• Get Listed
    • Get a FREE Quote for your Next Project
HardwareBee
  • Find ASIC Vendors
  • Browse Design Services Directory
    • FPGA Design Services
    • Electronic Design Services
    • Embedded Software Companies
    • Add a Vendor
  • Get 3 Quotes From
    • FPGA Design Companies
    • FPGA IP Core Vendors
    • Electronic Design Companies
    • Embedded Software Companies
    • Design & Manufacturing Vendors
  • WikiBee
  • Resources
    • FPGA Academy
    • Embedded Academy
    • FPGA vs ASIC Calculator
  • Calculators
    • Watt to dBm Converter
    • dBm to Watt Converter
  • Emerging ICs
    • SPARK Microsystems – SR1000
    • Cologne Chip – GateMate
  • Pricing
    • Get Your Company Listed
    • Get Monthly Outbound Leads
    • Get Free Consulting
HardwareBee
  • Browse Design Services Directory
    • FPGA Design Services
    • Electronic Design Services
    • Embedded Software Companies
    • Add a Vendor
  • Get 3 Quotes From
    • FPGA Design Companies
    • FPGA IP Core Vendors
    • Electronic Design Companies
    • Embedded Software Companies
    • Design & Manufacturing Vendors
  • WikiBee
  • Resources
    • FPGA Academy
    • Embedded Academy
    • FPGA vs ASIC Calculator
  • Calculators
    • Watt to dBm Converter
    • dBm to Watt Converter
  • Emerging ICs
    • SPARK Microsystems – SR1000
    • Cologne Chip – GateMate
  • Pricing
    • Get Your Company Listed
    • Get Monthly Outbound Leads
    • Get Free Consulting
4263 Views

History of PCB

09/07/2019, hardwarebee

PCB stands for Printed Circuit Board. A Printed Circuit Board or PCB exist inside almost any and every electronic device or gadget that you may use in your routine and professional life. The PCB lies in a central position in most electronics and, thus, is an extremely critical component. It is the component that is allowing electricity to flow through the circuits, subsequently making the operations and functions of the device possible to be executed or performed.

 

PCB manufactering

 

Considering how important it is to any and every piece of electronics you own, here is a little guide on what PCBs are and how they actually came to be.

 

What are PCBs?

 

A Printed Circuit Board is essentially a substrate whose job is to support the various electronic components that constitute the electronic product and its circuits, allowing an electric current to flow through on its surface and power each of the individual components in a conductive manner. The circuits are etched onto the surface of the substrate using conductive tracks and pads which are used to connect the various components. These components are usually soldered onto the board as the board provides mechanical support and a basic substrate.

 

 

PCBs can also be either single, double, or even multi layered depending on how many layers of copper it uses on top of its substrate layer. The use of either of the options depends on the functionality you need to extract from the PCB. These days, the degree of flexibility and capability that circuit boards commonly used possess far exceeds what used to be considered standard just a few years back. As any other technology, achieving what we know as a PCB today was a gradual process, one that took plenty of experimentation, failure, and success. Ultimately, the goal has been to create a manufacturing process for PCBs that allow us to incorporate and integrate maximum functionality onto the smallest of chips. The smaller and more functional the technology, the better.

 

Years 1900-1950

 

In the early 1900s, there was no common or widespread use of printed circuit boards. Instead, people used point to point construction to create large and bulky designs executed onto a chassis which was basically a wooden or metal base or frame. They would attach large insulators, regulators, and other components onto this frame and then connected to each other with soldered wires and connectors. While they did the work, they were slow, inefficient, unreliable, and extremely fragile, prone to breakdowns which would result in the loss and wastage of countless efforts and labor.

 

It wasn’t until 1903, when Albert Hanson filed a patent for a device that would use an insulating board paired with foil conductor arranged in multiple layers, that we actually started to move in the direction of printed circuit boards. The German conductor also showed how you could punch holes through the layers to connect them electrically. Subsequently, several scientists and leaders in the field of electronics and engineering began experimenting with the idea of further developing this concept. While there were significant efforts made to introduce new and improved electronic devices and appliances to the general market, the evolution of the circuit board faced some obstacles in the form of the world war and the Great Depression.

 

In the late 1936, an Austrian engineer, Paul Eisler, invented the printed circuit board concept using existing printing technologies.

 

Years 1950 – Today

 

Ultimately, as part of their effort to start using proximity fuses to participate in World War 2, the US government picked up this technology for their military purposes. As more and more work and development was done in this regard, it resulted in the introduction of the printed circuit board on a commercial basis by the middle of the 1950s.

 

During this era, the substrates used to create a circuit board included the likes of resins and bakelite. What was a complicated process, the superior speeds and efficiency, as well as the significant reduction in the size of the board, is what encouraged inventors to pursue and invest in this tech. The pattern of the wires would be hand drawn onto the board and photographed onto a zinc plate which could then be used to print the electronic design. A copper foil would be used as a conducting material and the design would be etched on with acid resistant ink.

 

PCB layout

 

Through the 1960s and 70s, as we moved past the era of having to drill and punch holes and use wires to establish an interconnection between the various components on the circuit board, we instead began to focus our energies towards making the PCB smaller and smaller without compromising on the speed or efficiency of the circuit, if not improving it further. This lead to the popularity of using surface mount parts rather than components that went through holes by the 1980s. This helped improve functionality while cutting down on the size as well as the costs.

 

From there, the trend has continued to keep increasing the complexity of circuit boards. By the 1990s, multilayered PCBs had been introduced in the market and inventors began to realize the potential behind this piece of tech. PCBs became smaller and smaller and also more flexible as manufacturers started to use micro-via technology in order to produce PCBs using High Density Interconnects. This further enabled manufacturers to incorporate greater designs onto  a smaller surface.

 

Now, with three dimensional printing in our hands, it is only understandable that the trend of producing complex and miniature designs on PCBs will continue to move in the upwards direction.

linked in icon
Sign up for HardwareBee
* = required field

Recent Stories

5+ Best UWB Chipset Providers Compared
5+ Best UWB Chipset Providers Compared
SPARK Microsystems Announces CDN$48 Million Financing Led by Idealist Capital
SPARK Microsystems Announces CDN$48 Million Financing Led by Idealist Capital
What is MicroLED? Overview, Benefits and Future
What is MicroLED? Overview, Benefits and Future
Auto processor market growing at 13% CAGR 22-28
Auto processor market growing at 13% CAGR 22-28
The Ultimate Guide: Current Mirror
The Ultimate Guide: Current Mirror
What is the Difference: GDDR5 VS. GDDR6
What is the Difference: GDDR5 VS. GDDR6
Watt to dBm (free) Converter
Watt to dBm (free) Converter
dBm to Watt (free) Converter
dBm to Watt (free) Converter
Get 3 Quotes from Electronic Design Companies
Get 3 Quotes from FPGA Design Companies
Get 3 Quotes from Embedded SW Services
Get 3 Quotes from EMS Companies

Find Design Services

Get Price Offers From
  • Electronic Design Services
  • FPGA Design Services
  • Embedded Software Companies
  • PCB Layout Services
  • Printed Circuit Board Manufacturers
  • Design & Manufacturing Services
Welcome New Vendors
  • Cologne Chip – GateMate
  • SPARK Microsystems – SR1000
  • TrigoPi
  • Fidus Systems
  • PCB Design
Answer a Question
  • Tips For Installing a PCB Prototype Board
  • Benefits of Working With a Reliable Flex Printed Circuit Board Manufacturer
  • FPGA company gross margin?
  • What is an FPGA used for?
  • When was FPGA invented
Recent WikiBee Items
  • FPGA Basics
  • Electronic Design House
  • Xilinx CORE Generator
  • Inductive Reactance Formula
  • What is an Embedded System?
Recent Posts
  • 5+ Best UWB Chipset Providers Compared
  • SPARK Microsystems Announces CDN$48 Million Financing Led by Idealist Capital
  • What is MicroLED? Overview, Benefits and Future
  • Auto processor market growing at 13% CAGR 22-28
  • The Ultimate Guide: Current Mirror
Most Popular Blog Posts
  • Promwad Accelerates Product Development with Vendor-Agnostic FPGA Design in Multiple Industries 
  • Understanding Knee Voltage
  • Understanding UPS Block Diagram
  • Understanding DV/DT in Electronics
  • Understanding Charge Pump

Never miss an update!

Follow us on LinkedIn

Do you need any price
information?

(Electronic design, FPGA design, Embedded SW services, PCB design, Turnkey)

Yes
No
HardwareBee

Copyright 2017-2023, HardwareBee. All rights reserved.

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • News
  • Get Free Support
  • Get listed
  • Send a wiki/article
  • Advertise

Follow Us

Be sure to follow our LinkedIn company page where we share our latest updates LinkedIn
Partner with us Partner with us

Design and Manufacturing Services

  • Engineering Design Services
  • Electronic Design and Manufacturing
  • Electronic Product Development
  • Electronic Product Design
  • Electronic Consulting Services
  • Electronic Engineering Companies
  • Electronic Engineering Services
  • Electronic Product Design and Development
  • Electronics Design Services
  • Electronics Design Company
  • Electronic Design Consultants
  • Electronic Design Company
  • FPGA Design Company
  • FPGA Consultant
  • FPGA Design Services UK
  • Electronics Manufacturing services
  • Electronics Manufacturing Companies
  • Electronic Contract Manufacturing Companies
  • Electronic Manufacturing Services Companies
  • EMS Companies Directory
  • Electronic Design Services
  • FPGA Design Services
  • Embedded Software Companies
  • PCB Layout Services
  • Printed Circuit Board Manufacturers
  • Design and Manufacturing Services