A rigid PCB is a conventional Printed Circuit Board. It cannot be bent or flexed.
Unlike flexible PCBs, rigid PCBs are made from a hard and strong base material.
This allows it to provide stable support and secure electronic components in electronic equipment.
Rigid PCBs are widely used in various electronic devices, including computers, mobile phones, televisions, industrial control systems, medical equipment, etc.
Rigid PCB can be applied more and more widely because it has many unique advantages, as outlined below.
The base material of rigid PCB is usually made of rigid materials, such as FR-4 fiberglass reinforced resin. This material has a rigid and stable physical structure.
Rigid PCB has a lower signal delay and better signal integrity through our inspections, tests, and aging tests. Rigid PCB circuit boards provide long-term, reliable operation (typically 20 years).
Our Rigid PCBs can use various materials, including FR-4, aluminum base, ceramic, etc., to meet the needs of different applications.
Compared with flexible PCBs, the manufacturing process of rigid PCBs is relatively simple. Our rigid PCB production is standardized, large-scale, and automated. It not only ensures the consistency of product quality, but also shortens manufacturing time and cost.
Rigid PCB is great for small and lightweight electronic devices. It has high component integration and can pack much into a small space. The multi-level structure can meet the needs of different circuit designs.
Since PCB product assembly parts are produced with standardized design and scale. Once the system fails, it can be easily replaced. The replacement is flexible and quickly recovers from the system
Single-layer rigid PCB is the most basic PCB. It has only a single-sided conductive layer, and its electrical connections are on one side of the board.
Single-layer PCB is a basic but affordable solution. It is suitable for a variety of low-complexity electronic applications.
Double-sided PCB is also called 2-layer PCB. It has two layers of conductive paths, one on top of the board and another on the bottom. The two layers are connected through through holes (via holes) or blind vias (blind via).
Compared to single sided PCBs, double sided PCBs are better suited to support circuits with more components and higher-density layouts.
Multilayer PCBs are composed of multiple conductive and insulating layers stacked alternately. Multilayer rigid PCB boards often use single-sided or double-sided wiring boards to increase the wiring area.
Multilayer PCB boards can meet the needs of highly integrated circuits. This PCB design reduces wiring length, saves space, and has higher integration. It is the first choice for many high-end electronic devices and applications.
The main raw materials commonly used in rigid PCB are substrate, copper foil, PP, photosensitive material, solder mask, and film.
Copper-clad laminate is a composite material covered with copper foil on one or both sides. It is l made from wood pulp paper or glass fiber cloth as a reinforcing material impregnated with resin. It undergoes a hot-pressing process.
This material is called the core board or CORE in producing rigid PCB multilayer boards.
The copper foil serves as the cathode component of the electrolytic material. It is deposited onto a thin, continuous metal layer on the rigid PCB substrate.
Externally, it can be readily bonded to the insulating layer, which accommodates the protective layer and is etched to create your circuit pattern.
The thickness of rigid PCB copper is typically categorized into 1oz (35µm), 2oz (70µm), and 3oz (105µm) variants.
PP is a thin insulation material used for rigid printed circuit boards. Before being laminated, PP is in the form of a prepreg, also known as pre-impregnated fiber. It is primarily utilized as the adhesive and insulating material for the inner conductive pattern of multilayer circuit boards.
Once the PP has been laminated, the semi-cured epoxy is forced out, flows, and ultimately solidifies, creating a strong bond that joins the multilayer circuit boards, resulting in a dependable insulating layer.
These materials are generally classified as either photoresist or photosensitive films. Within the industry, they are further divided into wet and dry film categories.
When exposed to certain wavelengths of light, wet-film coatings on rigid PCB copper-clad laminates undergo a chemical transformation. This alters their solubility in the developer (solvent).
Dry film is further categorized into positive and negative, differentiated by its photodegradable and photopolymerizable properties. Both types are highly sensitive to ultraviolet rays.
This is a typical liquid photosensitive material. It has no compatibility with liquid solder. It undergoes a chemical transformation and solidifies under specific lighting conditions. Various ink colors are available, with green being the most frequently used color for solder masks.
| Item | Technical Parameters | Specification |
| Min Circuit Line Width/Space | 3/2.7 mil | Finished Copper Thickness H oz |
| Min rigid PCB Pad Ring of Via | 3 mil | Distance between hole edge to ring outskirt |
| Min rigid PCB Pad Ring of PTH | 5 mil | Distance between hole edge to ring outskirt |
| Min rigid PCB Via Size | 4 mil | Board Thickness < 1.2 mm |
| Min rigid PCB Thickness of Double sided | 0.2 mm | Final Board Thickness |
| Min rigid PCB Thickness of Multilayer | 0.4 mm | Final Board Thickness |
| Max rigid PCB Thickness | 8.0 mm | Final Board Thickness |
| Max rigid PCB Dimension | 609×609 mm | Single and Double Sided PCB |
| Space Between Line to Board Edge | 10 mil | Milling of Outline |
| Max rigid PCB Layers | 30 Layer | |
| Rigid PCB Solder Mask Color | Green,Black,Blue,Red,white,Yellow, | |
| Rigid PCB Silkscreen Color | White,black,yellow | |
| Rigid PCB Surface Finishing | HASL,ENIG,ENEPIG,ImAg,ImTin,OSP, Hard Gold Plating | |
| Max Finishing Copper Thickness | 6 oz | |
| Dielectric Thickness | 2.5 mil | |
| Rigid PCB Material | FR-4,Aluminium substrate,Rogers4350C,Polyimide | |
| Special Technology | HDI PCB, Via in Pad PCB,Blind&Buried PCB |
Below is the basic production process of China Rigid PCB manufacturer.
To increase rigid PCB assembly density. The vias on the double-sided circuit board of the PCB circuit board are getting smaller and smaller.
Generally, double-sided PCB circuit boards are drilled with CNC tolling machines to ensure accuracy.
The plating hole process is also known as a metalized hole. It's a process of electroplating the entire hole wall with metal. That made the conductive pattern between the inner and outer layers of the double-sided rigid printed circuit board can be electrically interconnected.
Screen printing applies to solder mask printing and symbol printing.
Because of their excellent electrical, Hot Air Solder Leveler(HASL), ENIG, and OSP are rigid PCB circuit boards' most common surface finishes.
The rigid PCB board has been cycling in the final process of milling. The CNC machine follows the PCB board outline gerber to route the PCB circuit outline.
The last step of rigid PCB manufacture is an open/short circuit test. This ensures the quality of the rigid PCB board. General samples and small batches of rigid PCB circuit boards are tested with flying probes.
This can reduce the cost of making test frames and shorten the delivery cycle. The mass-production rigid PCB boards are tested by test tooling.
Good rigid PCB boards are vacuum packaged and prepared for shipment.
Following the standard inspection procedure to do the incoming inspection of the material, like copper-clad laminate, solder mask oil, etc.,
Process control is an essential part of rigid PCB fabrication.KingSun follows standard production processes and strictly controls each process. Especially for key links, detailed records, and monitoring should be carried out to solve problems in the production process.
After the production, it needs to go through a series of inspection and acceptance links. This is also an important measure to ensure high-quality rigid PCB.
Before the product is shipped, an inspection is carried out to ensure that the shipped product meets the customer's quality requirements. Only products that pass the inspection can be shipped.
Rigid PCB is the physical carrier of design content in developing electronic products. All circuit board design intentions and product functions are finally realized through PCB boards.
Industrial control rigid PCB circuit boards are classified as special and general-purpose. The input and output ports reserved on the circuit board are connected to the user's equipment, such as motors, solenoid valves, and sensors to complete the functions.
Medical rigid PCB applications are evolving as rapidly as the medical device industry. Some of the most common medical PCB applications include medical monitors, blood glucose monitors, heart rate and blood pressure monitors, etc.
A car currently involves more than 100 pieces of rigid PCB circuit boards. Touch screens, GPS positioning systems, and cameras use PCB circuit boards. ADAS's various operation, safety, and peripheral control functions must be realized through rigid PCB circuit boards.
A rigid PCB board is a circuit board made of hard materials such as glass fiber-reinforced resin.
Rigid PCB materials include phenolic paper laminate, epoxy paper laminate, polyester glass felt laminate, and epoxy glass cloth laminate.
A Flex PCB board is a flexible circuit board made of polyimide, polyester, etc. The typical feature of the flexible board is the insulating film. This achieves insulation and mechanical strength.
Rigid PCB design is to realize the integration of the circuit by laying out the electronic components on the circuit board. This improves the performance of the circuit, reducing failure and maintenance costs.
Flexible PCB circuit boards are designed to meet the needs of specific application scenarios, such as space-limited electronic devices that need to be bent, folded, or bent.
Rigid PCB is often used in applications that need to be stronger, such as inside computers or in some mechanical and industrial products.
Flexible PCB boards are often used in applications that require bending and bending, such as in some high-precision, lightweight electronic equipment, watches, car bodies, etc.
Rigid PCB board has the characteristics of firmness, wear resistance, high-temperature resistance, etc. It has good thermal performance, which can evenly distribute the heat generation of components.
Flexible PCB boards have higher flexibility and adaptability and can assemble electronic components in more complex shapes.
We can make a quick turn FR4 rigid PCB prototype with a speedy turnaround lead time.
PCB prototypes can be quickly produced for PCB board circuit testing and verification in the early stage of product development, improving product development efficiency and shortening the project cycle. Below is the quick turn rigid PCB lead time:
| Layer Count | Standard Lead Time | Quick Turn Around |
| 1-2 Layer PCB | 4-5 DAY | 24 Hours |
| 4 Layer PCB | 5-6 DAY | 48 Hours |
| 6 Layer PCB | 7-8 DAY | 96 Hours |
| 8 Layer PCB | 9-10 DAY | 140 Hours |
| 10 Layer PCB | 10-12 DAY | 192 Hours |
We make very complex and special rigid PCB circuits like below:
