Theories of PCB artwork

Printed Circuit Boards (PCB)

Printed circuit boards (PCB's) are laminates. This means that they are made from two
or more sheets of material stuck together; often copper and fibreglass.

Unwanted areas of the copper are etched away to form conductive lands or tracks
which replace the wires carrying the electric currents in other forms of construction.

Some parts of the side with copper tracks is coated with solder resist (usually green in
colour) to prevent solder sticking to those areas where it is not required. This avoids
unwanted solder bridges between tracks.
Sometimes the boards are double-sided with copper tracks on both sides. Tracks on
one side can be joined to tracks on the other by means of wire links. Plated through
holes are available which do the same thing but these make the PCB more expensive.

Components are stuffed into the board by hand or by pick and place machines.
Soldering is done by hand or by flow wave soldering where the PCB passes over a wave
of molten solder.
Most recent PCB's use surface mount techniques where components are on the same
side of the board as the tracks. Components are stuck to the board with adhesive and
the solder caused to flow by heating the board in a hot gas or by some other
technique.
When fitting components ensure that they are orientated correctly and lay flat on the
board unless otherwise stated.
When the board is assembled avoid flexing it which may crack tracks.

Avoid touching the board which may cause contamination due to dirty fingers or
damage due to static electricity carried on your body.
It is best to handle PCB's by holding them by two edges only, between thumb and
forefinger.

Parts of a Circuit Board

Board
o The boards are commonly 1.6 millimeters thick and made of a variety of
materials. Older boards have a brown color that comes from phenolic resin and
 paper. Better quality boards have a green, red, or blue color from epoxy and
glass fiber. The material must stand up to mechanical, electrical, and thermal
stresses from years of use. It must also be easy to cut and drill.

Traces

o Copper Traces Detail

A copper foil is glued to at least one side of the board. During manufacture,
the copper surface is printed with a pattern and exposed parts chemically
etched away, leaving thin conductive lines called traces. They're the circuit
board's wiring. Components are soldered to the copper traces to form electronic
circuits. Depending on their shape and size, traces can also serve as miniature
antennas, heat sinks, or connectors.

Components

o Components Close-Up

Electronic components are placed and soldered to one or both sides of the
board. The only restrictions on the components are their size, their electrical
requirements, and how hot they get. Holes can be cut into the board to
accommodate unusually-shaped parts.

Connectors

o To supply power and electrical signals to the board, connectors are

attached. They're made of plastic with metal inserts and pins that protrude
through the circuit board. The pins are soldered to copper traces, forming a
solid connection. The traces themselves may also serve as connectors. The
board may have an indent cut in it, with thick copper traces terminating at the
board's edge. The board's edge itself then serves as a plug-in connector. Most
computer cards and memory modules are made to connect this way.

Vias

o Some circuit boards have copper on one side, some have it on both
sides, many have dozens of layers inside the board. The different layers need to
be electrically connected at certain points. Vias are holes drilled through the
board, and filled with a conducting metal plug that connects the various layers.
The use of multiple layers and vias increases circuit density, making possible
small, complex devices like cell phones, computer video cards, and mp3 players.
Types of Circuit Board

The three most important types are described below:

Breadboard

Temporary, no soldering required

This is a way of making a temporary circuit, for testing purposes or to try out an idea.
No soldering is required and all the components can be re-used afterwards. It is easy
to change connections and replace components. Almost all the Electronics Club projects
started life on a breadboard to check that the circuit worked as intended.

Stripboard

Permanent, soldered

Stripboard has parallel strips of copper

track on one side. The strips are 0.1"
(2.54mm) apart and there are holes
every 0.1" (2.54mm). Stripboard
requires no special preparation other
than cutting to size. It can be cut with a
junior hacksaw, or simply snap it along
the lines of holes by putting it over the
edge of a bench or table and pushing
hard.

Stripboard

Stripboard has parallel strips of copper

track on one side. The tracks are 0.1"
(2.54mm) apart and there are holes every
0.1" (2.54mm).

Stripboard is used to make up permanent,

soldered circuits. It is ideal for small Stripboard circuit (copper tracks side)
circuits with one or two ICs (chips) but with
the large number of holes it is very easy to
connect a component in the wrong place. For large, complex circuits it is usually best to
use a printed circuit board (PCB) if you can buy or make one.

Stripboard requires no special preparation other than cutting to size. It can be cut with
a junior hacksaw, or simply snap it along the lines of holes by putting it over the edge
of a bench or table and pushing hard, but take care because this needs a fairly large
force and the edges will be rough. You may need to use a large pair of pliers to nibble
away any jagged parts.

Avoid handling stripboard that you are not planning to use immediately because sweat
from your hands will corrode the copper tracks and this will make soldering difficult. If
the copper looks dull, or you can clearly see finger marks, clean the tracks with fine
emery paper, a PCB rubber or a dry kitchen scrub before you start soldering. 

Printed Circuit Board

Permanent, soldered

Printed circuit boards have copper tracks connecting the holes where the components
are placed. They are designed specially for each circuit and make construction very
easy. However, producing the PCB requires special equipment.