On 03:47 PM 2/20/2002 +1100, Ian Wilson wrote: >How do others interpret the following terms? >PCB (printed circuit board)
Printed circuit board, ie, FR4 or other base material(s), etched and/or plated with a very thin layer of metal to form an electrical circuit. Specifically, one that has already undergone the etching and/or plating process, and may or may not have been populated (stuffed), as opposed to PCB material (which would be the FR-4 or similar material, pre-plated or otherwise. >PWA (printed wiring assembly) I personally view PWA (used to describe the almost universally accepted "PCB") as an anachronism, a left-over from the days when computers were devices that resembled small power plants. The ONLY time I have heard a term like PWA that made sense to me was when I was first investigating the purchase of a prototyping machine for my work at NASA, and stumbled on a company which had a process for producing MCMs and the like, which used(s) a plotter type machine to deposit suspended conductive materials (gold, silver, etc.) and non-conductive materials onto a substrate, which was subsequently baked to off-gas the carrier and form a "stable" circuit of gold, silver, etc... I believe the company originally created the tools for making precision resistors, but began selling the fabrication machinery as well, desinged in part thru a DARPA effort to protect critical military components from obsolescence. That is, printed wiring is just that, it is printed onto a substrate. (My take) >What term(s) do you use for the assembled PCB? Generally, either "board" or the "working" name of the finished assembly (what they do) (soundcard, KHz-rate spark generator, motherboard, tuner, transmitter, ignition timer, 8-chan diff amp subassembly, servo amp, 18-118A, etc., etc.), though generically, I would still refer to all of them as PCBs, whether bare or populated/"stuffed", but that's just me. PCBA or printed circuit board assembly is basically a generic form, though I would personally only rarely use that particular abbreviation. aj * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
