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PCB Technology
Glossary and Abbreviations - PCB Glossary
Click on an alphabet below to directly jump to the chosen alphabet section...
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAlphabet F
- FabFabrication
- Fabrication DrawingA drawing used to aid the construction of a printed circuit board. It shows all of the locations of the holes to be drilled, their sizes and tolerances, dimensions of the board edges, and notes on the materials and methods to be used. Called "fab Drawing" for short. It relates the board edge to at least one hole location as a reference point so that the NC Drill file can be properly aligned.
- Fast TurnaroundCircuit boards made and dispatched within days rather than weeks of being ordered.
- Fiducial MarkA printed board feature (or features) that is created in the same process as the conductive pattern and that provides a common measurable point for component mounting with respect to a land pattern or land patterns.
- Fine PitchRefers to chip packages with lead pitches below .050. The largest pitch in this class of parts is about .031. Lead pitches as small as .020 are used.
- FingerA gold-plated terminal of a card-edge connector. (Derived from its shape.)
- First ArticleA sample part or assembly typically manufactured prior to the start of production for the purpose of ensuring that the manufacturer is capable of producing a product that will meet specified requirements.
- Files: GerberOur Industry standard format for files used to generate artwork necessary for circuit board imaging.
PCBpro's preferred Gerber format is RS274X, which embeds the apertures within the specific files
(see Aperture information). If files are not saved in RS274X, PCBpro will need “One” aperture list sent
with the files.
When your software outputs more than one list, there is a risk of the wrong d-codes being applied, or risk of an added cost to you if we need to hand enter the values. It is file viewer that will allow you to preview your Gerber files as interpreted by our plotting software. - Files IvexYou can output the Gerber RS274X and Excellon Drill files from your Ivex .brd file. It is a viewer that will allow you to preview the production files as interpreted by our plotting software.
- Files: EagleYou can output the Gerber RS274X and Excellon Drill files from your Eagle.brd file. It is a viewer that will allow you to preview the production files as interpreted by our plotting software.
- FilesProtelYou can output the Gerber RS274X and Excellon Drill files from your Protel file. It is a viewer that will allow you to preview the production files as interpreted by our plotting software.
- File SubmissionExtra files add confusion and missing files add delays. When ordering a 4-layer board with Soldermask and One side Silkscreen, send in 7 layers and a drill file. A missing file layer will mean a delay. Extra files will delay if they contain information in conflict with the order form i.e. print, readme, old tool file which was not changed etc. Sending in every thing that the program will output will only add confusion and possible delay
- Finished CopperThis is the finished weight of the base and electroplated copper per square foot of material.
- Fine PitchFine pitch is more commonly referred to surface-mount components with a lead pitch of 25 mils or less.
- Fine line designPrinted circuit design permitting two (rarely three) traces between adjacent DIP pins. It entails the use of a either dry film solder mask or liquid photoimageable solder mask (LPI), both of which are more accurate than wet solder mask.
- Flex circuitFlexible circuit, or flex circuit; a printed circuit made of thin, flexible material.
- FluxThe material used to remove oxides from metal surfaces and enable wetting of the metal with solder.
- Flying ProbeA type of bare board electrical test machine that uses probes on the ends of mechanical arms to locate and touch the pads on the board. The probes move quickly across the board verifying continuity of each net as well as resistance to adjacent nets.
- FR-1A paper material with a phenolic resin binder. FR-1 has a TG of about 130°C.
- FR-2A paper material with phenolic resin binder similar to FR-1 - but with a TG of about 105°C.
- FR-3A paper material that is similar to FR-2 - except that an epoxy resin is used instead of phenolic resin as a binder. Used mainly in Europe.
- FR-4The most commonly used PCB board material. "FR" stands for Flame Retardant and "4" means woven glass reinforced epoxy resin.
- FR-6Fire-Retardant glass-and-polyester substrate material for electronic circuits. Inexpensive; popular for automobile electronics
- Functional TestThe electrical testing of an assembled electronic device with simulated function generated by the test hardware and software.
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...
Contract Assembly
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