A PCB, printed circuit board, which is also known as printed wiring board (PWB), is used in electronics, to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive tracks, paths, and signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive material, to build electronic devices.
There are three major types of printed circuit board construction: single-sided, double-sided, and multi-layered. Components on a printed circuit board are electrically connected to the circuits by two different technology: through hole technology or surface mount technology. The most common material used as the non-conductive material is FR4 which is a glass fiberepoxylaminate. A thin layer of copper, which is used as conductor, is bonded on one or each side of this material.
A PCB populated with electronic components is called a printedcircuitassembly (PCA), also known as a printedcircuitboardassembly(PCB-A).
PCBs are inexpensive, and highly reliable with respect to other methods such as wire wrap or point-to-point construction. They require much more work, and higher initial cost than either wire wrap or point-to-point construction, but are much cheaper and faster for high-volume production.
The production and assembly of printed circuit boards can be done by totally automated equipment. MGC offers total PCB assembly and PCB production, all in-house.