What are the correct terms for referring to circuit boards?
Thanks!
Answer:
"Unpopulated PCB", or "bare PCB" are commonly heard, the former being a bit more formal.
Breadboards
The term that I have heard (and used) most often to refer to unpopulated circuit boards is printed circuit board (PCB). The populated (PCB with components installed) term is a lot more diverse. Certain companies call populated board Circuit Card Assemblies (CCAs) but this term may not be standard across the industry.
I wouldn't consider there to be a "standard term" as just common terms used. A circuit board with nothing on it can be referred to as a PCB, a bare PCB, unstuffed PCB, fab or bare fab, unpopulated board/PCB.
A board with components installed can be called a populated PCB, an assembly, circuit assembly, PWA (Printed Wiring Assembly), stuffed PCB or stuffed board.
Alot of it relates to what industry you're in. If you're a guy building PC's, then unstuffed boards never come in to the picture, so a "board" or "PCB" is always referring to a stuffed assembly. If you were to work in a fab shop, stuffed assemblies would never be an option, so "boards" or "fabs" probably would be the most common. If you're in an assembly house, then it becomes very important to make the distinction. I've noticed people at the assembly houses usually say "boards" and "bare boards". In R&D it can be somewhat ubiquitous, if I say "board" unless the context implys one or the other I usually get someone asking "You mean bare board or the assembly?" Usually if I'm talking about a bare board I say "fab" (short for fabrication).
bare and stuffed
MIKE
The answers post by the user, for information only, FunQA.com does not guarantee the right.
More Questions and Answers: