PCB manufacturing has come a long way in a hurry, as a walk through Electropac’s PCB Museum reminds us.

A highlight of a trip to Electropac’s printed circuit board plant in Manchester, NH, is the PCB Museum. In it, the company has dozens of photos and artifacts from 38 years of manufacturing. President and cofounder Ray Boissoneau allowed a PCD&F reporter to photograph some of the equipment and products during a tour in April.

Assemblers demand a complete CAD data package for more effective manufacturing.

Panelization, also known as the processing of boards in an array format, keeps small boards attached to each other within a single, larger substrate. Panelization is used to process multiple small boards through assembly, and is becoming more prevalent as board sizes shrink.

Printers are becoming more and more versatile. Now they can even print sensors and electronic components on 2D and 3D substrates. A new, robot-assisted production line allows the process to be automated. 

Are you losing sleep over power integrity on your boards? If so, this is for you.