Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing With Local Track Thickening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing printed circuit boards face challenges in integrating digital and power functions on a single board due to limitations in conductive track thickness and interlayer connections, leading to restricted layer count and unreliable plated-through holes.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing additive manufacturing to locally deposit conductive material on existing tracks, allowing for varying track thicknesses on the same layer, thereby facilitating routing and reducing the board's thickness while ensuring high-quality interconnections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If conventional manufacturing methods are used to produce uniform thickness conductive tracks, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the ability to carry high currents is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by depositing conductive material selectively only on specific tracks where high current capacity is required, rather than uniformly across all tracks. This allows different tracks to have different thicknesses within the same layer, enabling high current capacity where needed while maintaining manufacturing simplicity elsewhere.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses preliminary action by first creating a mask pattern with the desired track geometries, then depositing conductive material only in the exposed areas. This preliminary masking step enables precise local deposition of conductive material, achieving variable thickness tracks without complex multi-step manufacturing processes.
2Power
If multiple layers with different track thicknesses are used, then current carrying capacity is improved, but the number of interlayer connections is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the concept of variable thickness tracks with single-layer design by using selective deposition to create different track thicknesses within the same layer. This eliminates the need for multiple layers with different thicknesses, thereby reducing the number of interlayer connections while maintaining high current carrying capacity where required.
3Reliability
If plated-through holes are made to interconnect layers, then layer connectivity is achieved, but the board thickness is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the conductive track structure by creating separate tracks with different thicknesses within the same layer, rather than relying on multiple thin layers connected by plated-through holes. This segmentation approach eliminates the need for long plated-through holes, reducing board thickness while maintaining connection reliability through local thickness variations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the production of printed circuit boards with conductive tracks of different thicknesses on a single layer, enhancing connectivity and reducing the board's thickness, thus improving reliability and flexibility in circuit design.
Implementation Method 1
a step of depositing a conductive material, by means of an additive manufacturing device, onto a first conductive track initially present in a first layer of the printed circuit board
Data Source
AI summary
A process for manufacturing a printed circuit board, the processing including depositing a conductive material, by an additive-manufacturing device, on a first conductive track that a first layer of the printed circuit board initially has, the process further including cutting beforehand, in a second layer of the printed circuit board, a shape complementary to the deposit of conductive material, and pressing the first layer against the second layer.