Double-Sided Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)

Double-sided PCBs are coated with conducting material on both outer sides and have structured base materials. They are typically produced on standard FR4 1.6 mm glass fiber epoxy laminate material for low cost, durability, and ease of production.

LPKF circuit board plotters can be used for milling and drilling printed circuit boards (PCBs) of many different shapes, sizes, and component density and are therefore an ideal addition to the LPKF ProtoLaser S laser circuit structuring system. An important design consideration for a double-sided board is through-hole plating, which can allow the fabrication of more complex boards while drastically reducing the number of vias. LPKF offers a range of systems to facilitate in-house through-hole plating.

The basic steps involved in processing a two-sided PCB are described as follows:

1. Data input

   The software supplied with the LPKF ProtoLaser S and the LPKF ProtoMats processes all standard layout data formats. They position the layouts on the blanks and control the structuring.

2. Create fiducials

   The fiducials are drilled with the LPKF circuit board plotter. The LPKF ProtoMats can be upgraded with an optical fiducial identification system for more precise positioning of the boards. The LPKF ProtoLaser S has these already included.

3. Structure the boards

   Once the fiducials have been made, the LPKF ProtoLaser S/ProtoMat® structures the tracks – first on the front, and after rotation of the PCB, also on the back. The fiducials are used for precise positioning.

4. Drilling the holes for through-hole plating

   The vias for through-hole plating are drilled by the LPKF circuit board plotter.

5. Through-hole plating

   The LPKF ProConduct® is used after the vias have been drilled to reliably create the through-hole plating without using any messy chemicals. The PCB is now ready for further processing or incorporation in a multilayer board.