A Brief Look At PCB Design Services

By Andrea Davidson


Everywhere that a person looks they are confronted by a device which uses electrical power. Most will contain electronic components, but not many people will be aware how these components interact to produce a desired result. Businesses know what they want a product to do, and the smarter businesses will make use of specialist PCB design services.

Many firms utilise these specialist firms for a variety of reasons. The main one being that it means that they do not have the need to set up their own such department. These firms deal with such tasks daily and have their own team of specialists and technicians.

An initial consultation will take place with the company. This is to find out exactly what they want their product to do, and how they wish to achieve it. At this point the available space can be measured. This can have as much of a bearing on things as the product requirement.

When confronted by space, or weight, limitations often the solution is to use something known as a surface mount printed circuit board. All this means is that the components are fixed directly onto the surface of one of these boards. They can utilise just one side of the board or both should the need arise. With the components being smaller, a smaller board can be made and so weight is also kept to a minimum.

Another common form of Circuit board is called a through board. These are often bigger, as the components themselves are larger. The body of the electronic component is on one side of the board, the component legs are passed through the board, and soldered to the metal tracks on the opposing side. These types will need more room, and are a little heavier.

As mentioned earlier the dimensions that the populated circuit board has to fit into are very important. This effectively limits the size of the board that the specialists have to work with. They will begin to devise the circuit plan, one important factor being how will the required power get to this newly designed circuit.

As the through hole board is the most likely type people will see, this will be used as an example. The first thing is to decide how power will get to it. Some will use wiring direct to the board, others will be plugged into receptacles or sockets. The power can now be conducted along those metal tracks. When it comes to a component leg the power will travel up that and operate the electronic component.

This might reduce the voltage so that it is safe to operate an integrated circuit further on in the circuit design. It might open or close a relay to allow power to halt or to flow elsewhere. It might need to build up to a certain level before it can be released. The field of electronics can be quite complex at times.

As a consequence a lot of businesses do use specific firms who offer PCB design services for this reason. They are fully aware of how these components can be used to their full potential. Not only will they come up with a circuit which fulfills the client's wishes, but it will also be a cost effective as they can make it.




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