PCB Tech - In what ways is PCB different from PCBA

What is the difference between PCB and PCBA

I believe that many people are not unfamiliar with PCB circuit boards, and may be heard often in daily life, but they may not know much about PCBA, and may even be confused with PCB. So what is a PCB? How did PCBA evolve? What is the difference between PCB and PCBA? Let's take a closer look.

About PCB

PCB is the abbreviation of Printed Circuit Board, translated into Chinese is called printed circuit board, because it is made by electronic printing, it is called "printed" circuit board. PCB is an important electronic component in the electronics industry, a support for electronic components, and a carrier for electrical connection of electronic components. PCB has been extremely widely used in the manufacture of electronic products. The unique characteristics of PCB are summarized as follows:

1. The wiring density is high, the volume is small, and the weight is light, which is conducive to the miniaturization of electronic equipment.

2. Due to the repeatability and consistency of the graphics, the wiring and assembly errors are reduced, and the maintenance, debugging and inspection time of the equipment is saved.

3. It is conducive to mechanization and automatic production, which improves labor productivity and reduces the cost of electronic equipment.

4. The design can be standardized to facilitate interchangeability.

About PCBA

PCBA is the abbreviation of Printed Circuit Board + Assembly, which means that PCBA passes through the entire manufacturing process of PCB blank board SMT and then DIP plug-in. The simple processing process of PCBA:

1, PCBA processing single-sided surface assembly process: solder paste printing-patch-reflow soldering;

2, PCBA processing double-sided surface assembly process: A side printing solder paste-patch-reflow soldering-flip board-B side printing solder paste-patch-reflow soldering;

3, PCBA processing single-sided mixed assembly (SMD and THC are on the same side): solder paste printing-patch-reflow soldering-manual plug-in (THC)-wave soldering;

4, single-sided mixed (SMD and THC are on both sides of the PCB): B-side printing red glue-patch-red glue curing-flap-A side plug-in-B side wave soldering;

5. Double-sided mixing device (THC is on side A, and both sides A and B have SMD): A side printing solder paste-patch-reflow soldering-flipping board-B side printing red glue-patch-red glue curing-turning Board-A side plug-in-B side wave soldering;

6. Double-sided mixed packaging (SMD and THC on both sides of A and B): Printed solder paste on side A-patch-reflow soldering-flipping board-printing red glue on side B-patch-red glue curing-flipping board-A Surface plug-in-B-side wave soldering-B-side plug-in is attached.

Note: SMT and DIP are both ways to integrate parts on the PCB. The main difference is that SMT does not need to drill holes on the PCB. In DIP, the PIN pins of the parts need to be inserted into the holes that have been drilled.

SMT (Surface Mounted Technology) surface mount technology mainly uses mounters to mount some tiny parts on the PCB. The production process is: PCB board positioning, solder paste printing, mounter mounting, and reflow Furnace and finished inspection.

DIP stands for "plug-in", that is, inserting parts on the PCB board. This is the integration of parts in the form of plug-ins when some parts are larger in size and are not suitable for placement technology. The main production process is: sticking adhesive, plug-in, inspection, wave soldering, printing and finished inspection.

The difference between PCB and PCBA

From the above introduction, we can know that PCBA generally refers to a processing process, which can also be understood as a finished circuit board, that is, PCBA can be counted after all the processes on the PCB board are completed. The PCB refers to an empty printed circuit board with no parts on it.

In general: PCBA is a finished board; PCB is a bare board.