Keywords: Printed Circuit Board, Printed Circuit Board Manufacturer

Overview

PCB is known as Printed Circuit Board. PCBs, like other great inventions, also have their roots in the past. On a foundation of advancements throughout history, the printed circuit board (PCB) that we all know today was built.

We can trace the history of PCBs back over 130 years from the little corner of the world when the great industrial machine innovation the world was just started. This article covers a brief but detailed history of the PCBs starting from their evolution to what they are today.

Printed Circuit Board Evolution

For optimizing the manufacturing of electronics products, PCBs have evolved as an easy tool over time. The way to microscopic components which required the machinery efficiency and precision was soon given by what was once assembled easily by human hands.

It is really impressive to see the rate at which PCB design and technology are advancing. Thus in the manufacturing of PCBs, huge noticeable trends are into the actions.

Let us go through changes that took place in between these years as well as the History of Printed Circuit Board PCB Timeline from the 1880s to present-day PCB manufacturing.

1880 to 1900

First starting in cities and getting into the rural areas then, this was the time when electricity was brought into households.

Between AC and DC was one of the greatest Conflicts during this Age of innovation. As only the method of transporting electricity over long distances, Nikola Tesla’s AC ended up winning out. However, how we’re still dealing with AC-DC conversion issues today is an interesting thing to note.

Actually, during this era, the beginning ideas for the PCB weren’t invented. However, the PCB would never be what it is today without the spreading influences of electricity and manufacturing progress of The Gilded Age.

1890 to 1920

This is the time showing the primary patent for a PCB from Printed Circuit Board Manufacturer. For a device described as a foil conductor, flat on an insulating board having multiple layers, one of the famous German Inventors Albert Hanson filed a British patent in 1903.

In his patent, Albert Hanson also described the whole concept hole application. He showed that into the two layers, we can punch a hole, and to establish electrical connectivity, he had perpendicular wires. Actually, in military applications, the PCB concept and basic electronics still hadn’t come into use but they were evolving soon.

1920s

It was also during this time we saw the trendy appliances invention we still rely on today like refrigerators, vacuums, and washing machines. But where are our PCBs? Introduced during this age, we’re still not seeing them utilized in any of the automobiles or appliances.

However, describes the way for adding conductive inks to an insulating material Charles Ducas invented a patent in 1925. The printed wiring board (PWB) might be born from this. To relate a PCB, this patent was the first real application.

1930-1945

In the History of Printed Circuit Board PCB, This was the year noted as the most significant year. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the US enters the fray in 1942 as the second warfare is underway. As we all know it today in the proximity fuse, It was also during warfare 2 that we saw the first use of a PCB.

Needed to precisely fireside over massive distances in either land or sky, this device was used for high-velocity artillery shells.

A patent for copper foil on a non-conductive base of glass was filed by Paul Eisler, an Austrian living within the UK during this time. For manufacturing PCBs with copper and an insulating layer on the bottom or top, this is often the concept we still use today.

1947 to 1970

Let’s peep into the Printed Circuit Board PCB History from 1947 to 1970. It’s the ERA where PCBs are used to their full potential. For the Processing of Assembling Electrical Circuits, the US Army released its patent in 1956. To both establish connectivity between components and hold electronics with copper traces, manufacturers had a technique now.

We discover ourselves in the world’s first Space Race between Russia & USA as PCBs start to take off in the manufacturing realm.

It’s in the 1970s where within the manufacturing of electronics, ICs were first being used. Hence, you were in big trouble if you were not using a PCB board for connectivity from this time.

1980s

It’s important to know that with stencils and lightweight boards, PCBs were still being drawn by hand. Then again EDA and computers arrived. How we manufacture and design electronics is completely changed by it. We’re now ready to save our designs rather than photographs of PCBs.

The Age of Internet during 1990s

With the introduction of BGAs, we saw the utilization of silicon come with a full swing In the 90s. Now onto a single chip, we can fit more gates and begin to embed Systems and memories together on Chip. In electronics, this can be an intense miniaturization period. Added to PCBs, we don’t see any new features but shifting to the IC, the entire process of designing is beginning to evolve and change.

The hand soldering of boards was made nearly impossible by smaller component packages like 0402 during this period. The physical assembly and production are handled by the manufacturer.

The Hybrid Age of 2000s and Beyond

We’re in an age of devices consolidation. For nearly everything, we’ve procedures and processes as PCBs are established. High-speed applications are increasing in demand.

In robotics, what is the future of PCB design? Maybe it is with flexible circuitry in wearables. Or perhaps we’d see electrons being replaced with protons with Photonics. Even those might change within the future as for the physical Printed Circuit Board that we’ve come to know. There’s the potential for wave technology rather than needing a physical medium for connectivity between components. Without having copper, this might allow parts to send signals wirelessly. The PCBA Assembly board contains copper traces without any circuit components at this point in the PCB fabrication process. That’s all from Printed Circuit Board PCB History.