The problem when soldering to Aluminum
Aluminum reacts very quickly with oxidizers in the air. It immediately develops a passive layer of aluminum oxide surrounding the pure metal, making it difficult to solder than copper.
Aluminum soldering in electronics - Selective copper soldering to make superconducting solder joints
A circuit trace is a conducting track on a printed circuit board that connects components electrically and allows electric current to flow with little resistance.
While this small resistance is inconsequential for most applications, there are applications where the heat dissipated due to this small resistance is a big problem.
Much like how normal conducting trace allows current to flow, they also allow heat to flow from higher temperature areas to areas of lower temperature.
What is FR-4?
The short answer is "Yes," but there is a bit more to it.
What exactly is FR-4? FR-4 is a NEMA grade designation for flame-resistant glass-reinforced epoxy laminate. "FR" stands for Flame Retardant. The materials used are not defined by it, so different formulations can be rated FR-4. Unfortunately, it has become the norm in the industry to refer to the most commonly used PCB material by its FR-4 designation. As different formulations can share this rating, the properties of FR-4, particularly at cryogenic temperatures, can vary significantly.
The journey to develop a circuit board which features aluminum circuitry (Aluminum PCBs ) has been challenging.
Beginning in 2008, Omni Circuit boards was challenged by a strategic partner with developing a circuit board with fine-line aluminum traces. The reason for aluminum in the initial quest was for its superconducting (cryogenic) properties. But as time went by, we began to appreciate how developing this capability could also benefit customers who have a requirement for aluminum wire bonding of critical components and non-magnetic properties.
About 8% of PCB boards we are asked to produce are comprised of an odd number of layers. But unless you have a specific signal routing requirement or need for a greater dielectric space, it is usually best to design a multilayer board with an even number of layers. Reducing an even layered board by one layer may seem like a cost-saving move, but from a Printed Circuit Board perspective it is not. It may actually increase the cost as well as lead-time and leave you with a warped PCB which may not meet your expectations. Let's look at the issues in detail.
CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) is the art of translating a PCB board designer’s creative CAD (computer-aided design) output into information required in the manufacturing processes required to fabricate that same PCB.
Our processes require your computer generated files to be converted into photo-tooling films and drill and router files which will allow us, the printed circuit board manufacturing facility, to produce a custom PCB to your specifications.
Plating Hard Gold onto printed circuit boards is typically done to provide contact points and PCB edge connectors.
Gold contact surfaces are often used on circuit boards with membrane switches which are a technology of choice for industrial, commercial and consumer products. When PCBs will be repeatedly installed and removed, electroplated gold is used for edge-connector contacts or as they are more commonly known: Gold fingers. The plating thickness of a PCB gold finger is typically a mere 300 micro-inch. At this thickness the hard gold is expected to survive 1,000 cycles before wear through.
Using a few simple techniques can help ensure a more robust printed circuit board design which can also help you save money.
Printed circuit board design is a balance between functionality, longevity, aesthetics and board costs, time to design and the PCB fabricators capabilities. Listed below are eleven of the most common best practices we recommend to our customers.
One of the more artistic processes in a PCB manufacturing facility is the application of Silkscreen known in the old days as Ident layers.
Silkscreen is usually white and human readable letters, normally used to identify components, test points, PCB and PCBA part numbers, warning symbols, company logos, date codes and manufacturer marks.
Silk-screening requires specially formulated inks. The standard colour is white, but you can also select red, blue, black, yellow, etc.