Some areas of a printed circuit board (PCB) need temporary protection during soldering, cleaning, or coating. Peelable solder mask provides a removable barrier over these selected areas while the rest of the board goes through the required manufacturing process.
A castellated PCB is a circuit board with plated holes located directly along its edge. During PCB profiling, the board is cut through these holes, leaving exposed, plated half-holes along the edge.
PCB leakage current is unwanted electrical current that flows through an unintended path on a printed circuit board. Instead of remaining within the intended circuit path, a small amount of current can pass through the PCB surface, insulation material, contamination, or another unintended path between conductors.
Understanding the difference between PCB and PCBA can save thousands of dollars and weeks of delays. This guide explains when you need bare boards versus assembled boards, with cost breakdowns and real-world recommendations for electronics projects.
An annular ring in PCB design is the copper area that remains around a drilled hole in a PCB pad or land. Although it is a small feature, the annular ring plays an important role in maintaining reliable electrical connections and supporting PCB manufacturability.
Soldering flux helps solder form a reliable connection between metal surfaces. It removes surface oxidation, improves solder wetting, and helps protect the heated area during soldering.
In PCB assembly, flux is used in solder paste, flux-core solder, and separate liquid, pen, or gel forms. The right type depends on the soldering process, PCB surface, components, and cleaning requirements.
If you work with printed circuit boards, you may see the terms PCB solder resist and PCB solder mask used interchangeably. In most PCB manufacturing contexts, they refer to the same protective coating applied over the copper circuitry.
