An electric circuit board is a key concept in the basics of electronics that is often assigned to the students. The following is an easy step wise electronic tutorial that aims to provide the fundamentals on building a circuit board.
PCB or Printed wiring board is the most common term used. The initial days of making circuit boards consisted of too many tiring procedures that included step by step wiring process. Creating circuits like this often resulted in faulty wire junctions or short circuits when the wires developed cracks. The lines and pads in a PCB connect all the components to each other electrically and the signals and power is routed between the physical devices. Solder, a fusible metal alloy is used as a joining component for the electrical components and the surface of the PCB.
A circuit board is an alternative layer which is joined together. The base substance or substrate used is fibre glass which provides proper structure and toughness to the board. The boards are usually of 1.6mm thickness although there are some others which are also of.8mm thickness. The layer above is a copper foil and its thickness can vary accordingly. And on top of it are the solder mask and the silkscreen layer.
Now that we have an idea of the components in a circuit board, let us take a look at the following electronic circuit tutorial, which talks components required to make a circuit board-
Eye protection and a mask to protect against dust.- Proper ventilation
- Nitrile gloves
- Transparent stock
- A cheap photo frame
- Transparent stock for laser printer
- Drill press
- Xacto knife, ruler, ruler, permanent marker
- Chemicals such as ferric chloride, positive type developer and acetone.
To make a circuit board, there are also some other additional tips which will come in handy. Some of them are listed below.
- Warm developer and etchant which will help speed up the procedure. But do ensure that you keep a track on your board’s progress.
- Before you print, make sure to orient your design.
- Keep the etchant away from the metals you will use.
- Prepare your materials way ahead of time and get a separate place for your conducting of experiment.
- Also, keep the board clear when you are drilling.
Although designing a very advanced circuit board is quite a long task, these tips and a few basic electronic circuit tutorials and points can help one through the initial stages when they are in the process of learning the basics of electronics.
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