What is a printed circuit board (PCB)?

 

A printed circuit board (PCB) is also called a printed wire board (PWB). The PCB is the base plate for assembling electronic components and also the “mother of electronic products.” Therefore, it is a very important electronic part and support of electronic components. A PCB is designed to connect related components with the copper foil lines running across different layers of the PCB to make a product fully operable.

 

Before the invention of PCBs, electronic components were connected by wires to form a complete path. To simplify the manufacturing process, lower the cost, and enhance the production efficiency of electronic products, a printing method was invented to replace wires with the copper foils on the base plate.

 

Components are connected by the copper foil lines running across different layers of a PCB to make a product fully operable.

 

Traditionally, as the circuitry and drawings are completed with the printed resist, they are called the printed circuit board (PCB). As the miniaturization and refinement of electronic products continue, most PCBs today are covered with the etching resist (wet film or dry film). After exposure and developing, unwanted copper foils are removed by etching to finish the required circuit board.

 

 

 

Base materials of PCB

Substrates are often categorized by the insulation, material composition, and fire-retardant characteristics of the base materials. Common PCB base materials include Bakelite, fiberglass, and various types of plastics. In general, manufacturers of PCB substrates make a copper foil substrate by blending insulating prepreg materials composed of the glass-fiber non-woven material and epoxy resin laminated to the copper foil.

 

The common types of PCB substrates are as follows:

 

• FR-4: Fiberglass + Epoxy Resin. This is the most common type of PCB substrate. As Tg is only about 130°C, the High Tg FR-4 is recommended for products requiring processing or operating at high temperatures.
• High Tg FR-4: Fiberglass + Epoxy Resin. This is the second common type of PCB substrates after the FR-4. PCB substrates with a glass transition temperature (Tg) over 150°C is called High Tg substrates.
• CEM-1: Fiberglass Fabric + Epoxy Resin coated on cotton.
• CEM-3: Fiberglass Fabric + Epoxy Resin coated on fiberglass non-woven fabrics.
• Ceramic PCB: Powder Ceramics + Fiberglass
• Teflon PCB: Teflon + Fiberglass

 

 

PCB Substrates for 5G Products

Please click the link 5G PCB Substrates: Choices and Applications for more information about the PCB substrates suitable for 5G application.

 

 

Surface treatment of PCB

Due to the oxidization-prone characteristic of the PCB’s copper surface in air, a surface coating is thus added to the exposed areas not covered by the solder mask to protect such areas against oxidization. To meet the needs of different methods of subsequent processing, surface finishes of different materials, prices, and protection abilities are developed.

The common PCB surface finishes are as follows:

Bare copper, HAL, LF-HASL, ENIG, gold plating, immersion silver, and OSP surface finishes. Click to view the comparison of different types of PCB surface finishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Variety of PCB structure

 

The structure of a PCB can be divided into the following three categories:

 

1. Single-Layer PCB:

 

Copper foil wires are designed only on one side of the circuit board, leaving the other side of the board blank. While the circuit of earlier electronic products is rather simple, only one side is needed for connection, leaving the blank side (without copper foil) for accommodating components.

 

2. Double-Layer PCB:

 

 Copper wires are designed on both sides of the circuit board, and components on the front (top layer) and the rear (bottom layer) are interconnected by means of the via on the PCB. As wiring is allowed on both sides, the effective circuiting area of a double-layer PCB doubles that of a single layer PCB, therefore, the double-layer PCB is more suitable for products with complex circuits. In the design, the components are placed on the front side, and their pins are soldered on the rear.

 

3. Multi-Layer PCB:

 

A multilayer PCB is composed of a number of etched double-sided boards by stacking and insulating with the prepreg between boards. After coating copper foils on the exterior of both sides, all layers are bound by lamination. As a multilayer PCB is composed of a number of double-sided boards, the number of layers is often even. The copper foil layer laminated inside can be a conductive layer, a signal layer, a power supply layer, or a grounding layer. In theory, a multilayer PCB can contain over 50 layers. In practice, however, 30-layer PCBs are the highest.

 

 

 

Base materials of PCB

Substrates are often categorized by the insulation, material composition, and fire-retardant characteristics of the base materials. Common PCB base materials include Bakelite, fiberglass, and various types of plastics. In general, manufacturers of PCB substrates make a copper foil substrate by blending insulating prepreg materials composed of the glass-fiber non-woven material and epoxy resin laminated to the copper foil.

 

The common types of PCB substrates are as follows:

 

• FR-4: Fiberglass + Epoxy Resin. This is the most common type of PCB substrate. As Tg is only about 130°C, the High Tg FR-4 is recommended for products requiring processing or operating at high temperatures.
• High Tg FR-4: Fiberglass + Epoxy Resin. This is the second common type of PCB substrates after the FR-4. PCB substrates with a glass transition temperature (Tg) over 150°C is called High Tg substrates.
• CEM-1: Fiberglass Fabric + Epoxy Resin coated on cotton.
• CEM-3: Fiberglass Fabric + Epoxy Resin coated on fiberglass non-woven fabrics.
• Ceramic PCB: Powder Ceramics + Fiberglass
• Teflon PCB: Teflon + Fiberglass

 

 

PCB Substrates for 5G Products

Please click the link 5G PCB Substrates: Choices and Applications for more information about the PCB substrates suitable for 5G application.

 

 

Surface treatment of PCB

Due to the oxidization-prone characteristic of the PCB’s copper surface in air, a surface coating is thus added to the exposed areas not covered by the solder mask to protect such areas against oxidization. To meet the needs of different methods of subsequent processing, surface finishes of different materials, prices, and protection abilities are developed.

The common PCB surface finishes are as follows:

Bare copper, HAL, LF-HASL, ENIG, gold plating, immersion silver, and OSP surface finishes. Click to view the comparison of different types of PCB surface finishes.

 

 

 

 

 

PCB application: Single-sided board and Double-sided board

 

1. Single sided board

A glass-fiber board covered with copper foils on one side on which the integrated circuit (IC) and other electronic components are accommodated on, with the copper wires running on the other side of the board. Due to the limitation on copper wire quantity, the single-sided board was only used in earlier circuit boards.

 

2. Double sided board

A glass-fiber board covered with copper foils on both sides on which vias are drilled through both sides of the board for the interconnection of copper wires of each side to accommodate circuits more complex than that on the single-sided board.

 

3. Substrate

In consideration of cost cutting, the FR-1 or FR-2 (phenolic cotton paper, collectively called bakelite) will be used as the substrate for simple, low-end electronic products. However, the abovementioned FR-4 is still the mainstream substrate, and other common substrates include:

 

(A) PTFE (Teflon)

High-frequency (HF) PCBs and high-frequency electronic equipment are the current developing trends, particularly in the wireless network environment. The rapid developing of satellite communications also pushes product development towards higher speed and higher frequency. Hence, HF substrates are always required for new product development, and the HF-PCB is also required by satellite systems and mobile phone base stations. Generally, HF can be defined as any frequency above 1 GHz. Currently, PTFE, also called Teflon, with a nominal frequency above 5GHz is the common material for manufacturing HF-PCBs.
Ex.: ROGERS RO3000 series

 

(B) Alumina (Ceramic)

The ceramic substrate is one type of circuit board different from the FR-4 or aluminum substrate for its coefficient of thermal expansion proximate to that of the semiconductor and high heat resistance, making it suitable for use on products that generate high heat (high-brightness LEDs and solar energy). Its outstanding weather resistance makes it even more suitable for outdoor use in severe weather. In general, besides containing components, the ceramic substrate has sufficient mechanical strength to support members, good workability and high dimensional accuracy.
Ex.: ROGERS RO4000 series

 

 (C) Aluminum

The aluminum substrate is a unique metal-based copper clad laminate with good thermal conductivity, electrical insulation properties, and mechanical processing properties. It is commonly used on LEDs and electronic power adaptors. When emitting strong light, an LED will generate high heat, and the aluminum substrate will radiate the heat directly from the component. In addition, the aluminum substrate can prolong the lifespan of LED elements and provide higher stability. In general, aluminum substrates are found in streetlamps, parking lights, and lighting equipment. It also enables power converters to change current and regulate electronic devices. Aluminum substrates are usually made single-sided, but there are also double-sided ones. Multilayer aluminum substrates are more difficult to manufacture.

 

(D) Other

FR series: FR-3, FR-5, and FR-6, etc., and the CEM series cover CEM-1 to CEM-5.

 

 

 

 

 

PCB application: Multilayer PCB

 

Multilayer Board: A multilayer board refers to a structure of multiple copper layers formed by a number of double-sided PCBs with the required circuits designed on both sides separated with a prepreg in between before lamination. As a multilayer board is composed of a number of double-sided boards, the number of layers is often even. With a capacity to contain the most copper wires, a multilayer board is suitable for complex circuits. Currently, the 8-layer board is commonly used on PC motherboards which contain many components, while 8-layer boards or boards with more layers are used on small electronics, such as mobiles and tablets, requiring miniaturization. In general, the more electronic components and the smaller the product size are required, the more the layers of PCB are needed.

 

1. Substrate

 

The FR-4 (fiberglass + epoxy resin) is the most common type of substrate used by the electronics industry across the globe. FR is the acronym for fire retardance, and the number that follows represents the level of fire retardance, i.e. the specifications for the self-extinguishing of resin in the burning process. Instead of the name of a material, it is the class of a material. Therefore, there are different kinds of FR-4 materials for making PCBs, but most of them are composite materials made with tetrafunctional epoxy resins, fillers, and fiberglass. FR-4 products with high Tg performance are developed due to the advancement in electronics installation technology and PCB technology developing. Tg (Glass Transition Temperature)

Ex.: ISOLA FR402, FR408, 370HR; Nanya NP-140, NP-155, NP-175

 

2. Variety and Application

 

(A) 4-Layer Board

Epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth are the major base materials. The 4-layer board is mainly used on PCs, medical devices, measuring devices, semiconductor testers, numeric controllers, electronic exchange, communicators, memory module PCBs, and IC cards.

 

(B) 6-8-Layer Board

Epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth are still the major base materials. The 6-8-layer board is mainly used on electronic exchange, semiconductor testers, medium-end PCs, and workstations.

 

(B) 10-Layer and More Layer Boards

Fiber-reinforced plastic is the major base material, or a combination of a number of epoxy resin multilayer PCBs. This type of PCB is used for special applications, such as large industrial computers, high-speed computers, defense devices, and communication devices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outline of PCB manufacturing process

 

Single-Layer PCB
Engineering→ Sheets Cutting→ Drilling→ Dry Film Lamination→ Copper Etching→ Solder Mask Coating→ Legend Printing→ Surface Finishing→ NC-Routing→ Electric Tests→ QI.

 

Double-Layer PCB
Engineering→ Sheets Cutting→ Drilling→ PTH→ Panel Plating→ Mold Making→ Exposure & Developing→ Pattern Plating→ Tin-Lead Plating→ Tin-Lead Stripping→ Etching→ Solder Mask Coating→ Legend Printing→ Surface Finishing→ NC-Routing→ Electric Tests→ QI.

 

Multilayer PCB
Engineering→ Cutting→ Inner Film Lamination→ Inner Etching→ Inner Film Stripping→ Lamination→ Drilling→ PTH→ Panel Plating→ Dry Film Lamination→ Exposure & Developing→ Pattern Plating→ Tin-Lead Plating→ Stripping→ Etching→ Tin-Lead Stripping→ Solder Mask Coating→ Legend Printing→ Surface Finishing→ NC-Routing→ Electric Tests→ QI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conversion of commonly used units

 

Copper Foil Thickness: Ounce (oz)

 

In the PCB industry, “oz” is the common unit used to indicate copper foil thickness. However, as “oz” is primarily a unit of weight, why is it used to indicated thickness in the PCB industry?
This is because the thickness of copper foil of a PCB substrate is defined by “oz” per square feet (ft²) in the specification. As the heavier the copper is in the same area suggests the thicker the copper foil is, and weight and thickness of copper foil form a positive ratio, “oz” indicating the weight of copper foil is converted into thickness “mil.”

 

The following units are commonly used on the PCB:

• 1 oz = 28.35 g = 1.4 mil = 1400μ" = 35μm
• 1 inch = 1000 mil
• 1 inch = 25.4 mm
• 1 mil = 0.0254 mm = 1000 micro inch (μ")
• 1 mm = 39.37 mil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. PCB Process

 

1. Dry process:
Sheets Cutting, Dry Film Lamination, Exposure, Lamination, Drilling & NC-Routing

 

2. Wet process:
Scrub, Inner Developing, Inner Etching, Inner Stripping, Black Oxide Treatment, Desmear, PTH Plating, Panel Plating, Developing, Pattern Plating, Tin-Lead Plating, Stripping, Etching, Tin-Lead Stripping, Sold Mask Coating, Legend Printing & Surface Finishing

 

3. Process Outline

 

A. Sheets Cutting
Cut the substrate into working panels according to the size stated in the work order.

B. Scrub
Scrub and perform micro-etching of the copper foil for surface roughening treatment before dry film lamination. Then, laminate the dry film (photoresist) on the surface at an appropriate temperature and pressure.

C. Dry Film Lamination
The pre-treatment is performed to clean and micro-etch the board before the dry film lamination in a laminator to coat a photosensitive organic film on the board surface. After exposure, the circuit is transferred to the board via the negative.

D. Exposure
The film-laminated board is transported to the exposer for UV exposure to harden the photosensitive area through the negative to transfer the circuit image onto the dry film (the dry film in the area will be developed and etched to become the etching resist).

E. Inner Developing
When dissolving the dry film without UV exposure in the developer, the dry film hardened by UV exposure will not be dissolved by the developer but will adsorb on the board surface to form the pattern of the inner layer of the circuit (inner layer is the negative, the copper surface is transparent in the negative).

F. Inner Etching
After dissolving the dry film without UV exposure, the copper surface beneath will be exposed. At the etching station, the bare copper will be etched by the etching solution to expose the substrate, while the cooper surface covered by the dry film will remain intact and become the inner circuit.

G. Inner Stripping
The stripper is used to remove the dry film hardened by UV exposure.

H. Black Oxide Treatment
The black oxide treatment aims to grow a layer of black/brown fur on the inner substrate surface to increase the surface area of contact and thereby enhance the bonding effect between different layers of substrate after lamination. After black oxide treatment, the board will be baked in the oven to remove the moisture on the board surface. Otherwise, internal bonding will be affected due to thermal expansion.

I. Lamination
When stacking six or more layers of PCBs, these PCBs must be combined with eyelets before placing them tidily on the steel and placed on a tray for lamination at an appropriate temperature and pressure in the laminator to harden and bond the plastic sheets.

J. Drilling
The drilling process aims to process the holes for components, fixing, vias, etc., required by the customer and provide positioning holds for subsequent processes, including the slicing hole for QA inspection.

K. Desmear
As the resin in the substrate softened or liquefied by the heat generated from drilling will gather on the bit, smears will clog the copper in the holes to cause the insultation effect. Therefore, chemicals are used to remove the smears in the holes before electroplating.

L. PTH Plating
The plating through hole (PTH) is also called panel plating. In the process, chemicals are used to plate a thin layer of copper on the wall of non-conductive resin and fiberglass holes to metalize hole walls. These metalized holes, known as vias, are used to connect the inner and outer circuits or for soldering component pins. They are thus called the component holes.

M. Developing, Pattern Plating, Tin-Lead Plating
When manufacturing PCBs by means of positive image transfer (on a positive, the circuit or copper surface is in black) to dissolve the dry film without UV exposure.

N. Pattern Plating and Tin-Lead Plating
The pattern plating and tin-lead plating (the tin and lead in the area will be retained as the etching resist in the etching process) coming after developing aim to increase the thickness of the outer circuit. Neither copper nor tin can be plated on the copper surface adsorbed to the outer dry film. However, pattern plating and tin-lead plating can be performed on a bare copper surface (the area of dry film without UV exposure dissolved by the developer). Tin is plated to protect the copper surface beneath the tin against the dissolution in the etching process.

O. Stripping, Inner Etching, Tin-Lead Stripping
Stripper is used to remove all dry films on the board. After removing the outer dry film, the copper surface beneath will be exposed. After etching, the bare copper surface will be dissolved by the etching solution to expose the substrate. The copper surface protected by tin plating will not be dissolved and form the outer circuit. Lastly, the tin and lead on the board surface will be removed in the tin-lead stripping process.

P. Solder Mask
After cleaning the board surface through pre-processing, a solder mask is performed by covering the board surface with a layer of photosensitive solder resist. After pre-drying, the exposure process follows. After exposure, the photoresist pattern will be transferred on the board surface. The solder mask without UV exposure will be dissolved by the developer, while the photosensitive solder mask is hardened after UV exposure and cannot be dissolved by the developer to form the solder mask pattern.
The aim of photo-masking is to leave the vias and pads for soldering on the PCB, while all other circuits and copper surface will be masked to prevent short-circuit caused by soldering and reduce solder consumption.

Q. Printing of Legend (Legend Printing)
Legends are printed on the PCB to mark the position of components to facilitate insertion or maintenance and repair by customers.

R. Surface Treatment
The surface is treated to prevent oxidization. Common surface treatment includes OSP (organic solderability preservative), electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG), immersion silver, and gold plating.

S. NC-Routing
Pattern cutting is performed based on the appearance drawings of customers to manufacture PCBs in the size required by customers. (Processing methods include punch, routing, v-cut, bevel, drilling)

T. Electrical Testing
Electrical tests are performed on the PCB circuits to identify if there are short-circuit problems requiring fixing or scrap. In addition, the electrical performance of the PCB is also tested. Common testing methods including flying probe, dedicated, and universal on grid.

U. Final Visual Inspection
A visual inspection is performed at the end on product appearance to ensure product quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Application of Drilling Programs

 

Mechanical Drilling:
Holes drilled with the bit on the drilling machine. Our minimum processing diameter is 0.15mm. In general, most holes on the PCB are completed by mechanical drilling.

 

Laser Drilling:
Holes on the PCB are drilled with a laser, with diameters about 0.076–0.1mm. Laser drilling is used on most HDI boards to achieve the blind/buried via hole (BVH) requirements.

Via: This includes the plating through hole (PTH) and non-plating through hole (NPTH).

As the terms suggest, there are holes penetrating the front to the bottom of a PCB made with a drill bit drilling through all layers from top to bottom. Copper is coated on the wall of PTH for connection to the required layers to form a loop. Copper is not coated on the wall of NPTH intended for fixing the pins of components or the PCB on the mechanism’s enclosure. Therefore, no connection is required.

 

Blind/Buried Via Hole (BVH):
A blind via hole has one side located on the outer layer of a PCB and another side on the inner layer. While the hole is only visible from one side, it is called a blind via hole. A buried via hole is a hole buried between layers of a PCB and cannot be spotted from the appearance.

Both blind/buried via holes do not need to penetrate the PCB. Due to the miniaturization trend of products, the availability of PCB space is reducing, and too many holes (vias) will occupy too much space to affect the availability the PCB space. Therefore, the blind/buried via hole technology can enhance the availability of PCB space for product miniaturization.

The diameter of a blind/buried via hole is about 4–6mil (0.1–0.15mm). They are used for connection of all paths. In general, a buried via hole will be made mechanically at 6mil (0.15mm), while a blind via hole is made by laser drilling at 4mil (0.1mm).

 

Figures:

 

 

PTH semi via:

It is also called the castellation usually located at the designated area on the sides of a PCB with copper plating. Whether it is a straight line, a curve, or a slot, copper can be plated on top to facilitate subsequent product assembly.
Figures

 

Countersink/Counterbore:
When assembling a PCB, the holes for screws include the countersink and counterbore based on the shape of their grooves. Regular countersink angle: 82°/ 90°/ 100°.

Figure of Countersink

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction to special PCB textures and applications

 

In the PCB industry, PCBs by nature can be divided into the rigid PCB (RPCB), flexible PCB (FPCB), and rigid-flexible printed circuit board (RFPCB). Take the components in a PC for example, the RPCB is the motherboard and other add-on cards. Most PCBs are the RPCBs. The FPCB is often used to connect components. For example, the antenna is connected to the mainboard in a mobile phone. It needs the FPCB because the FPCB can be bent and is thinner. Therefore, it is often used to connect components located apart in limited space.

 

 

Special PCB Types

 

1. Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC)

 

The FPC is composed of the plastic film, copper foil, and bounding agent. Besides being bendable and flexible, ultrathin, and high-precision, the FPC can contain circuits in multiple layers and support chip mounting or chip surface mounting (SMT). In general, the FPC is called the flex circuit, flexible PCB, membrane, flexible electronics, etc.
Like the case of other substrates, higher wire density and more layers are required for the FPC to enhance performance while reducing power consumption in signal transmission at the same time. As the manufacturing process of FPC is very complex, its technology threshold is also higher.

 

1. Application
The FPC is widely used on different products, almost all of them high-tech products. It is most commonly used on communication products like smartphones. In a smartphone, over 40% of PCBs are FPCs. In addition, the FPC is also used on laptops, autotronics, medical devices, weapons, and wearables. The miniaturization trend of products enhances the importance of the FPC. Statistics show that an iPhone X uses about 20 FPCs. In addition to the iPhone, the FPC is often used in different terminal devices, such as the antenna FPC, backlight module FPC, camera lens FPC, touch screen FPC, Touch ID FPC, SIM FPC, laptop screen connection FPC, car image sensor FPC, car light assembly FPC, etc. The importance of FPC is thus shown.

 

2. Texture
The FPC by material can be divided into the PI, MPI, and LCP. The MPI is a modified PI, because the performance of PI is too low that it is almost phased out. Currently, the MPI and LCP are the two major FPC materials. As the LCP has better performance, its price is also significantly higher. In terms of price-to-performance ratio (PPR), it is generally believed that the MPI has a higher PPR. Particularly, after significant improvements in recent years, the MPI has become a threat to the LCP. For example, Apple decided to replace LCP FPCs with MPI FPCs to reduce costs in 2018. Power consumption in signal transmission is the prime concern of the choice of FPC materials. Although no significant difference in power consumption is found in low-frequency transmission, as the frequency increases, the power consumption of the PI increases gradually, and the same to the MPI and LPC. Therefore, the advantage of the LCP is more significant in high-frequency transmission. Therefore, as the frequency of part of the signal transmission will be over 24GHz in 5G, the requirements for the FPC will be higher.

 

2. Rigid-Flex Printed Circuit Board (RFPCB)

 

It is abbreviated as the RFPCB. In general, if an FPC is laminated between two RPCBs to form a complete PCB, it is called the RFPCB. The integration with the HDI technology and the trend of high-frequency signal development will make the RFPCB more popular.

Traditionally, the FPC and RPCB are integrated by means of a connector or hot bar to link two RPCBs. The RPCB transmits signals through RPCB→ FPC→RPCB to shorten the distance and increase the speed of signal transmission to effectively enhance reliability.

In addition, this can also reduce space on the PCB and the connector or hot bar process to simplify product assembly. Although the price of RPCB is higher, it can be used comprehensively and supports customization.

Due to its high reliability, the RPCB is often used in the aerospace, medical, and arms industries with stricter requirements. The RPCB is often used in smartphones, PV panels, battery packs, wearables, and advanced storage devices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PCB-related certification

 

1. UL Certification

UL is the acronym for the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Starting as a US form, the UL gradually became a global safety certification body with the largest scale, longest history, and highest authority.

 

UL certification services by demands include listing, recognition, and classification.

 

Listing: It is the most commonly known UL certification service. When putting the UL logo on a product, this means the manufacturer has the sample of this product certified for compliance with the US safety standards by the UL. Therefore, this product will not cause a fire, electric shock, or related hazards under reasonable and foreseeable conditions.

 

Recognized Component: The component recognition service tests non-finished products, such as parts and components, that are used in a UL-listed product. For example, the UL certification of PCB falls in this category. The RU Mark is most commonly seen on our PCB products.

 

Classification: In general, quality is designated in the tests of industrial or commercial products for classification certification. Test items include flammability, performance in hazardous conditions, or special government requirements. UL product classification tests products based on different natures, designated hazard ranges, or specific conditions, and construction materials or industrial instruments are the most common products applying for UL classification.

 

For PCB manufacturers, UL certification concerns consumers most, including whether or not the suppliers of materials/PP/solder resist of PCBs are listed by UL. Each authentic PCB manufacturer has a unique UL number, and certificates carrying this number can be inquired on the UL website. Related information is also disclosed in the certificates.

Cheer Time’s UL certification number is: E142470.

 

2. ISO 9001

 

ISO 9001 is a set of international standards for certifying the quality management system (QMS) of a company. ISO 9001 is established and published by the International Organization for Standardization. Currently, over one million companies and organizations in over 170 countries have passed the certification of ISO 9001. In addition, ISO 9001 can be certified for any organizations, scales, products, and services.

ISO 9001 is implemented to maintain the quality of products and services to ensure quality consistency.

 

3. ISO 14001

 

ISO 14001 is established and published by the International Organization for Standardization to help enterprises control costs and balance the environment and productivity in a better way to enhance integrated competitiveness. That is to say, ISO 14001 emphasizes management improvement, cost reduction, and pollution reduction.

With the rising concern about environmental protection across the globe, besides setting environmental protection as their mission, an increased number of first-rate enterprises request suppliers to implement environmental protection accordingly.

The advantages of ISO 14001 include proof of compliance with the environmental regulations of products to enhance market competitiveness, and facilitation of export trade in the international market, particularly to the PCB industry characterized by high pollution. Passing ISO 14001 certification can effectively set a green corporate image and enhance corporate awareness.

 

4. IATF 16949

 

IATF 16949 (formerly ISO/TS 16949 discontinued as of September 2018) established by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) based on ISO 9001:2005 refers to the special requirements for the auto industry to implement the quality control system under ISO 9001 and related services. It also emphasizes the inclusion of the specific technical requirements in the auto industry. Therefore, it is a highly customer-oriented, innovative certification system to provide global customers of the auto industry with higher quality. It also establishes the universal quality requirements and systems for the auto industry, with a focus on defect prevention, reducing the quality instability and waste easily occurring in the auto part supply chain. Members include the IATF and auto trade related organizations in different countries.

 

5. RoHS

 

The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) is a compulsory standard legislated by the European Union (EU). Officially taking effect in July 2006, the RoHS primarily regulates the materials and technical standards of electronic and electrical products to make them friendlier to human health and environmental protection.

 

It aims to eliminate ten substances in electronic and electrical products, including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and four plasticizers, as well as regulating the 0.1% lead content in such products.

 

6. REACH

 

REACH is an EU legislation for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals. All substances exported to the EU must be licensed from June 2007. Manufacturers or exporters exporting goods to the EU at or over one MT a year must register with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Substances exported to the EU categorized as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) must be licensed. Manufacturers or exporters exporting any goods containing 0.1% or more SVHCs to the EU at over one MT a year must communicate to the ECHA. REACH aims to protect human health and environmental safety and maintain and enhance the competitiveness of the EU’s chemical industry.

 

The differences between the RoHS and REACH are: the RoHS restricts electronic and electrical products containing the restricted substances, while REACH governs all chemical-using goods, such as substances, solvents, paints, chemicals, etc.