Typically, the copper thickness of standard PCBs ranges from 1oz to 3oz. Thick copper PCBs or thick copper PCBs are PCB types with finished copper weights exceeding 4oz (140 μ m).

What is the purpose of thick copper PCB?

Thick copper PCBs are widely used in power systems and power electronic devices. The additional copper weight in PCBA production allows for higher current to be conducted from the circuit board and helps with heat dissipation. The most common thick copper PCB is double-sided or multi-layer.

Thick copper PCB belongs to a special type of PCB. Its conductive material, substrate material, production process, and application fields are all different from conventional PCBs. The electroplating of thick copper circuits allows PCB manufacturers to increase the weight of copper in the sidewalls of through holes and plated holes, which can reduce the number of layers and occupy space. The thick copper coating integrates high current and control circuits, which can achieve high density through a simple circuit board structure.

The construction of thick copper circuits brings the following advantages to PCBs:

1. Significantly increase current capacity

2. Higher thermal strain tolerance

3. Better heat dissipation

4. Increase the mechanical strength of connectors and PTH holes

5. Reduce product size

ambiguous

Application of Thick Copper PCB

With the increase of high-power products, the demand for thick copper PCBs has also greatly increased. Nowadays, PCB manufacturers pay more attention to using thick copper plates to solve the thermal efficiency problem of high-power electronic products.

Thick copper PCBs are mostly high current substrates, which are mainly used for power modules and automotive electronic components. Traditional automotive, power supply, and power electronics applications use primitive transmission forms such as cable distribution and metal plates. Nowadays, using thick copper plates instead of transmission methods can not only improve production efficiency and reduce wiring time costs, but also increase the reliability of the final product. At the same time, high current boards can improve the design freedom of wiring, thereby achieving miniaturization of the entire product.

In summary, thick copper circuit PCBs play an irreplaceable role in PCB mass production applications with high power, high current, and high cooling requirements. The manufacturing process and materials of heavy copper PCB have higher requirements than standard PCB.