How heavy copper PCB manufacturers use Heavy and Extreme copper in PCB

How heavy copper PCB manufacturers use Heavy & Extreme-copper in PCB-design for maximum reliability There is a rise in the number of heavy copper PCB manufacturers because of the increase in the number of power electronics products which are taking advantage of the growing trend in PCB. PCB is an abbreviation of the Printed Board Industry. Most heavy copper PCB manufacturers manufacture commercially available PCBs for low voltage applications. Heavy copper circuits are manufactured with copper-weights between 4 oz/ft2 to 20 oz/ft2. Copper weights that are above 20 oz/ft2 are known as extreme copper.

Benefits of heavy copper circuit

• Increased current carrying capacity
• Increased strength in PTH holes and connector sites
• Increased thermal strains endurance
• Use of exotic materials to their maximum potential without circuit failure
• On-board high-power density planar transformers Construction of the heavy copper circuit

Heavy copper PCB manufacturers make standard printed circuit boards using a combination of plating processes and copper etching. Circuit layers start like thin sheets of copper foil which are etched to get rid of unwanted copper. They are then plated to add copper thickness to traces, planes and then plated through holes. All the circuit layers are typically limited to a complete package.

Plating of the heavy copper circuit by heavy copper PCB manufacturers has enabled board fabricators to increase the amount of copper thickness in plated holes. Copper can now be mixed with standard features on a single board. This is also known as a power link. The advantages of doing this include low impedance power distribution, reduced layer count, potential cost-saving and smaller footprints. Heavy copper plating by heavy copper PCB manufacturers makes it possible to integrate control circuits and high current circuits to come up with a simple board structure of high density.

 

You can connect heavy copper features to a standard circuit.

Temperature rise and current carrying capacity

How much heat rise a project can withstand determines the amount of current a copper circuit can carry.

This is because the current flow and heat rise are related. There is a power loss that results in localized heating when current flows along a trace. The trace cools by conducting heat away into the neighboring materials and by losing the heat into the environment through convection. Therefore, finding a way of estimating the heat rise that is associated with applied current helps to determine the maximum current a trace can safely carry. An ideal situation is to reach an operating temperature that is stable whereby the rate of heating is the same as the rate of cooling.

Thermal management

Heavy copper PCB manufacturers manufacture heavy copper circuits to help conduct heat away from valuable components and this reduces failure rates. Heat sinks are used to dissipate heat away from the source by conducting and emitting the heat through convection to the environment. Copper vias connect the heat source to a large bare copper area to manage the heat. Thermal management improves the functionality of an appliance and makes it durable.