Tuesday, August 13, 2013

It Pays To Use PCB Design Services

By Andrea Davidson


Everywhere that a person looks they are confronted by a device which uses electrical power. Most will contain electronic components, but not many people will be aware how these components interact to produce a desired result. Businesses know what they want a product to do, and the smarter businesses will make use of specialist PCB design services.

Deciding to operate in this way does come with several advantages. It means that a business doesn't have to set up such a department of their own. Using an external specialist firm takes away any need for this.

An initial consultation will take place with the company. This is to find out exactly what they want their product to do, and how they wish to achieve it. At this point the available space can be measured. This can have as much of a bearing on things as the product requirement.

If the space is limited then the printed circuit board will probably be of the type known as surface mount. The electronic components are mounted on the surface of the circuit board. The circuitry can either be single sided or dual sided. The components on this type of board are much smaller, and as a consequence take up less room and have less of a weight impact.

The other type of printed circuit board is known as through hole or through board. It is easier to see and identify the components on this type of board. The component body sits on one side of the board, the component legs are passed through the board, and soldered onto metal tracks on the opposite side of the board. As the components are bigger, they will require more room and as expected will weigh more.

As previously mentioned the available space is all important, as this will let the specialist firm know how small they have to make the circuit board. From the list of requirements that the customer wishes the product to do, the circuit can be drawn up. This will also include getting power to the new circuitry.

As the through hole board is the most likely type people will see, this will be used as an example. The first thing is to decide how power will get to it. Some will use wiring direct to the board, others will be plugged into receptacles or sockets. The power can now be conducted along those metal tracks. When it comes to a component leg the power will travel up that and operate the electronic component.

The voltage itself might be limited, or increased, depending on the component and how it is connected. It could trigger an integrated circuit, or cause a relay to either open or close. As you can imagine the world of electronics can be difficult for the average person to understand.

This is why many businesses feel that it is worthwhile using specialist PCB design services. They understand the ways of the electronic components, and how they can best be utilised. They will endeavour to make the item do what the customer wishes, while at the same time keeping the cost down.




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