What is FR4 PCB?
FR4 on hearing this term which technical you may get confused. However, you do not need to worry about this. We are here to guide you properly and help you in understanding this term. It is a grade of flame-resistant material. It has the capability of a fire extinguisher, in case of emergency fire, you do not need to worry about it and it will never spread. FR 4 is also very effective in loss-free property and personal loss. It is a matter of common observation that all the electronic types of equipment got heated and generate a lot of heat. Various components generate heat. To make the working of all the electronic components safely and effectively, all the printed circuits boards must be made up of top quality and reliable material. These materials must be stable and heat resistant. The composition of these materials constitutes fibers of glass in the epoxy resins. They have high anti-flaming properties.
Why is FR 4 in great demand for the PCB industry?
FR4 is highly demanding nowadays, because of its heat-resistant property.in FR4 the grade of this laminated material has very high strength and outstanding performance. Also with this, it has a very perfect and effective ratio between strength and weight. Although this material does not have any capability of absorption of water or humidity, however, it has an extraordinary strength of electrical insulation properties. Now let move towards the reason why they are highly demanded in the market?
· Compact and easy to design.
· They have the very strongest plastic fastener materials.
· Low cost but perform multiple functions.
· It has high moisture resistance that keeps high mechanical strength.
· They have an excellent insulating capacity in dry or humid environments to make them work efficiently.
Types Of FR4:
1. Single side FR4 PCB
2. Double side FR4 PCB
3. Multiple side FR4 PCB
4. Rigid FR4 PCB
5. Flex-rigid FR4 PCB
Single Side FR4 PCB:
In FR4 single-sided printed circuit boards are made with epoxy resin PCB having copper foil at one side, while the components are pasted on the other side. As with the development of new technologies that are made to perform the complex process of production with new technologies. All the electronic products become more expensive to perform multiple hard functions, but the single-sided FR4 PCBs are capable to perform the hard process and are advanced capable of working. However, they are highly affordable. Talking about their size we generally have a length of 100mm, width 70mm, and height of 1.5mm.
Double Side FR4 PCB:
In FR4 double-sided printed circuit boards are made with epoxy resin PCB having copper foil at the one side, while the electronic components are pasted on two sides which give the path of traces to cross each other. Pure copper is used for conduction purposes. It is clear from its name electronic components are placed on the sides of the PCBs.
Multiple Side FR4 PCB:
As clear from its name it has multiple flame retardant layers, they have more than two layers. Multiple layers perform multiple functions as it has three layers which are made with the conducting material for conduction. These layers are pasted in the center of the materials. The core material is laminated together with the multiple layers of the PCBs under extremely high pressure and high temperature. Due to high temperature and pressure, multiple layers joined together strongly. While the components are placed on both sides of PCBs.
Rigid FR4 PCB:
In rigid FR4 printed circuit boards, there is no other material or any impurity is added to them. It has a pure circuit, so that’s why it is named rigid FR4 PCB. In this type of printed circuit board, only FR is used, so they know as rigid FR4 printed circuit boards.
Rigid-Flex FR4 PCB:
As it is clear from its name it has properties of both the rigid FR4 PCB and the flexible FR4 PCB. The rigid-flex FR4 PCB core material is rigid and flexible as well. The flexibility is due to the flexibility in the circuit. For this purpose thin boards are used, because thin boards are more flexible and more effective in heat resistance. Due to flexibility, they can be bent to any desired angle.
Key Features to look into before buying FR4 PCB:
Now before buying, let us discuss the factors which are to be considered, such as:
1. The thickness of the Sheet:
The thickness of the sheet depends on the project which you want to design. In general thin boards are used for printed circuit boards. The FR4 printed circuit boards with a thickness of almost 1 to 3 inches are considered ideal for the perfect printed circuits. Thin PCB reduce stress level and can easily mold at any angle.
2. Flexibility:
Flexibility is an important factor while designing. Thin boards are more flexible than thick boards. Mostly, manufacturers use two thin layers boards due to their flexibility. In all of the electrical and electronic devices thin FR4, printed circuit boards have greater ability to reduce stress. They can be bent at any desirable angle while soldering. Thinnest boards are more vulnerable to heat that is the major cause of using FR4 PCBs.
3. Impedance matching or Frequency:
In our electrical and electronic pieces of equipment, impedance or frequency matching is very important for both low-frequency and most high-frequency laminates printed circuit boards. In the case of the multisided PCBs, they can also give information about the capacitance. Impedance matching or frequency matching is the important feature that helps you to drive and run safely PCB materials.
4. Thermal conduction:
The thermal conductivity of the FR4 printed circuit board is very important while choosing for the project. Temperature plays an important role while designing the printed circuit board. For temperature identification, you should look for the thermal coefficient of the dielectric constant. FR4 has high heat resistance, which is why they are very popular.
5. Weight:
Mostly FR4 PCB board thickness decides its weight, for small or lighter products it would be light in weight and vice Versa.
The material used for making FR4 PCB:
Here we mentioned some of the properties of FR4 PCB now we are discussing the PCB materials used for making FR4 PCB.
· It uses bromine that is why it is also called a halogen (salt formers) chemical element.
· It is a very good flame retardant.
· FR4 has the benefit of a good resistance weight ratio. Its weight is too less.
· It does not absorb moisture, water, or humidity.
· It has high mechanical and high-frequency materials strength.
· It has a very good insulating capacity in humid or dry environments.
· A good FR4 PCB has multiple copper layers of fr4 pasted on it.
· Its maximum ambient temperature is 248°F to 266°F depending on its brand and its filler.
· The core material used is laminated together to produce thin layers at high temperatures and pressure.
Uses and Applications of FR4 PCB
FR4 is much cheaper than laminated boards. It is, therefore, used in many complex devices. Such as;
- Relays of electric systems
- Electric switches
- Washers
- Standoffs
- Busbars
- Arc shields
- Screw terminal strips
- Transformers
How to Make the Final The choice for FR4?
In short, FR4 is widely used due to its low cost and good mechanical properties, stability, reliability, etc. As one of the core materials for the PCB manufacturing process, FR4 also has different specifications, thicknesses, and sizes to choose from, but not every application is very suitable, especially for high-frequency, high-speed, and microwave applications. FR4 can have various temperature values. There can be low (130-140˚C), medium (150˚C<T<170˚C) or high T (over 170˚C) PCBs. High-temperature PCB can be used in environments with high temperature and thermal stress. It also requires a PCB board with a higher temperature value. Although FR4 also has a temperature resistance, when the working temperature of the PCB board is higher than 170°, it is necessary to choose a board with a high-temperature value.
Why Choose LT PCBA as Your FR4 PCB Manufacturer?
If you’re looking for an FR4 printed circuit board or boards of any other board material, LT PCBA will help you in making the right choice. We even offer engineering support and a competitive pricing schedule.FR4 board is a very widely used printed circuit board. As you know, it is cheaper than other laminated PCBs and is fire-resistant. Therefore, these fiberglass epoxy laminated sheets are in great demand in PCB assembly. At LT PCBA, we use high-quality board material with optimum skilled manufacturing. Therefore, we can make sure to present the best FR4 Printed Circuit Board for you. We manufacture and deliver thousands of PCBs. Take a look at our comprehensive list of products and services here. Once you contact us, whether at the quote or delivery stage, all of the project processes will be updated by our sales team and engineers. Our ERP system is currently running, once we’ve confirmed, no issues during the ERP system, it will be open online to track your order by yourself in real-time, grab an efficient FR4 here.
