6 Jun
2006
6 Jun
'06
7:22 p.m.
That goes back a ways! I don't remember the name of the machine, but it was a
patented process by IIRC PhotoCircuits based in NY. I had the opportunity to see
one of the machines run at one of their plants while working on another machine,
and it was pretty impressive. I'm not sure it was a cost effective solution for
double sided PCBs, but back then, it was certainly an alternative for multilayer
boards.
From: Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca>
There was another technique for making circuit boards
in the 70s: a
programmed/automated machine moved over the initially bare board and laid down
a fine wire from a spool to form the circuits. I think the wire stuck to the
board initially and the board was later lacquered or coated with something to
seal/hold the wires better. I forgot how the wire traces were terminated
around IC pin locations, probably a pressure weld.
I think the economics were such that it was too slow for large production
runs, but was suitable for prototypes and small production runs of larger,
more-complex boards. Last example I saw was a disk-controller for a TI-990
mini circa 1980.
Anybody remember the name for the technique?