What Are the Advantages of PCBA Copy Service?

21 Oct.,2024

 

Unlocking the PCB Clone: Its Working Principle and Benefits

Cloning is quickly becoming a popular way of producing printed circuit boards. Why? A PCB clone excludes the design stage, significantly reducing production time and costs, among other benefits. That said, circuit board duplication is a less understood process. Let&#;s see what it is and why you would want it.

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What is a PCB Clone?

A PCB clone is a duplicated printed circuit board, a copy of an existing PCB. You can also call it a reverse-engineered board, seeing its production involves extracting information and using it to build a new board.

Other names include circuit board copy and duplicate circuit board. They all mean the same thing: an already manufactured board recreated.

A cloned circuit has all the original features, such as traces and vias, as contained in the bill of materials, BOM. It may also include modifications to suit an application or if the earlier design is outdated.

Why Clone a PCB?

Cloning a printed circuit board, or PCB duplication, saves you from producing it from nothing. Various situations make this a more attractive manufacturing solution. They include:

  • If you intend to upgrade a system and cannot afford to make new boards from scratch
  • If you plan to replace damaged circuit boards without having to redesign them or cause a downtime
  • To want a copy of your circuit for backup in case you lose the original design files
  • To gain insight into competitor technologies and make improvements to yours
How to copy a PCB, the steps
Resource: https://youtu.be/vV8bunjivqE?

How PCB Cloning Works?

PCB cloning uses reverse engineering to produce an exact copy of an existing circuit and its components. Although the process varies across different manufacturers, the following steps are involved.

NB: To clone a PCB, it&#;s helpful to provide the engineers with a BOM and a copy of the schematics of the printed circuit board.professional engineers can also reverse engineer a printed circuit board according to a physical sample.

  • Take multiple images of the locations of the components with a high-resolution digital camera.
  • Make a detailed record of the components, including their model number, parameters and exact positions, especially the orientation of the diodes, transistors and IC notches.
  • Remove all mounted components and the tin from the PAD holes. You want it bare in the succeeding steps.
  • Clean the board using alcohol and scan it on either side.
  • Load the images onto photo-editing software like Photoshop.
  • Scrub both sides of the board using water gauze paper to polish it.
  • Again, scan it in color mode with the editing software.
  • Adjust the canvas contrast levels until the copper film is distinctly visible.
  • Save the image in black and white and as a TOP BMP and Bot BMP file.
  • Convert the BMP files into PROTEL and position the layers as needed.
  • Copy the components package and use the earlier records as reference for their placement.
  • Draw the traces and add the silkscreen.
  • The files are now ready for printing with a laser printer.
  • After printing, and comparing with the original PCB to check whether there is any error, then the engineers must test the duplicate board to see whether it performs as well as the original one.
  • While passing the testing, PCB cloning is finished. The schematic diagram, BOM and Gerber files of the printed circuit board can be generated, and the printed circuit board can be batch fabricated and assembled if needed.

Note: There are numerous ways of delamination for multilayer printed circuit boards, including chemical etching, tool stripping, and so on, but they are prone to delamination over cracking and data loss. Printed circuit board sanding is the most frequent, cost-effective, and precise delamination option. When grinding a board, it must be adequately sanded to the inner layer. Double-sided boards are generally significantly simpler than multilayer boards, which are prone to misalignment during replication. As a result, additional attention should be given when replicating multilayer PCBs (both internal through-holes and non-through-holes are prone to issues).

A clone circuit board, with the solder mask in a different color than the original
Resource: https://forums.mudspike.com

Circuit Board Cloning Advantages

With the growing need for printed circuit boards in the electronics industry, it can be challenging to keep pace when manufacturing them from scratch. Cloning them offers various advantages across different sectors, including those mentioned below.

1. Design Continuation

A design file may get lost or tampered with, or the specific design may have become obsolete. Cloning solves these problems by allowing replication. It lets you re-engineer or improve earlier circuits to continue particular features and specifications.

2. Quick Turnaround Time

In addition to being a cost-effective option, PCB duplication allows companies to produce circuit boards quickly with only a few steps. The production doesn&#;t include the design phase, which speeds up the process.

You&#;re also using a proven circuit, which minimizes the testing process. You meet customer deadlines, improve your company&#;s reputation, and maintain an edge over your competitors.

3. Reduced Costs

Since you&#;re not designing the circuit and its components, you only incur the duplication and production costs. Such expenses are far less than those involved in creating the board design, prototyping it, and finally taking it through the fabrication and testing stages.

4. Improved Customization

If you have a new application for a specific board, duplicating it could be the way to go. Cloning lets you copy an already-tested design. You get to customize the modifications to fit your new application, which, in turn, means a better product and happy customers.

An example of a cloned circuit and components
Resource: https://hackaday.com

Is PCB Cloning Legal?

It&#;s legal to copy a circuit board so long as everything is within the legal limits, which varies depending on copyright rules and regulations.

PCB duplication is legal if you originally made the design or bought the board from a manufacturer and can legally modify it. You may need permission to duplicate it if you did not.

If the design is originally yours, you have all the rights to reproduce or change its features. That often happens if you need to replace damaged or outdated boards, among other reasons.

Using PCB clone software to duplicate the original design
Resource: https://youtu.be/2GpshOjHdOU?

PCB Clone Service

A cloning service enables you to produce printed circuit boards quickly and without spending much money initially designing them. That means reduced costs and time savings.

You can get PCB duplication services from various manufacturers today, regardless of whether you have the design file with you or not. You only need the physical product.

Venture offers a one-stop solution for PCB cloning and duplication services. We copy, recreate, and improve all kinds of printed circuit boards. Our services are fast, reliable, and professionally executed.

Get in touch and have our engineers assess the requirements of your project.

Conclusion

A PCB clone, or duplicate board, is a fast and cost-effective way to manufacture printed circuit boards. It allows companies to keep pace with new developments and can be a simple way to carry out system upgrades without causing downtimes. If you&#;re looking to stay ahead of the competition, you may want to consider this manufacturing solution.

PCB Clone Service Choosing the Best One

Find a PCB Clone company and Supplier. Choose Quality pcb clone company , Suppliers, Exporters at RayPCB.com.

You have a physical electronic circuit board on-hand but do not have the circuit design files ?

You donot have any PCB Gerber drwaings files for your PCB production and circuit assembly .

You want to reprdocue the circuit board(PCB), But your donot have the blueprint,Or the blueprint is missing.

Send Us a photo of your electronic circuit board that you want to copy, We can assess the PCB Copying for you.

When We get the photos we can give rough quotation to you , after we get the sample we can give exact quote for you

PCB Cloning Service

PCB cloning service enables you to replicate the same copy of electornic circuit board that you want. For a simple electronic circuit, Copying the PCB circuit board is not too difficult, If the circuit involces intelligent controller , cloning should be the last resort that you should opt for as a solution for your engineering or business challenge.

How to Work for Cloning a PCB ?

1. Take sample photos, send to  ,

2.Our engineer will give rough price, if have the program pls tell us or take clear photos of ICs

3.Price Ok, Send sample to us (prefer 2 sample if have )  , after get the sample , we will give exact quotation to you  ( some ICs have program need crack ,we will separate to quote )

4. Payment , Then start to copy

5. finish copy , we will send Gerber files , schematic diagram, Bom List ( if have )

With competitive price and timely delivery, Shenzhen Thriver Digital Tech Co., Ltd. sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

So now , Copy job is completed , then we will start to manufacturing the board for you .

PCBs are an integral component of most electronic devices. These circuit boards play a significant role in the electronic industry. The recent development in the production of electronic devices has increased PCB production. To meet the increasing demands of electronic designers, there is the fabrication of a new set of PCBs.

This consistent development may cause inefficiency and waste, this where PCB clone service comes in. PCB cloning is very important for certain reasons. The need to replace an outdated PCB that is no longer in production is one of the most important reasons for a PCB cloning service.

One major problem the industry faces is how to replace old-fashioned PCBs that are used in high-frequency applications. To understand PCB clone service, it is important to know what PCB clone is, its benefits, and how it works.

What is PCB Clone?

PCB Copy

PCB clone is also referred to as PCB duplication or PCB copy. PCB clone is a reversely researching technology that makes use of existing PCB boards and makes a duplicate of it. It is an aspect of PCB reverse engineering.

Reverse engineering is applicable in hardware engineering. It plays a vital role in human DNA mapping and the development of computer software. When cloning a PCB, you duplicate the exact design of the circuit board. The major aim of PCB clones is to copy and replace obsolete PCBs.

In PCB cloning, there are two major things that need to be done; making the Bill of Material (BOM) and copying the schematics. A PCB clone board utilizes several research techniques to get a PCB design circuit for a great excellent electronic device. It also uses a BOM and a circuit schematic.

The concept of PCB clone is rarely understood. The development of electronic devices keeps changing every day, and several electronics get an upgrade at least once a year. Many engineers have realized that using R&D approaches won&#;t meet the advancement of electronic product replacement. Due to this, reverse engineering has become a fast approach to adopt in the industry.

PCB clone is a cost-effective option to re-design a board. It helps to extend the lifespan of devices and systems when parts become outdated. The amazing thing about PCB clones is that you can copy the existing design based on your requirements.

What is a PCB Clone Service?

PCB clone service allows you to make a replica of the exact copy of the electronic circuit board. PCB copy isn&#;t a difficult thing to do. If the right circuit features a good controller, cloning should be the last solution to consider.

PCB clone service helps you to produce more printed circuit boards without the need to design them from scratch. Today&#;s electronics depend on PCB clone services. More electronics producers are considering PCB copy as a cost-effective alternative.

Advantages of PCB Clone

Since we now understand how PCB clones work, it is important to know its advantages. PCB clones have several advantages and we discuss them below.

Economical and Cost-effective Option

The production process of PCB boards takes a long time. It is a hard task that requires manufacturing high-quality boards. This is a big challenge for PCB manufacturers. PCB manufacturing also can also be expensive depending on what you want to use it for.

The cost of designing PCB boards from the beginning is much more expensive than making a copy of them. It includes the cost of developing the prototypes and examining them. You will also incur cost to adjust the design parameters and optimize the design.

PCB clone is a better option that can help to reduce these costs. This makes the PCB production process cost-effective. For example, if you opt for a PCB copy, you won&#;t need to spend any cost on a design. It has also been proved that products from reverse engineering are much better than the ones from conventional manufacturing.  

Streamline Production

PCB clone helps manufacturers to fabricate PCB boards with less effort. This reverse engineering technology helps to determine some good designs. Manufacturers can combine these designs and start manufacturing the PCBs on the new design.

This method helps to automate the production processes and then streamline the production operations. Automation and streamlining will help to minimize manual labor. This will reduce labor costs.

Streamlining the production processes can also help to produce high-performance and durable boards; hence improving the products&#; quality.

Conscientious engineering technique

When we talk about conscientiousness, we mean paying attention to detail while designing a board. When manufacturers depend heavily on PCB clones then they have to carry out a thorough analysis of the board in question. This enables engineers to fabricate products of high grade.

This technique also allows engineers to design PCBs which are reliable and stable in varying temperatures. PCB clone allows the engineer to design a product that meets the requirements of users. The reverse engineering limits the engineer to the existing PCB design. This makes the engineer improve the product&#;s performance.

Improved scalability and freedom

One of the benefits of PCB clones is that it enables producers to gain a good degree of freedom. It allows them to be more flexible in the production process. Therefore, the resultant printed circuit boards are customized and modified according to users&#; needs.

PCB clone allows manufacturers to fabricate many boards from the existing PCB design. Therefore they can design a large number of PCB board clones. They can also improve our production operations according to your demands. This helps producers to generate more income.

This reverse engineering also helps manufacturers to align their production operations with the existing designs of users. Therefore users can state their market needs and make orders. PCB clone is a win-win for both the manufacturer and the user.  

Consistent performance

When manufacturers use PCB copy for producing many PCB boards then they will achieve the same design. Without a doubt, these boards will offer exact performance under similar conditions. PC clone helps to ensure that these boards are fabricated with the attention to detail. Therefore, their performance is better than PCB boards produced via more conventional routes.

PCB clone helps the manufacturer to design boards that offer improved performance. Most of these boards are used in high-speed applications due to their unique electrical and mechanical qualities.

How to Copy a Printed Circuit Board

These days, there are several companies that specialize in copying complex PCBs. You can copy simple circuit boards yourself. Some pieces of equipment are needed for PCB copying. You will need computers, AUTOCAD, scanners, and PORTEL99.

  • Place the board you need to duplicate in the scanner and use the scanner, ensure you adjust the contrast and brightness of your scanner
  • Use the AUTOCAD software and make a file, from the insert menu, choose the raster image. Choose the image you want to use, and then the insert image box will pop up.
  • After inserting the image, draw a frame to protect the PCB border. You must use the object lock point when you draw the border.
  • Draw the component package and the shape. Count the number of packages used on the board when drawing the component package. Each package has to draw one and it will be transferred to the PORTEL 99 for processing.
  • Make a new PCB file after opening PORTEL99 and select import CAD file in the PROTEL 99 PCB editor&#;s menu. Put the CAD file in it. After importing it, you will see the graph of the component packaging in PORTEL99 editor.
  • Create another PCB component editor. After this, choose a component from the PORTEL99 editor and insert a copy to the component editor
  • When you are through with the component packages, put them in PROTEL 99 editor and transfer them to a CAD file
  • Open the CAD file and also open the CAD file you imported into the PCB image. After this, copy the component package to the CAD with the PCB image.
  • Put the vias and pads. You have to measure the outer and inner sizes of the pads in the CAD. Determine the outer and inner dimensions of the ring. Ensure you place the pad according to their sizes when you are placing them. You can&#;t place the polygon pad and the square pad, but you can utilize the method of filling.
  • Draw the trace by using the aggregate line. Choose the aggregate line from the drawing menu and start drawing.
  • Put the silkscreen. If the silkscreen is irregular, utilize the polymer line.

PCB copy requires extreme attention and care to be done appropriately. PCB duplication is carried out by an experienced PCB clone service. There are vital steps to be carried out to copy a PCB board and each of these steps must be carried out carefully.

Conclusion

In today&#;s world, the electronic industry is experiencing advancement.  The electronic industry is a different kind of industry where innovations occur more often. The need for PCB clones can never be underestimated. Electronic producers always want to change the designs of their PCB once there is an innovation in the market.

For more information, please visit PCBA Copy Service.