What is Blue PCB?

The PCB or the printed circuit boards are among the key concepts in electronics. Designers make them so that they can mechanically aid and electronically connect the electrical components with the help of conductive pads, traces, and other components made from copper sheets laminated on non-conductive substrates. There are many types of PCB boards, including the blue PCB, which are also double-sided, multi-layered, or single-sided. The high-end PCBs also incorporate the components like active devices, capacitors, and resistors embedded into the structure. 

All electrical appliances and devices have PCBs. One interesting fact about PCBs is that they are also color coded. Blue PCB, green PCB, black, red, purple, and white are common forms of PCB boards. With the plethora of PCB boards, many people still wonder about the blue PCB board and its differences in the functionality of the board.

Although there is no visible difference between a standard PCB board color and a blue PCB, the latter is gaining popularity amongst electrical designers and engineers due to its attractive color. In this article, we are going to discuss all blue circuit boards, their features, and blue color’s significance.

What Do Blue Circuit Boards Do?

The role of the blue PCB is to allow the data assembly and electrical circuits to go into the functional pieces of hardware. It offers mechanical aid and electrical connection through the conductive pathways. They are not blue due to their paint, dye, or the mark being blue. It is blue due to its resemblance to the soldering mask. The color blue is the same as the solder mask, which protects the copper wires on the board. 

Although the blue circuit board is not only known for its looks, the difference between the empty spaces and plane traces is that it is shallow. The magnification is necessary for the blue soldering mask since it helps to detect the defects which occur during the manufacturing of blue PCB. It is why most designers prefer boards for designing complex circuits and electrical devices such as RC Robots, gaming PC, etc.

Due to the attractive look of the blue circuit board, it has several applications, such as:

• Digital clocks.
• Signage.
• Smartphone devices.
• Electrical appliances.
• Stereos.
• RC drones, bots, and other vehicles.
• Printers
• Televisions.
• Printers.
• Computers.

Blue PCBs are rare and difficult to source, contributing to the high costs of all the circuit boards available in the market.

The blue PCB board allows signals and power routes between the physical devices. Designers and manufacturers use the soler to make the electrical connection between the surface of the blue PCB board and the electronic components. Solder is a strong mechanical adhesive; since it is metal, it is easily detectable on a blue surface. With soldering, designers ensure that the components fit perfectly in place. When there is a need for repairs, designers can easily remove the damaged components from the blue substrates without damaging other parts of the Blue PCB.

Blue PCB Compositions.

You can consider blue PCB as cake layers. In other words, they have alternating layers of varying materials. Manufacturers and designers use adhesive and health for laminating the layers which make the single object.

The layers are made up of:

• Blue substrate
• Solder mask
• Copper
• Silkscreen

Let us break down the Blue PCB and its functions:

• Blue Substrate

The substrate is the foundational material of the blue PCB made with blue fiberglass. This blue fiberglass is also called FR4. It is amongst the core components of the blue PCB, contributing to its rigidity and thickness. Depending on the maker, you can also find flexible blue PCB boards built on flexible high-temperature plastic. Blue PCB boards are available in varying thicknesses which you can choose by determining your uses. Nevertheless, the general sizes are available in 0.8mm and 1.6mm thicknesses. Designers also make customized blue PCB for RC devices and gaming PCs.

Many designers and manufacturers make blue PCB boards with phenolics and epoxy resins. They are less functional and durable than their fiberglass counterparts. However, they are affordable. You can easily find the difference between epoxy PCB and fiberglass PCB. When you solder the blue PCB’s epoxy, it will generate an unpleasant smell. It is the primary indication of low-grade consumer electronics.

• Solder Mask

Another layer in the blue PCB appears on top of the copper foiling. The solder mask is used to give them their color in the standard PCBs. However, the substrate itself is blue in the blue-printed circuit boards. The solder mask can be transparent or blue. The solder masking aims to insulate the copper coating from potential contact with other metals, solder, or conductive parts. Hence, it is overlaid on top of the thinner layer of copper, which helps to get solder in the right places while preventing the soldering jumpers.

• Copper

It is the essential part of the blue PCB. It is the second layer added after the blue substrate. For adding copper, heat lamination and adhesives are used. You can find the copper layer on either side in the double-sided PCBs. Lower-quality electronics generally are equipped with PCBs on one side. When discussing the 2-layer boards, we refer to the number of copper layers. It can be from one layer to a maximum of 16 layers of copper. By determining the usage and the designer, the number of layers can be more than that also. 

You can tell the copper thickness by considering its weight. However, there are many customizable blue PCBs that can handle more power, so they use about 2-3 ounces of power.

• Silkscreen

It is the final and fourth layer of the blue PCB, overlaid on top of the solder mask coating. The purpose of the silkscreen is to add numbers, letters, and symbols to the blue board. It allows for easier assembly since numbers and symbols are etched in a readable format. The symbols are the indicators that help us to understand the circuit board better. In most cases, many designers use silkscreen labeling to show the functions of every LED or pin. The common color of the silkscreen is white, and in blue PCBs, the designers use white and black inks. 

Different Types Of Blue PCB Electronic Boards

Now that you know the internals of the Blue PCB, let us now learn about the types of boards available in the market:

• Single layer: the single-layer PCBs have a single copper layering on one side of the soldering mask. This type of board is efficient in power supplies, SSDs, printers, and stereo equipment.
• Double layer: the double-layer printed circuit board has a copper coating on both sides. Designers make the hole through the Solder Mask to allow circuits to go from one side to the other.

• Multilayer: the multilayer boards consist of three or more double-layer blue-printed circuit boards. These boards are common in medical equipment, satellite systems, and file servers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the blue PCBs are similar to the traditional boards. Nevertheless, the blue counterparts are more attractive. They look advanced and modern because designers etch the components to their surfaces. Blue boards also need the right inspection with the magnification process to determine the defects during manufacturing.