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Why does mcpcb manufacturer recommend metal core pcb?

2020-04-06

An ultimate guide to understand most basic concepts about aluminum-based metal core pcbs

 

mcpcb manufacturer

 In this article, we will discuss in detail how does mcpcb manufacturer develop an aluminum printed circuit board? In addition, this article also introduces the manufacturing process of these PCBs and the application of these circuit boards.

 

What is MCPCB?

According to mcpcb manufacturer, Metal Core PCB is a general term for all printed circuit boards with a layer of metal alloy for heat dissipation and heat conduction. There are two most common materials:

  1. One is aluminum with relatively ordinary heat conduction and heat dissipation performance but relatively low cost
  2. The other is copper with excellent heat conduction and heat dissipation characteristics but relatively high cost.
The application of metal heat dissipation substrates can be divided into two categories:
  1. industrial products
  2. consumer products

The emergence of the aluminum substrate (MCPCB) is not a recent event. As early as decades ago, this product has been widely used by mcpcb manufacturer in

  • High-current, high-voltage heavy electromechanical equipment
  • Medical equipment
  • Military products
  • Power supplies
  • Rectifiers or transformers are quite mature technologies.

Consumption of mcpcb manufacturer in Led Industry

mcpcb manufacturers and suppliers

In recent years, mcpcb manufacturer has set very logical trends in electronic industry. There are mainly two reasons for its popularity:

  • The miniaturization of electronic equipment
  • The market development trend of high-power LEDs, aluminum substrates that have better heat dissipation performance than traditional FR-4 circuit

 These new products are mainly used in LED backlights, LED lighting, automotive substrates, etc. Moreover, the successful use of these products mainly depends on the selection of the correct high thermal conductivity insulation products.

Which material mcpcb manufacturer uses in metalcore pcb?

The material used for the Aluminum Core (Metal Core PCB, MCPCB) is called Insulated Metal Substrate, IMS. An mcpcb manufacturer gives its structural composition of three materials:

  1. The top layer is copper foil
  2. The middle layer is a thermal insulation layer, also known as a dielectric layer
  3. The bottom layer is a metal plate, usually aluminum or Copperplate. Therefore, the difference between using aluminum or copper, the metal heat sink substrate also has a more accurate name-aluminum substrate or copper substrate.

 

What are aluminum PCBs and how does it relate to MCPCBS?

 

Conceptually, the metal core board is just like its name. Similarly, the metal sheet is embedded in the PCB dielectric layer and sandwiched between several layers of circuits. The metal core PCB usually has blind hole layers on both sides of the metal core substrate, and there will also be plated through holes (PTH) through the entire circuit board.

 From an mcpcb manufacturer perspective, it is important to isolate the metal from the vias. Otherwise, the board will be completely shorted. 

In order to achieve this goal, when drilling holes in the metal core, the hole diameter is 40mil ~ 50mil larger than the plated through-hole. And then it is filled with non-conductive epoxy filler and then pressed. After lamination, the filler mixture is removed from the metal surface and then ready to be laminated to the core of the inner layer.

After lamination, mcpcb manufacturer drills PTH holes and processes according to the normal PCB manufacturing process.

Simultaneously, the printed circuit boards used in actual electronic products vary widely, and there are different classifications according to different standard printed circuit boards.

Why does mcpcb manufacturer recommend metal core pcb?

 

Heat dissipation is one of the reasons for using this kind of PCB, and another reason is to help reduce vibration. So that components will not fall from the PCB in high vibration applications.

Recommended metal core board design factors that need to be considered:

1.Core material

The core material can be any pcb raw material. Metalcore board made of polyimide, FR-4 or high thermal conductivity material.

What materials are used in mcpc from the perspective of electrical or thermal management?

  1. Metalcore material

Copper 110 metalcore or aluminum 6061T6 metal core is usually used. Moreover, in metal core board applications, the design using copper metal core and the design using aluminum metal core are almost the same in number.

3, Metalcore drilling

Whether it is a plated through-hole from the top layer to the bottom layer, or a non-plated through hole from the top layer to the bottom layer, the drilling on the metal core board is larger than the drilling pattern on the PCB. Occasionally, mcpcb manufacturer should not leave gaps in the mounting holes or ground holes in the metalcore.

mcpcb manufacturer explains the the role of insulation

4.Insulation / filler

The role of the insulation / filler material is to insulate the PTH from the metal core so that the entire pcb will not be shorted.  Similarly, the filler is initially in the form of a powder, is applied to the surface and holes, and is then laminated in a multi-layer laminator. This is a very critical process.

There must be no voids in the filler, otherwise when drilling through-holes, chemicals will immerse back into the metal core and cause a short circuit. Then sand the surface of the metal core with sandpaper to remove excess filler from the surface. The filler is a ceramic epoxy resin mixture.

5.Lamination

The stack should be symmetrical, ie. mcpcb manufacturer should keep the number of layers on top of the metal core same as the number of layers on the bottom of the metalcore. Moreover, the copper weight between all layers is also preferably symmetrical, similar to ordinary multilayer PCBs.

Asymmetry can cause problems with excessive warping. Generally, the usual IPC warping standards are not suitable for this type of PCB.

6.Milling

Most metal-core printed boards are subjected to various milling, resulting in exposure of the metal core layer.

7.Exposing the surface coating on the metal core

For aluminum metal cores, a chromate conversion coating is recommended. Furthermore, for copper metal cores, a minimum of 50 micro inches of nickel plating is recommended.

 

Advantages of aluminum-based mcpcb circuit board

Aluminum-based PCB circuit board is the most common board in metal pcb board. It is composed of an aluminum core with standard FR-4. In short, mcpcb manufacturer makes it with copper foil, insulation layer, and metalcore.

Because the aluminum-based pcb board has a heat dissipation layer, it has a good heat dissipation function, which can effectively reduce the operating temperature of the components and extend the service life of the product.

 

Advantages of aluminum-based pcb circuit board compared with traditional FR-4 board:

aluminum PCBs

  1. Good thermal conductivity.The metal layer of the aluminum-based pcb board can quickly dissipate heat, transfer the heat of the device, reduce the thermal resistance to a minimum, and have good thermal conductivity.
  2. More environmentally friendly. The aluminum-based pcb board does not carry substances harmful to human health and the environment and is more environmentally friendly than the FR-4 board.
  3. High durability.For mcpcb manufacturer, FR-4 board may be warped, bent, cracked, etc. during production and transportation; ceramic substrates are also more fragile. The aluminum-based pcb circuit board makes up for the shortcomings of the FR-4 board and the ceramic substrate, and has a longer durability, avoiding board cracks caused during production and transportation.

 

  1. Higher performance.The circuit layer of the aluminum-based pcb board is formed by etching. Compared with the traditional FR-4 board, under the same line width and thickness, the current carried by the aluminum substrate is higher than that of the FR-4 board.

Why mcpcb manufacturer is an ideal choice for led related products?

At present, the most compact aluminum substrate application is in the LED of consumer products. Because of the heat dissipation of LED, it is seeking more attention from mcpcb manufacturer. Not only that, but the junction temperature is also related to energy consumption is directly related.

According to Cree’s experiments, if the temperature can be maintained at 65 degrees C, the time for the light to decay to 70% is 100,000 hours. This is how amazing the service life is.

Many experiments prove that the reason why LEDs generate heat is that not all the added electrical energy is converted into light energy, but a part of it is converted into heat energy.

 

Features and advantages of the aluminum substrate (MCPCB)

  • Using surface adhesive technology (SMT)
  • In printed circuit boards, the heat treatment efficiency of heat conduction and heat dissipation is very good
  • Through high-efficiency heat conduction and heat dissipation, the reliability and life of the product can be improved
  • Can replace the ceramic substrate to provide better mechanical durability
  • By improving performance and reducing product volume, effectively reduce hardware and assembly costs.

Mcpcb manufacturer prefer it because the thermal conductivity and heat dissipation capacity of the aluminum substrate is better than the general metal substrate. Furthermore, the heat dissipation PCB using the aluminum substrate as the printed circuit board substrate material can have better thermal conductivity, electrical insulation performance and mechanical processing performance.

Description of copper substrate

Because the thermal conductivity and heat dissipation of the copper substrate are better than that of the general metal substrate. But in the general printed circuit board manufacturing, mcpcb manufacturer uses only copper foil as the substrate material.

Moreover, the copper substrate is used as the printed circuit board substrate. The material’s heat dissipation PCB can have better thermal conductivity, electrical insulation performance and mechanical processing performance. Similarly, t can also strengthen LED products and solve heat dissipation problems that customers worry about

double sided pcb manufacturers in china

Conclusion

 

Since mcpcbs are far good in performance, these pcbs are becoming no1 choice for mcpcb manufacturers.

The good heat dissipation, insulation, and durability of the aluminum-based pcb circuit board lays down its important position in power hybrid ICs. Furthermore, aluminum substrates are widely used in industries such as LED energy-saving lamps, driving devices for automobiles, computers, audio equipment, and power systems.

From the perspective of metal core PCB or MCPCB, aluminum PCB is one of the most popular and commonly used MCPCB. The specialty of MCBPC lies in the ability to provide efficient heat dissipation for electronic products.

The aluminum printed circuit board is composed of a standard aluminum inner core FR4. The main feature of the aluminum PCB is its thermal coating, which effectively dissipates heat. This feature can cool components and improve the overall performance of the product. Aluminum-supported PCBs are the first choice for high-power applications with tight tolerances. To hire market leading mcpcb manufacturer you can contact here.

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