Evolving PCBs...

Since their invention at the turn of the century and their patenting by Paul Eisler in 1943, printed circuit boards have evolved and advanced far beyond their original functionalities.

PCBs today are tiny, multilayered, complex systems that hardly resemble their earliest ancestors. They're also produced at a much higher and more efficient rate than ever before thanks to sophisticated design software and manufacturing processes. Even 10 years ago, microvias, HDI and FPGAs were only seen in the most expensive designs, yet are now readily available to designers worldwide.

As technology and consumer demand grows and develops, however, so must PCBs. As the basis of all electronic devices, PCBs feel intense pressure for development and growth. With consumers pushing for slimmer and faster devices, and with industries seeking improved functionality, the PCB must continue developing into the future.

But what exactly will the future of printed circuit boards look like?

Future of PCB

While modern PCBs are produced at incredible rates with astounding complexity, there is always room for development. Whether it's in the shape of the PCB, or the accessories attached directly to the board, consumers are continuously pushing for new and different PCBs and PCB functions.

That's why most predictions for the PCBs future focus strongly on the following areas.

1. PCB Board Cameras

Board cameras, alternatively called PCB cameras, are cameras that are mounted directly onto a circuit board. These PCB cameras consist of a lens, aperture and image sensor and are designed to take both digital pictures and videos. In all, the cameras are around the size of a quarter and can be mounted on any size PCB. This means these cameras are small enough to slip into just about any electronic device. In the next few years, board cameras are expected to develop even further, creating powerful solutions for both industry and consumer electronics.

Due to their size, board cameras have several applications across a variety of industries. These include:

• Consumer Electronics

• Medical Instruments

• Surveillance Technology

These industries are only a few examples of how board cameras can be used and how trends may continue into the future.

2. 3D Printed Electronics

3D printing technology is probably one of the most exciting technological innovations in recent years. From 3D-printed organs to firearms and ammo, 3D printing has accomplished some incredible things in a variety of industries. The PCB industry is no different.

3D printing has proved integral to one of the big PCB innovations in recent years: the 3D PE. 3D-printed electronics, or 3D PEs, are positioned to revolutionize the way electrical systems are designed in the future. These systems create 3D circuits by printing a substrate item layer by layer then adding a liquid ink on top of it that contains electronic functionalities. Surface-mount technologies can then be added to create the final system. The result is a circuit that can take any shape imaginable.

3D PE can potentially provide immense technical and manufacturing benefits for both circuit manufacturing companies and their clients — especially when compared to traditional 2D PCBs. These advantages include:

• Novel Designs: By allowing circuits to be printed on top of an existing shape, 3D PE manufacturing techniques enable circuits to take new and incredible shapes that were simply not possible with traditional PCB manufacturing.

3D PEs can be shaped to fit any circuit carrier while still combining electronic, optic and mechanical functions. This enables new product features and optimizations. Not only can 3D PEs be shaped, but they can also be scaled to print on components larger than anything possible using 2D PCB manufacturing methods.

• Improved Efficiency: Since 3D PE manufacturing is an additive process that uses digital methods, it is much more conservative in its materials usage than 2D PCB manufacturing. While circuits will still sometimes fail using this method, increased automation reduces the likelihood of failure, improving overall efficiency.

• Environmentally Friendly: Since there is no actual limitation on the type of substrate material that can be used in 3D PE manufacturing, PCB Houses can select any material they like. This makes environmentally-friendly production much easier as they can choose low-cost, recyclable materials.

Because of these benefits, 3D PE production has advanced quickly and is moving towards high-volume mass production. While 3D PE applications are relatively limited at present, keeping mostly to gauges, antennas and sensors, a significant amount of research is going into expanding the manufacturing capabilities of 3D PEs.

3. PCB Autoplacers

Most PCBs today include an autorouter in their design. This PCB component routes electronic functions throughout a board to model the characteristics of the PCB layout, therefore making the automation process much easier.

However, autorouters are difficult to create and set up, taking a large amount of time and labor. Because of this difficulty, time saved through automation is lost in the setup process. For this reason, many manufacturers and PCB designers are looking into autoplacers as an alternative. Autoplacers make the automation process much faster. While autoplacers can speed up manufacturing processes substantially over autorouters, this will depend primarily on optimizing the autoplacer constraint management. This is where new technology must come into play.

PCB design technology is on the rise recently, and with it the idea of integrated CAD systems. Because autoplacers rely on both electrical and mechanical design aspects, an integrated electrical and mechanical CAD system that applies constraints in both realms is necessary to make autoplacers more efficient.

4. High-Speed Capabilities

Today's world is incredibly fast-paced, demanding that people and technology move quickly as well. As the years pass, we expect things to get even faster - that includes electronics. To allow our devices to keep up with this growing demand for speed, PCB technology will need to adapt accordingly.

High-speed PCBs are a unique subject for designers, mostly because the definition of a high-speed PCB is relatively loose. The generally agreed-upon definition of a high-speed PCB is one where the integrity of the signal is affected by the circuit layout. This can mean different things:

• Digital Signal: In digital PCB signals, the intelligence is contained in the digital pulses. Therefore, effects on signal integrity can manifest as delayed or cancelled digital signals.

• Analog Signal: In a high-speed analog circuit, the intelligence is in the shape of the signal. In these cases, signal integrity problems will appear as altered signal shapes.

As high-speed functionality continues to be in high demand going into the future, printed circuit board innovations focusing on high-speed designs will continue to be in demand. PCB industry insiders expect to see high-speed innovations continue to be a large part of the PCB's future.

5. A Focus on Flexible PCBs

The PCB industry is already a fast-growing industry, with some studies estimating that the market will grow from $63.5 billion in 2016 to $73.8 billion in 2021.

However, the fastest-growing segment of the PCB industry is flexible PCBs - projected to grow to $15.2 billion by 2020 and $27 billion by 2022.

Between wearable electronics, flexible displays and medical applications, flexible technology is pushing the industry increasingly toward flexible and flex-rigid PCBs. Flexible PCB technology is already outpacing rigid PCBs in terms of sales growth, meaning the future is looking bright.

So why are flexible PCBs so popular? Due to their flexibility, flexible PCBs can handle more stress and bending than rigid PCBs and can even be folded to fit into awkward 3D spaces, making them useful for applications where bending is a regular occurrence. They also tend to be very light and thin, yet remain relatively easy to manufacture in mass quantities.

Several industries are pushing the trend toward flexible PCBs, including:

• LED Lighting

• Wearable Technology

• Flexible Displays

• Medical Instrumentation:

Due to their literal and figurative flexibility, flexible PCBs have found several uses across the industry, making them a high-demand product. People in the PCB industry can expect to see many more flexible PCB designs come into demand in the near future if this trend continues.

6. Biodegradable PCBs

Electronic waste, AKA e-waste, is one of the biggest environmental concerns of the modern era. This type of waste includes electronic items like computers, laptops, TVs, smartphones and household appliances, many of which contain parts that are neither biodegradable nor environmentally-friendly. While e-scrapping has become popular in recent years, e-waste continues to be a problem as people try to find ways to get rid of old electronics.

PCBs are a large part of this issue. Some PCB materials don't degrade very well and often end up in landfills, polluting the surrounding soil. This issue is compounded by the fact that the chemicals used during PCB manufacturing process are often harmful to the environment if not properly disposed of.

There are many proposed solutions to this problem, from mass junking to organized e-waste collection services. Some players are even supporting the idea of extracting precious metals from e-waste, like palladium, silver, gold, gallium and tantalum, to reuse them by smelting and refining them. This, in turn, would reduce the pressure on mining companies to produce vast amounts of metal for the electronics industry.

For now this is all I know...

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