Electronics

Electronics: Surface Mount PCBs

A benefit of surface mounted PCBs is that they are quite lightweight. As technology becomes more portable–via cellphones, I-pods, laptops, and so on–this is becoming increasingly important. Basically, surface mounting is a revolution in circuitry. As surface mounted circuits are getting smaller and smaller, it can take a steady hand and intense magnification to complete the operation.

Surface mounted technology has reduced the number of circuits that need to be on a board. This also allows for greater expansion capability as new circuits can then be added–creating new functionality to a particular device. In older PCBs, there was not enough real estate for this to happen.

Surface Mount PCB Testing
In some surface mount PCBs, there are test points so that a PCB can be tested along the way. This is so circuits can be periodically monitored to determine if there are any power-flow issues. When designing a surface mount PCB system, these test points will have to be included in your original design.

This system is preferable because the user can test the PCB himself, rather than send the board out to a testing service. This process can be costly and time-consuming. Additionally, it can be done a lot more often, so the user can keep monitoring possible faults and correct them.