Top 10 Things to Consider When Choosing PCB Materials

Paul Cooke

Senior Director of Business Development
Ventec

10 things to consider when choosing PCB materials

There are many variables to consider when choosing PCB materials, these include thermal, mechanical, electrical, environment, reliability, signal integrity, assembly and lastly the manufacturability.

This webinar will try to cover the 10 most important considerations that the engineer needs to select the best fit for the product they are designing.

Basic properties an engineer needs to consider CTE, Tg, Dk, Df and Td.

We will cover the following topics, cost and availability, Quality which will look at different types of material, tolerance, manufacturing of the materials.

Signal integrity covering, Dk, Df, Glass types, resins and tolerance across different frequencies. We will look at the various copper foil properties including roughness, performance and RCC and RCF materials -v- standard PCB manufacturing.

Thermal management including heat management, extreme conditions, thermal properties and reliability during multiple heat cycles.

Finally, we will look at reliability from manufacturing multiple laminations, to thermal cycling, assembly, testing and harsh environments.

What you will learn:

1. Quality
   1. Material grade
   2. Tolerance
   3. Aging
   4. Glass type
   5. Coating and wettability
   6. Cost
2. Cost and availability
   1. Supply chain
   2. Lead time

3. Power and heat
   1. Thermal properties
   2. Heat management
   3. Extreme conditions
   4. Reliability during multiple heat cycles
4. Signal integrity
   1. Glass types
   2. Resin types
   3. Tolerance at various frequencies
5. Properties
   1. CTE
   2. Tg
   3. Dk
   4. Df
   5. Td
6. Copper foil
   1. Roughness
   2. Thickness
   3. RCC and RCF materials
7. Reliability
   1. Harsh environments
   2. Thermal cycles
   3. Testing
   4. Multiple laminations
8. Resin system
   1. Types of resins available
   2. Glass reinforced v non reinforced
9. Glass style
   1. Types of Glass
   2. Thickness
   3. Resin content
   4. Spread Glass
10. Manufacturability
    1. Issues with new materials
    2. Drilling (Mechanical and Laser)
    3. Desmear
    4. Fine lines and spaces

Level: Intermediate

About Paul Cooke

Paul is the Senior Director of Field Application Engineering and Technical Sales of Ventec International Group and has more than 30+ years of experience in printed wiring board (PWB) design and manufacturing.

Paul has held senior positions in operations, quality, process engineering and field application engineering, at some of the top North American PCB manufacturers.

He serves on a number of IPC technical committees and co-chairs the IPC standard 9121, Troubleshooting for Printed Circuit Boards. He is a member of the IPC Technical Program Committee. He has co-authored numerous technical papers and works with Tier 1 designers in the Avionics and Space industry to design and develop products that need to have extended life, focusing on printed circuit board design and reliability.

Paul has provided design for manufacture (DFM) consulting services to the industry along with extensive training/educational presentations from PCB 101 through Enhanced Reliability. He has also served as Team leader on a number of HDPUG projects and is currently demonstrating to the industry the advantages of using non-reinforced materials.