PCB KNOWLEDGE
How to buy a printed circuit board
Guides to common PCB buying questions, with figures from the MPBxChange catalogue of 253 materials and register of 39 Thai plants, and their sources.
What is a PCB board? Parts, types and history
A labelled diagram of the parts of a board, the main types, how a PCB differs from a PCBA and from a chip, and the history from a 1903 patent to the plants in Thailand today.
ANSWERSQuestions and answers on Thai PCB manufacturing
Which plants are in Prachin Buri, who builds 20 layers, ENIG or HASL, the Dk of a laminate and the trace width that follows. Each answer shows its method and review date.
CALCULATORPCB impedance calculator
Trace width for a target impedance on a named laminate, with the cross-section drawn to scale and the effect of etch tolerance.
CALCULATORPCB trace width calculator for current
Minimum trace width for a current by IPC-2221, with resistance and voltage drop, and the Thai plants that publish that width.
GUIDE · 10 MINPCB testing and inspection: what each test finds
Eleven bare-board defects against eight tests, from electrical test and optical inspection to cross-sections, stress, cleanliness and impedance, and what a pass leaves unproven.
ONLINE TOOLGerber viewer
Open a Gerber ZIP to see the top and bottom of the board with its copper layer count and size. Read in your browser, never uploaded.
TOOLPCB engineering lab: stack-up, impedance and vias
Dimensioned board geometry with the layer stack-up, microstrip impedance, tolerance corners and via clearances, exported as an engineering sheet.
GUIDE · 8 MINSurface finishes compared
Eight finishes compared on cost per square inch, shelf life, reflow passes and typical failure mode.
CATALOGUEMaterial catalogue
The full laminate catalogue, with the eye diagram at the far end of a trace computed from each laminate's published values.
INDUSTRYThai PCB industry: plants, owners and locations
Every plant in the directory with its year of registration, owner, province and operating status.
INVESTMENTInvestment in Thai PCB plants
Announced investment by plant and by currency, with sources and the counting method.
Layer stack-ups: thickness, impedance and cost
What a fabricator quotes against, and how thickness, impedance and cost move together.
Buying a board made in Thailand: promotion, duty and paperwork
Based on Board of Investment, Customs and company register sources.