Glossary of Terms
Technical Terms You Need to Know When Learning PCB
Many people may have already seen some words during learning, but only understand the general meaning. Today, ZF will introduce some professional terms that beginners must understand.
1. Hole ring:
Copper ring on metallized hole of PCB
2. DRC:
It refers to Design Rule Check. The program checks whether the design contains errors, such as short circuit, too thin wiring, or too small drilling.
3. Drilling hit:
It is used to indicate the deviation between the required drilling position in the design and the actual drilling position. Incorrect drilling center caused by blunt bit is a common problem in PCB manufacturing.
4. (Golden) finger:
A bare metal pad on the edge of a board, usually used to connect two circuit boards, such as the edge of the computer expansion module, memory modules and old game cards.
5. Stamp hole:
An alternative design method of dividing plate besides V-CUT. With some continuous holes to form a weak connection point, the board can be easily separated from the panel. SparkFun's Protosnap board is a good example.
6. Pad:
A part of metal exposed on the surface of a PCB, used to solder devices.
7. Panel:
A large circuit board composed of many small circuit boards that can be divided. Automatic circuit board production equipment often has problems in the production of small cards. Combining several small cards together can speed up the production.
8. Steel mesh:
A thin metal template (or plastic) that is placed on the PCB to allow the solder to pass through certain parts during assembly.
9. Pick-and-place:
A machine or process for placing components on a circuit board.
10. Plane:
Continuous copper on the circuit board. It's usually defined by boundaries, not paths. It's also known as "copper-clad".
11. Metallized vias:
A hole in the PCB, including a ring and plated hole wall. The metallized via may be a plug-in connection point, a signal changeover point, or a mounting hole.
12. Pogopin:
A temporary contact point supported by a spring, commonly used for testing or burning procedures.
13. Reflow soldering:
Melt the solder so that the pad (SMD) is connected to the device pin.
