9 Quarter 3 Week 1

Technology and Livelihood

Education
Activity Sheets
Quarter 3 – LO1
(PCB Design and Fabrication (PDF))
 Learning Activity Sheets (LAS) (For TLE/TVL Creative Technologies)

Name of Learner: ________________________ Grade and Section: ________________

Date: ______________

Creative Technologies ACTIVITY SHEET

PCB Design and Fabrication

I. Learning Competency with Code

SSP_TLE-CT9PDF -IIIa-1.1
1. Verify PCB layout for conformity with the schematic diagram in
accordance with the layout rules.

II. Background Information for Learners

What is a PCB?
The most vital element in electronic
circuits and equipment is the Printed Circuit
Board (PCB). It is also possible to build an
electronic circuit with breadboards and zero
boards, but the method is a low level and less
efficient one wherein the designing circuit is
 prone to damage and the designing involves a complex process of placing
the components of the circuit.
However, the invention of the PCB that supports physical electronic
components and their wiring through the surface-mounted copper tracks is
remarkable. We can observe at least one PCB in any electronic gadgets
ranging from cell phones to computers.

PCB Basics

Printed circuit board is the most common name but may

also be called "printed wiring boards" or "printed wiring cards".
Before the advent of the PCB circuits were constructed through
a laborious process of point-to-point wiring. This led to frequent
failures at wire junctions and short circuits when wire insulation
began to age and crack.

A significant advance was the development of wire wrapping, where a small

gauge wire is literally wrapped around a post at each connection point, creating a
gas-tight connection which is highly durable and easily changeable.
As electronics moved from vacuum tubes and relays to silicon and integrated
circuits, the size and cost of electronic components began to decrease. Electronics
became more prevalent in consumer goods, and the pressure to reduce the size
and manufacturing costs of electronic products drove manufacturers to look for
better solutions. Thus, was born the PCB.

PCB is an acronym for printed circuit board. It is a board that has lines and
pads that connect various points together. In the picture above, there are traces
that electrically connect the various connectors and components to each other. A
PCB allows signals and power to be routed between physical devices. Solder is the
metal that makes the electrical connections between the surface of the PCB and the
electronic components. Being metal, solder also serves as a strong mechanical
adhesive.

Composition
A PCB is sort of like a layer cake or lasagna- there are alternating layers of
different materials which are laminated together with heat and adhesive such that
the result is a single object.

Let us start in the middle and work our way out.

FR4
The base material, or substrate, is usually fiberglass.
Historically, the most common designator for this fiberglass
is "FR4". This solid core gives the PCB its rigidity and
thickness. There are also flexible PCBs built on flexible high-
temperature plastic (Kapton or the equivalent).
You will find many different thickness PCBs; the most
common thickness for SparkFun products is 1.6mm
(0.063"). Some of our products- LilyPad boards and Arudino
Pro Micro boards- use a 0.8mm thick board.

Cheaper PCBs and perf boards (shown above) will be made

with other materials such as epoxies or phenolics which lack
the durability of FR4 but are much less expensive. You will
know you are working with this type of PCB when you solder to it - they have a
very distinctive bad smell. These types of substrates are
also typically found in low-end consumer electronics.
Phenolics have a low thermal decomposition temperature
which causes them to delaminate, smoke and char when
the soldering iron is held too long on the board.

Copper
The next layer is a thin copper foil, which is
laminated to the board with heat and adhesive. On
common, double sided PCBs, copper is applied to both sides of the substrate. In
lower cost electronic gadgets, the PCB may have copper on only one side. When we
refer to a double sided or 2-layer board we are referring to the number of
copper layers (2) in our lasagna. This can be as few as 1 layer or as many as 16
layers or more.

PCB with copper exposed, no solder mask or silkscreen.

The copper thickness can vary and is specified by weight, in ounces per square
foot. Most PCBs have 1 ounce of copper per square foot but some PCBs that handle
very high power may use 2- or 3-ounce copper. Each ounce per square translates
to about 35 micrometers or 1.4 thousandths of an inch of thickness of copper.

Soldermask
The layer on top of the copper foil is called
the soldermask layer. This layer gives the PCB its
green (or, at SparkFun, red) color. It is overlaid
onto the copper layer to insulate the copper traces
from accidental contact with other metal, solder, or
conductive bits. This layer helps the user to solder
to the correct places and prevent solder jumpers.
In the example below, the green solder mask
is applied to most of the PCB, covering up the small
traces but leaving the silver rings and SMD pads
exposed so they can be soldered to.

Soldermask is most commonly green in color but nearly any color is possible.
We use red for almost all the SparkFun boards, white for the IOIO board, and
purple for the LilyPad boards.

Silkscreen
The white silkscreen layer is applied on top of
the soldermask layer. The silkscreen adds
letters, numbers, and symbols to the PCB that
allow for easier assembly and indicators for
humans to better understand the board. We
often use silkscreen labels to indicate what the
function of each pin or LED.

Silkscreen is most commonly white, but any

ink color can be used. Black, gray, red, and
even yellow silkscreen colors are widely
available; it is, however, uncommon to see
more than one color on a single board .
Activity 1:
MATCHING TYPE: Match Column A with Column B, write only the letter of
the correct answer.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. White layer that is applied on top of the A. Soldermask
soldermask.
2. The layer on top of the copper foil. B. Copper
3. The thin layer after FR4, which is laminated to C. Silkscreen
the board with heat and adhesive.
4. The base material or substrate. D. (FR4)

ACTIVITY 2:
FILL IN THE BLANK.
1. The initial acronym means . .
2. – 3. It is also possible to build an electronic circuit with
and , but the method is a low level and less efficient one
wherein the designing circuit is prone to damage and the designing involves a
complex process of placing the components of the circuit.
4 – 5 Printed circuit board is the most common name but may also be called
" or .

References:

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/pcb-basics/all

https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-printed-circuit-board-and-designing-
process-of-pcb/