Printed circuit boards in industry

The importance of the design and assembly of printed circuit boards is key in the life of an electronic device, so much so that any error can lead to future problems for our customers. That is why, from Fadesa Ingenieros, specialists in electronics, we recommend companies to generate designs by professionals specialized in the field. In this way, the subsequent assembly of the electronic boards will be more efficient, agile and productive.

What is a printed circuit

A printed circuit board is a support of insulating material where points of an electrical circuit are connected to each other by means of conductive tracks attached to it. The printed circuit usually serves as a physical support for the placement and soldering of components.

In recent years , the size of electronic components has been reduced considerably, which implies smaller pin spacing for high-density integrated circuits. Taking also into consideration the current operating frequencies of the devices, it is necessary a very good precision in the printing process of the board in order to guarantee minimum tolerances. In order not to go into too much detail in this blog, we recommend you to read the following blog, where the information is extended: printed circuits.

What is a printed circuit board used for?

The printed circuit board is mainly used to connect electrically, through the conductive tracks, and to support mechanically, through the base, a set of electronic components.

The set of electrical elements connected together, in printed circuits, allow the generation, transport and use of electrical energy in order to transform it into other types of energy, such as heat energy (stove), light energy (light bulb) or mechanical energy (motor). It is an indispensable element in the electronic devices with which we coexist on a daily basis.

All electronic devices that we can see have a printed circuit inside.

Design and Development

The Engineering team for the Design and Development of electronic control equipment encompasses a broad scope of disciplines including electronic design, hardware, software and production procedures.

Key capabilities for design include:

• Design of digital and analog electronic circuits.
• Schematic and PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Design
• Microprocessor firmware design
• Design of the self-verification, adjustment and start-up procedure.
• Industrial Electronic Design

What types of printed circuit boards exist

Depending on the process of obtaining the leads we will have:

• Normal plate: the track is drawn directly on the copper. We can draw with an indelible marker, or by means of suitable stickers.
• Photosensitive plate: they have a varnish that is sensitive to light, which is impressed by means of an insolator or any other suitable light source.

Depending on the faces and layers used:

• Single-sided boards: have conductive tracks on one side only (solder side) and components on the other side (component side). The components are connected only on the solder side.
• Double-sided plates: these are those tracks that are conductive on both sides and the interconnection between the tracks on different sides is made by means of metallized holes. These holes are called Vias.
• Multilayer plates: they aremade up of several double-sided plates with metallized holes and pressed to obtain a compact unit.

The high degree of complexity and space minimization of printed circuit boards are the reasons why multilayer circuits are used. These boards can have from 4 to 48 sides, or even more, depending on the functions and technology required.

The importance of printed circuit boards in industry

Printed circuit boards have become the driving force of most companies, being placed inside everyday electronic devices.

In the age of technology in which we find ourselves, the role of printed circuit boards is essential for many of the functions we do every day. We have a plethora of devices that allow us to do tasks more conveniently and easily, and all of them work with a printed circuit board.

Printed circuits in home automation

Technological evolution is allowing devices in the home automation sector to become smaller and smaller. One of the reasons is that PCBs are allowing it, so we reduce its size to optimize the maximum space of the device.

One of the biggest challenges for companies is to find a partner for the design and assembly of printed circuit boards, such as Fadesa Ingenieros, where we advise our customers and help them to choose the highest quality and/or components according to the life cycle of the electronic product they want to achieve.

The future is technology and the growth in new knowledge will allow us to be a protagonist in the digital evolution that both companies and consumers are experiencing. Research into new materials for the application of printed circuit boards in different products is helping to improve results in terms of product efficiency and effectiveness.

Integral solutions for the industry

Throughout the company’s history, we have developed and/or manufactured more than 150 products in most industrial sectors. The following are some examples:

• Point of Sale Terminals (Office Automation)
• Paper shredders (Office automation)
• Barcode and magnetic card readers (Identification)
• Time and attendance terminals (Identification)
• Telephone Call Discriminators and Limiters (Telephony)
• Line protectors (Telephony)
• Analog telephone exchanges (Telephony)
• Vacuum packaging machines (Packaging)
• Data terminal for automatons (Industry)
• Intelligent spotlights (Spectacular lighting)
• Data Converters (Communications and Telematics)
• Explosion engine testers (Automotive)
• Control cards Readers for parking (Parking)
• Positioning lights (Lighting)
• Control of safes (Security)