Heavy and Extreme Copper

Printed Circuit
Boards
15 Ways To Design Reliability Into Your Heavy Copper
PCBs
 Introduction
Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) that use heavy copper (in excess of 4oz per
square foot) or extreme copper (in excess of 20oz per square foot) have
advantages over normal boards in certain applications. These include
increased mechanical strength at connector sites, around mounting holes,
and higher current carrying capacity both in circuit traces and in the barrels
of the plated through holes.

Added copper thickness increases the cross-sectional area of circuit traces

and the amount of current they can reliably pass, without using more real
estate on the PCB surface, as would be necessary if light copper traces
were simply made wider.

These factors make heavy copper PCBs attractive for high-reliability

applications. It is important, however, to understand that there are some
design and layout guidelines for heavy copper that are different from
normal boards.

When laying out a heavy copper PCB, the most important thing to
remember is that you will need to adjust your thinking about design rules
for trace width and spacing. Also, about drill size adjustments that your
fabricator will make to allow for the additional copper thickness in the hole
walls. The topography of heavy copper affects soldermask and surface
finish application, as well as reference designator silk screening.
 Introduction (continued)
With any PCB design, each decision you make impacts others; you may
find yourself needing to compromise slightly on one requirement to improve
the overall result. It is easier to make the right decisions and compromises
if you understand the rules before you get too far into your layout cycle.

This Ebook is intended to help improve your understanding. It explains the

basic how and why of certain key heavy copper design requirements, which
we have learned over several years of fabricating these somewhat unusual
type of circuit boards.

Our goal is not to create a tutorial that will work for all situations. These
boards are all, to some extent, custom items, and almost always require
some discussion in advance. Rather, the information here will supply an
overview which will be useful in determining whether a heavy or extreme
copper PCB will be appropriate for your application and in guiding your
approach to the design.
 Design Tip
#1
Basic Design Rules: Copper Trace Widths & Spacing
Conductor size is determined by the current carrying capacity requirement
and by the permissible temperature rise, the same as any other board.

Most often when a customer approaches us about using heavier than

normal copper, it is because they have a requirement that exceeds the
limits of the copper weight they are working with, given the PCB surface
area available for circuit routing. They simply can’t make a trace wide
enough without crowding out other necessary features.

Heavy copper boards follow standardized rules for width and spacing,
which we express on a matrix. It is important to follow the matrix, and to
exceed the values whenever possible for a wider processing window. A
page from the matrix is shown below.
Trace/space matrix. Note starting foil, final copper height, and trace/space values.

“
HEAVY COPPER PCBS FOLLOW SET RULES,
LIKE ANY OTHER TYPE OF PRINTED CIRCUIT
BOARD.
 Design Tip
#2
How To Interpret The Matrix
One very important difference between this heavy copper matrix and a
standard trace/space guideline that would be appropriate for lighter copper
boards is the starting foil weight. Whereas a 2oz PCB is almost always
started on 1oz copper before pattern plate, a 30oz PCB could be started on
anything from half-ounce to 10oz foil. The appropriate staring foil is driven
by several factors and is best determined by the fabricator during a design
review.

Notice that when lighter foil is used, the spaces can be smaller than with
a heavier base foil. This allows for a more dense design, which is often
attractive and may even be necessary. But the lighter foil means a longer
plating cycle to reach the final copper height, which adds cost.

For this reason, we recommend that before you attempt to use the matrix
to determine your design rules, contact us so that we can guide you to the
best combination of foil weight vs. final copper. Then you can confidently
apply the appropriate set of rules.
The base foil determines which design rules apply for a given final copper thickness.

“
TALK TO US ABOUT THE BEST BASE FOIL
BEFORE APPLYING THE MATRIX DESIGN
RULES.
 Design Tip
#3
Hole Diameters

Hole diameters for heavy copper often need special attention, and since
they impact other design features such as annular ring and keep-out
values, we will discuss them now.

Drilling through heavy base foil, or through several internal layers of thick
copper, makes it difficult for the drill machine’s vacuum to remove the
debris from the drill flute.

This can lead to material becoming trapped on the drill. The trapped
material then spins inside the hole, melting and smearing the epoxy,
and potentially even oversizing the hole. If the hole is not cleaned
sufficiently by the desmear process, the result can be an unreliable internal
interconnection.

To avoid this, we recommend that heavy copper designs use finished hole
sizes (FHS) of 0.050” or greater for component holes, and 0.035” or greater
for vias. Although it is possible in some instances to use smaller holes,
we find that processing is much more predictable and trouble-free when
observing these basic guidelines.
Small bits do not allow adequate debris removal for heavy copper. These drills run
0.022”, 0.040”, 0.059”.

“
HEAVY COPPER BUILDS UP MORE READILY ON
THE DRILL AND IS HARDER TO REMOVE.
 Design Tip
#4
Hole Tolerances

Heavy copper plating is applied to the circuit surface and the hole walls
at the same time, and at approximately the same rate. The holes are
generally below tolerance after the plating process.

How is it possible to hold the tolerance?

The holes are often re-drilled after plating and before surface finish
application, to bring them back to within tolerance. We can easily maintain
a normal +/-0.003” tolerance. This second drill pass is the main reason we
recommend 0.050” as your smallest component hole - smaller carbide drills
will snap when they encounter an uneven surface such as an over-plated
hole.

As for vias, we recommend that these be left in their over-plated condition.

After all, these PCBs have high current requirements, so extra copper is
good. We recommend that the tolerance for vias be expressed as +0.003”/-
(hole diameter) so that it’s clear we do not need to maintain a particular
final size range.
In this table, the lower limit on the two via diameters is not critical. They may close
down considerably.

“
COMPONENT HOLES MUST MEET STANDARD
PCB TOLERANCES, BUT VIAS MAY BE PLATED
CLOSED, OR NEARLY CLOSED.
 Design Tip
#5
Annular Ring

Drills need to be oversized considerably to allow for heavy copper plating.

This affects annular ring, as the larger than normal drill will need extra
pad area on which to land. The IPC-2221 formula of a+2b+c, while useful
for standard copper weights, requires some adjustment to account for
heavier copper weights, so we have developed our own guideline based on
process data.

We recommend that you set up your system’s padstack definitions as

follows:

Minimum Pad = (Hole diameter + tolerance) plus (# Ounces Copper x 3)

plus 0.010”.

So, for example, to figure annular ring for 10oz PCB with a FHS of 0.050”
+/-0.003”, you would have: 0.053” + 0.030” + 0.010” = 0.093”.
At left, a normal amount of annular ring on a light copper PCB. At right, annular ring
by heavy copper formula.

“
SET YOUR PADSTACK DEFINITIONS TO ALLOW
FOR THE EXTRA DRILL OVERSIZING REQUIRED
FOR HEAVY COPPER PLATING.
 Design Tip
#6
Clearance Values Around PTH

Clearances need to be oversized considerably as well on heavy copper

designs. Again, a larger than normal drill is required, so the clearance
needs to allow for that.

We recommend that you set up your system’s padstack definitions to add

“negative data” copper clearances as follows:

Minimum Clearance = (Drill diameter+tolerance) + (# Ounces Copper x

3) plus 0.020”.

So, for example, to figure clearances for a 10oz PCB with a FHS of 0.050”
+/-0.003”, you would have: 0.053” + 0.030” + 0.020” = 0.103”

This number will be higher than the minimum copper-to-copper spacing

from the trace/space matrix, but again, this extra clear area is driven by the
size of the drilled hole itself, as adjusted for heavy plating.
Clearances are sized by a formula like an annular ring, except that the result is a
keep-out value.

“
CLEARANCES MUST BE MORE GENEROUS
THAN NORMAL TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF
HEAVY COPPER PROCESSING.
 Design Tip
#7
Figuring Copper Requirements in Holes

While truly extreme copper surface plating is possible, it is not usually

necessary to have the same amount of copper inside plated through holes
(PTH.) Often, multiple holes can be used so that a final copper thickness
of just 0.002” or 0.003” will suffice. Multiple holes also increase mechanical
strength at high-strain attachment points, and resist material compression
in the Z-axis.

Figure your current carrying requirements as they relate to your finished

hole sizes. It helps to think of the barrel of the PTH as a track wrapped into
a tube:

Theoretical “Track” Width = pi x Diameter, then go back to the IPC

formula for DC current. Example: 0.040” x pi = 0.126”, @ 4oz = 20 A, @
10oz = 40 A

There are via current calculator programs available online. Once you
have figured the appropriate amount of copper in the holes, we can adjust
the drill diameter so that when we do the second drill pass, the copper
remaining in the re-drilled holes will meet your specification.
Left: One of many via current calculators available online. Right: Multiple vias offer
increased ampacity and mechanical strength.

“
CURRENT CALCULATIONS TELL YOU HOW
MUCH COPPER TO PUT IN YOUR PTHS AND
HOW MANY VIAS WILL BE REQUIRED.
 Design Tip
#8
Internal Layers - Copper Weight

In many heavy or extreme copper designs, it is possible to use less

extreme copper weights on the internal layers than what is used externally.
If the layers mostly consist of plane areas, localized heat rise is less likely
to occur than on thinner signal runs. Also, during lamination the lighter
copper is easier to fill completely with dielectric material than truly extreme
copper.

Specifically, it simplifies processing considerably if the internal copper

layers can be limited to 4oz or less. It is often difficult or impossible to
procure heavier weights on clad laminate products, so if the internal copper
requirements are heavier than what is available, then the internal layers will
need to be purchased at the nearest available foil weight, then plated to
their final weight before lamination.

Sometimes a dielectric pre-fill stage is required before the layers can be

laminated together. Other associated processes are required as well to
ensure consistent results. While these extra steps are certainly possible,
they do represent significant cost adders, and they can slow down
processing considerably.
Notice that this PCB uses 2oz and 10oz external layer circuitry, but the internal layers
are only 4oz.

“
LIMITING INTERNAL LAYER COPPER TO
READILY-AVAILABLE WEIGHTS WILL REDUCE
COST, SIMPLIFY LAMINATION, AND REDUCE
DELAYS.
 Design Tip
#9
Internal Layer Feature Sizes

Use the same design rules for pads, clearances, etc. for internal signal
layers that you would use for external layers, but keep in mind that you may
need to use wider traces because heat will not dissipate as efficiently.

Derating the current carrying capacity of internal traces by 50% is a useful

rule of thumb for estimating the correct trace width. It is also sometimes
useful to “reverse-taper” a trace so that it is widest at its midpoint, to help
alleviate localized hot spots.

Thermal pads should use inner diameters which match external layer pads.
The air gap around the thermal pad should follow the minimum copper-
to-copper spacing value from the trace/space matrix. Connecting spokes
should follow the minimum trace size for the copper weight being used.

Separations between planes should follow appropriate minimum spacing

values for the given copper weight.
Notice how this trace is widest at its midpoint. The thermal pad is based on the outer
layer pad shown earlier.

“
INTERNAL LAYER RULES ARE SIMILAR TO
THOSE FOR EXTERNAL LAYERS BUT MAY
NEED ADJUSTMENT DUE TO LESS EFFICIENT
COOLING.
 Design Tip
#10
Internal Layer Copper Distribution

As with any PCB, it is good practice to balance the copper coverage across
the entire area of the layers as is practical. It is generally understood that
large areas devoid of copper can contribute to warp and twist, particularly if
the adjacent layer is totally flooded with copper.

Another bad outcome when no supporting copper is present is that the

thickness of the board may end up being inconsistent. For example, we
once built a small 8-layer PCB which used relatively light (3oz) internal
layers, but it had one area where there was a complete absence of copper.

The board thickness in the area without copper was significantly thinner
than the rest of the PCB after lamination, to the extent that it was below the
acceptable lower thickness limit defined on the print.

It is not difficult to understand that the above problem only becomes more
pronounced as the copper becomes thicker. It is worthwhile to pay attention
to issues of area coverage before they become real world problems.
One or more layers with uneven copper distribution can contribute to warp and twist,
and thickness issues.

“
USE EVEN COPPER DISTRIBUTION TO MINIMIZE
WARP AND TWIST AND TO HELP MAINTAIN
EVEN THICKNESS ACROSS YOUR PCB.
 Design Tip
#11
Stackup Considerations: Core Thickness

While every heavy or extreme copper PCB design requires a stackup that
is, to some extent, custom, there are some basic rules to keep in mind.
One is that while it is often necessary to use fairly thin cores in the interest
of keeping the PCB within a manufacturable overall thickness range, it is
also good practice to not go so thin that handling the cores will present
difficulties in the production environment.

Specifically, copper heavier than 5oz with cores of 0.005” or thinner

significantly increases the likelihood of handling mishaps. This is because
thin cores use fewer glass cloth plies, so they are more susceptible to
damage. Particularly after etching, when the copper foil no longer fully
encapsulates and supports the substrate, the weight of the remaining
copper can cause areas of unsupported core material to flex, and in many
cases it will fracture or tear.

If you feel that you may need to specify relatively thin materials, it is
worthwhile to conduct a stackup review between your designers and your
manufacturer’s production group to be sure that there will not be more than
the normal amount of difficulty in handling.
After etching, the weight of the copper causes the thin core to fracture if the panel
flexes during handling.

“
WE RECOMMEND AGAINST COMBINING
COPPER 5OZ OR GREATER WITH CORES 0.005”
THICK OR LESS.
 Design Tip
#12
Thermal Management Considerations

High-current, high-voltage designs generate a significant amount of heat.

It is necessary to ensure that components will perform as they should, and
that the board itself will not fail. Understanding the environment in which
the PCB will be used is critical in determining how, and how much, heat
dissipation will occur.

It is necessary to balance electrical and mechanical considerations, and to

understand the thermal properties of the various materials used, so that the
final design will be both manufacturable and reliable.

Power dissipation must be considered from all sources; planes, traces, and
components. A PCB CAD program with thermal analysis capability, or a
stand-alone program, should be used to guide design decisions.
An example of a thermal simulation software analysis.

“
HEAVY AND EXTREME COPPER CIRCUIT
BOARDS GENERATE SIGNIFICANT HEAT, AND
REQUIRE DETAILED THERMAL ANALYSIS.
 Design Tip
#13
Power Link: Multiple Copper Weights on Outer Layers

Epec’s Power Link product combines multiple copper weights onto the
same external layers. This makes it possible to combine power and control
sections on to a single layer.

The power section, exposed to air instead of being embedded internally,

can cool more efficiently. The control section, using lighter copper, follows
normal design rules for fine-pitch traces, spaces, and SMT components.

At Epec, we have run combinations of copper weights up to 2 + 60oz.

Power Link PCB - This is a 6-layer design, using 2oz + 10oz external layers, with 2oz
internal layers.

“
POWER LINK USES MULTIPLE COPPER
WEIGHTS ON EXTERNAL LAYERS, FOR
COMBINING POWER AND CONTROL CIRCUITRY.
 Design Tip
#14
Power Link: Unique Guidelines

When designing a Power Link PCB, we recommend that the heavy copper
areas be duplicated on both sides of the board, and that all holes be drilled
through the same copper weight on top and on bottom.

This balances the PCB mechanically from top to bottom, and keeps the
plating evenly distributed through the hole walls.

It is also best to isolate the lighter copper area from the heavy, rather than
interweaving the two. This simplifies the bare PCB manufacturing process,
thereby reducing defects. The even height of the light copper zone will also
make it easier to mount components when the time comes.
Slight color variations exist between material suppliers.

“
MATERIAL SELECTION INPUT FROM YOU
SUPPLIER IS AN IMPORTANT COST SAVINGS
OPPORTUNITY.
 Design Tip
#15
Surface Finish: Avoid HASL

Experience has demonstrated that heavy copper plus Hot Air Solder Level
surface finish is a less than ideal combination. Most Power Link customers
select an immersion gold or silver finish because it will offer the flattest
SMT pads, but occasionally we receive a specification calling for HASL. We
always try to steer our heavy copper customers away from HASL.

Aside from HASL’s most well-known problem - its tendency to puddle

at one end of an asymmetrical pad - heavy copper adds its own
complications. For one, the additional copper can make it difficult to pre-
heat a board sufficiently to allow the solder to flow completely through the
plated holes. This is particularly troublesome on thick PCBs.

The other major problem, mostly seen with extreme copper, is that the high
features act as walls, blocking the action of the air knives on the leveling
machine. When the air knives attempt to blow the excess solder from the
board surface as it is being retracted from the dip, the air flow is disrupted,
and solder is left behind to cause bridges.

We recommend against HASL unless its use is necessary.

With HASL, the extreme 60oz copper trace would interfere with the air knives near
this SMT area.

“
THIS CUSTOMER WISELY CHOSE AN
IMMERSION FINISH, AVOIDING THE HASL
PROBLEM. EPEC DOES NOT RECOMMEND HASL
FOR HEAVY OR EXTREME COPPER PCBS.
 Final Thoughts
Heavy and extreme copper printed circuit boards have an edge over
standard boards in certain applications. They offer excellent mechanical
and electrical reliability and in some instances, can eliminate tedious
secondary operations such as bus bar attachment. To take full advantage
of their unique characteristics, it is important to pay attention to your design
choices, so the result will be as manufacturable as possible. The preceding
pages explain some of the ins and outs of designing a PCB of this type, but
they are not intended to serve as a comprehensive design guide for every
possible combination of requirements.

Even experienced designers can find themselves on unfamiliar ground

when dealing with heavier than usual copper, it is a good idea to engage
with the fabricator’s production engineers early in the design cycle to take
advantage of their experience and expertise. A few minutes spent going
over the pros and cons of a handful of options can save hours or even
days that might otherwise be wasted starting over on a design which is
found during design review to be either un-manufacturable or prohibitively
costly to produce. Many of the issues that come to light during preliminary
discussions are surprisingly simple, but also very important. Early-stage
awareness can prevent discouraging or even project-killing missteps.

We encourage you to read through this guide as a starting point. The

next step should be to schedule a conversation about specifics. After the
conversation, you should be able to complete your layout and to get your
heavy or extreme copper PCB prototype quoted and built.
Need Help With A Heavy
Copper PCB Design?
Epec has more than 65 years in the printed circuit board
(PCB) industry. PCB layout and design services is one
of the ways that we help our customers get to market
faster as our engineering team has significant
real world experience designing PCBs for
performance and manufacturability.

Our team of engineers and CAD/CAM

operators are available to discuss any
project needs that our customer may
have as we are fully licensed and
utilize industry leading tools.
Our team can work with you
to review your design to
make sure that printed
circuit boards can be
manufactured with
the highest quality
at the best Custom Solution For Your Product
overall cost.
Our custom fabricated PCBs are manufactured to
the highest quality. We support more than 5,000
active customers that represent a wide range of
leading OEM and EMS companies in the automotive,
communications, medical, military, aerospace, and
portable device industries.

Request a Quote Request Design Support

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 About The Author
Al Wright ~ In Memoriam

Al was in the industry for more than 35 years,

and 18 of those years were at Epec up until
he passed away in December 2019. As field
application engineer, he handled a wide
range of responsibilities, including reviewing
PCB designs for manufacturability during the
quoting and design stage, interacting with off-
site manufacturing facilities to solve technical
issues during production, and programming
CNC machines for in-house projects, reworks,
and modifications. Al’s technical expertise was
essential to Epec’s engineering department and
provided valuable insight when working with customers.

Prior to working at Epec, Al spent 20 years with CPC Incorporated, a medium-

sized PCB manufacturer, learning hands-on about PCB processing before
moving into front end engineering. Al brought a wealth of impressive expertise
to Epec and worked with more than 50,000 different PCB designs from his
start in 1981 through 2019. He worked with Epec’s team to get all designs right
ahead of time so that products were correct the first time. Most recently, Al was
instrumental in helping Epec establish its heavy/extreme copper PCB business
along with being the company’s resident PCB expert.

In 2020, the Richard “Al” Wright Memorial Scholarship was established. The
money will be awarded annually to two local high school STEM students.

Visit Our Website @ www.epectec.com

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