes what happens when a design file arrives at a PCB fabricator. Knowing what the fab is looking for is critical to sending all of the needed information the first time.
Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get “messy.” Once the CAM preparations are complete, Matt Stevenson explains what happens next. In this episode, Matt Stevenson details the role of materials, stackup considerations, and walks us through what happens in the Imaging process.
Multilayer boards bring along a completely different set of processes. In this installment of “On The Line With…” Matt Stevenson discusses manufacturing techniques for multilayer. Of course, this necessitates a review of drill and registration techniques, followed by the ins and outs of lamination.
Nolan Johnson and Matt Stevenson continue down the manufacturing process, this time focusing on the post-lamination drilling process for PCBs. Matt and Nolan delve into the intricacies of the PCB drilling process, highlighting the importance of hole quality, drill parameters, and design optimization to ensure smooth manufacturing. The conversation covers topics such as drill bit sizes, aspect ratios, vias, challenges in drilling, and ways to enhance efficiency in the drilling department. The discussion also covers the critical relationship between design choices and manufacturing capabilities. Finally, they touch upon the subsequent steps of metalizing the drilled holes through an electrolysis process.
Now it's time to start getting into the chemistry! In this episode, Matt Stevenson describes the first key step in turning design data into physical reality - preparing the circuit board substrate material for fabrication. It's not as straightforward as you might think.
Each circuit board is composed of a one-of-a-kind pattern of metal connections representing the specific design for that circuit. So, how do those unique features get mapped onto the board? Find out in this episode as Matt Stevenson paints a picture of the outer layer imaging process.
This is where fabrication gets wild—pattern plate. All the prep work has set up the board to receive the copper traces, pads, and other elements as specified by the designers in the original CAD design. Here, Matt Stevenson describes not only the process but many of the constraints in the chemistries that must be managed to deliver the customer's exacting manufacturing tolerances.
At this stage in the process, we have a panel comprised of all the internal layers laminated together, through-holes are drilled, and the outer layer copper features have been covered with a protective layer of tin. Join us as Matt Stevenson walks us through the process sequence for outer layer strip, etch, and strip.
By this point, we have a functioning PCB, but there is still more to do in order to keep the board safe from environmental effects, and also document the circuit components. In this episode, we cover the topics solder mask and silkscreen.
Nearly finished, phase two of the wrap-up is to apply surface finish to protect that copper from oxidation and to facilitate soldering the components to the board.
The panel full of circuit boards has completed the manufacturing process. We end this journey by routing the panel into individual boards, performing a final inspection, and packaging for shipment.