Design Considerations for Metal Core Printed Circuit Board,printed circuit board

Design Considerations for Metal Core Printed Circuit Board

Designing an aluminium board 

is similar to a traditional FR-4 

board in terms of imaging and 

wet processing operations.But 

you have to consider a 

secondary mechanical 

operations to make the design

manufacturable and cost-

effective.

Also considerations for 

soldermask,legend and

 mechanical fabrication will be

 Manufacturing a Cost-Effective Board

 required. 

Material Stack Up

1050 aluminium is used for bendable MCPCB.

5052 aluminium is the most cost effective base material for flat MCPCB.

6061-T6 is also available but more expensive.printed circuit board

Multilayer MCPCB boards are available at a substantial

premium.

Base Material Thickness

Using standard thickness will also control costs.

1.0mm (.0.40) and 1.6mm (.062) are the most

common.

Flatness

Flatness is affected by 

the amount of copper 

required, therefore 

CTE(Coeffcient of 

Thermal Expansion) 

rulesmust be 

considered.This will 

allow the heavier the

copper construction 

with the required 

thickeraluminum or 

copper baseto prevent

bowing. Additional

dielectric thickness will

be required for drilling,

scoring, routing and 

punching.

Dielectric

The standard dielectrics are 1.0 W/m.k., 1.5 W/m.k., and 2.0 W/m.k.The higher the dielectric the more expensive the board. Standard TG is 140 Degrees. Also available is 170 Degrees at a slightly higher cost.

Copper Circuit Foil

The thinner the circuit 

foil chosen the lower 

the cost..H oz, 1 oz, 

and 2 oz are most 

common copper foils.

Typically there will be

an increase in the 

current capability of 

MCPCB when compared 

to standard FR-4 

boards.

Minumum Circuit Width

Minumum Space And Gap

Soldermask

Super Bright White is the most commonly used with a reflectivity of approximately 89% and other colors such as green, black, red and blue are also available.printed circuit board

Legend

Nomenclature Typically On 

White Solder Mask is Black

Surface Finish

Solderpad finish, HASL, Pb-free 

HASL are the most cost effective

finishes. Other surface finishes 

such as Immersion Tin, 

Immersion Silver, ENIG, ENEPIG

(for gold wire bonding)and OSP

are available, but consideration

on cost and shelf life play a role

when determining a final finish.

Baseplate Finish

On Aluminium, a brushed finish 

is typical. Other finishes like 

anodized and irridite are 

available for additional cost.

With copper, a brushed finish 

is typical, but may oxidize from,printed circuit board

handling and also atmospheric 

conditions. Other finishes as 

electroless nickel are available 

but are more expensive.