Electronic circuits in school and in industry are normally produced through the use of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards). The boards are made from glass reinforced plastic with copper tracks in the place of wires. Components are fitted to the boards by drilling holes through the board. The copper tracks link the components together forming a circuit.
 

CIRCUIT DESIGN

The circuit is usually designed on software such as ‘Crocodile Clips’. This allows you to test the circuit on the computer and correct any mistakes or make improvements. This saves time as there is no need to build the circuit with real components.

PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD LAYOUT

The completed working circuit can then be exported to software such as PCB Wizard which will automatically convert the circuit diagram into a PCB mask.

The printout is not on paper but on a sheet of transparency which is then cut to the size of the PCB mask.

PHOTO-RESIST BOARD

This a piece of glass reinforce plastic is prepared. One of the sides is copper clad and this copper has a photosensitive coating. When the plastic film is peeled back this sensitive coating is revealed.
After processing this will be the PCB.

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