The advancement of computing and electronics has influenced virtually every aspect of our lives today, and it’s easy to overlook the role that printed circuit boards (PCBs) have played. Although electronics are prevalent in our daily lives today to the extent that we can’t imagine life without them, they have actually only existed for a minute fraction of the time we humans have existed. In fact, prototype circuit boards, which are at the heart of electronic devices, were only first designed and developed in the 1930s.
When compared with current designs, early PCBs are practically unrecognizable. The basic principle behind how they functioned was to provide an electrical route on an insulated substrate, to make controlling and moving electrical current easier and more reliable. Obviously many alterations have been made to PCBs over the years in order to enhance them, and the continuous evolution of the PCB, including; multi-layered boards, flexible circuitry, rigid-flex hybrid boards, and smaller designs utilized in modern electronics which were supported by material advancements and computerization.
The development history of quick turn PCB fabrication can be divided into three periods:
The first phase began at the turn of the twentieth century and went through to 1950. This timeframe can be considered as the birth of PCB production, or the period before PCB industrialization, when PCBs were not widely used or mass produced.
The second phase spans the years 1950 to 1990 and it was during this stage of development, when PCBs design and manufacture really began to ramp up. The third & final phase began in the 1990s and runs up to today, and this is the stage of PCB development that can be referred to as PCB industrialization.
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