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PCB Technology

Glossary and Abbreviations - PCB Glossary

Click on an alphabet below to directly jump to the chosen alphabet section...

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Alphabet B

  • BareBoardA finished printed circuit board (PCB) that has no components mounted yet.It is also known as BBT.
  • BaseLaminateThe substrate material upon which the conductive pattern may be formed. The base material can be rigid or flexible.
  • BuriedviaA via connects two or more inner layers but no outer layer, and cannot be seen from either side of the board.
  • Built in Self TestAn electrical testing method that allows the tested devices to test itself with specific added on hardware.
  • B:StageAn intermediate stage in the reaction of a thermosetting resin in which the material softens when heated and swells, but does not entirely fuse or dissolve, when it is in contact with certain liquids.
  • BarrelThe cylinder formed by plating the walls of a drilled hole.
  • Base MaterialThe insulating material used to form the conductive pattern. It may be rigid or flexible or both. It may be a dielectric or insulated metal sheet.
  • Base Material ThicknessThe thickness of the base material excluding metal foil or material deposited on the surface.
  • Bed of NailsA test fixture consisting of a frame and a holder containing a field of spring loaded pins that make electrical contact with a planar test object.
  • BlisterA localized swelling and/or separation between any of the layers of a laminated base material, or between base material or conductive foil. It is a form of Delamination.
  • Board HouseBoard vendor. A manufacturer of printed circuit boards.
  • Board ThicknessThe overall thickness of the base material and all conductive material deposited thereon. Almost any thickness of pcb can be produced, but 0.8mm, 1.6mm, 2.4, and 3.2mm are the commonest.
  • BookA specified number of Prepreg plies which are assembled along with inner layer cores in preparation for curing in a lamination press.
  • Bond StrengthThe force per unit area required to separate two adjacent layers of a board by a force perpendicular to the board surface.
  • BowThe deviation from flatness of a board characterized by a roughly cylindrical or spherical curvature such that, if the product is rectangle, its four corners are in the same plane.
  • Border AreaThe region of a base material that is external to that of the end product being fabricated within it.
  • BurrA ridge surrounding the hole left on the outside copper surface after drilling.
  • Ball grid array - (Abbrev. BGA)A flip chip type of package in which the internal die terminals form a grid style array, and are in contact with solder balls ( solder bumps ), which carry the electrical connection to the outside of the package. The PCB footprint will have round landing pads to which the solder balls will be soldered when the package and PCB are heated in a reflow oven. Advantages of the ball grid array package are (1) that its size is compact and (2) its leads do not get damaged in handling (unlike the formed "gull wing" leads of a QFP) and thus has a long shelf life. Disadvantages of the BGA are 1) they, or their solder joints, are subject to stress related failure. For example, the intense vibration of rocket powered space vehicles can pop them right off the PCB, 2) they cannot be hand soldered (they require a reflow oven), making first article prototypes a bit more expensive to stuff, 3) except for the outer rows, the solder joints cannot be visually inspected and 4) they are difficult to rework.
  • BaseThe electrode of a transistor which controls the movements of electrons or holes by means of an electric field on it. It is the element which corresponds to the control grid of an electron tube.
  • Beam leadA metal beam (flat metallic lead which extends from the edge of a chip much as wooden beams extend from a roof overhang) deposited directly onto the surface of the die as part of the wafer processing cycle in the fabrication of an integrated circuit. Upon separation of the individual die (normally by chemical etching instead of the conventional scribe:and:break technique), the cantilevered beam is left protruding from the edge of the chip and can be bonded directly to interconnecting pads on the circuit substrate without the need for individual wire interconnections. This method is an example of flip:chip bonding, contrasted with solder bump.
  • BoardPrinted circuit board: A CAD database which represents the layout of a printed circuit.
  • BodyThe portion of an electronic component exclusive of its pins or leads.
  • BOM [pronounced "bomb"] Bill of MaterialsA list of components to be included on an assembly such as a printed circuit board. For a PCB the BOM must include reference designators for the components used and descriptions which uniquely identify each component. A BOM is used for ordering parts and, along with an assembly drawing, directing which parts go where when the board is stuffed.
  • Boundary Scan testEdge connector test systems that utilize the IEEE 1149 standard for describing test functionality that may be embedded within certain components.
  • Base CopperThe thin copper foil portion of a copper clad laminate for PCBs. It can be present on one or both sides of the board, and on inner layers.
  • BevelAn angled edge of a printed board.
  • Blind ViaA conductive surface hole that connects an outer layer with an inner layer of a multilayer board.
  • B:Stage MaterialSheet material impregnated with a resin cured to an intermediate stage (B:stage resin). Prepreg is the popular term.
  • B:Stage ResinA thermosetting resin that is in an intermediate state of cure.
  • BuildtimeThe cutoff time for receiving orders and files is 2:00 pm (PST) Monday through Friday for Full Featured boards. Some files have been known to take 45 minutes to navigate the web, so please allow for this. Build time starts the following business day, unless a "hold" occurs.

PCB Design Tips

When designing a PCB, try to limit the amount of draws you use. Draws use a lot of memory and slow the programming time. Use a flash for pads instead.

More tips...
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For printed circuit boards (PCBs) or PCB assembly you can count on. Talk to the friendly and experienced team at QualiEco Circuits, New Zealand.