Are Regional Differences in PCB Technology as Great as We Think?

May 23, 2019

By Denny Fritz, Fritz Consulting We keep hearing that Asia is all consumer and automotive electronics and North 

Key Summary

• IPC’s PCB Technology Trends study shows regional PCB differences are smaller than commonly assumed
• Asia produces most global PCBs but North America and Europe share similar priorities on materials and board construction
• Flex circuits show the largest variation with more low layer consumer flex produced in Asia
• North America and Europe specify more buried vias while Asia leads in HDI volume
• Capital investment priorities are aligned across regions with direct imaging and AOI topping the list
• Reliability and cost remain the top technical challenges everywhere

America and Europe are all high reliability/long life. The findings in IPC’s PCB Technology Trends 2018 study show that these regions are not as different as expected, and the differences we do see are interesting. There are small differences in rigid board layers, line widths and materials. A bigger difference shows up in flexible circuits where there is more low-layer count flex going into consumer electronics. True, North America and Europe have more rigid construction boards going into long-life (11 to 25+ years) products, pushing reliability. HDI construction is larger in Asia, as expected, but certainly not unknown in North America and Europe. North American and European OEMs specified significantly more buried vias than Asia. This could reflect either better acceptance of sub-laminations or more “any layer via” construction(not needing sub-laminations) in Asia. But, as Asia produces eight times as many boards as North America and Europe, Asian fabrication is quite capable of meeting the buried via needs of the other regions. The study also shows that investment in direct imaging and AOI are the top two capital equipment investment priorities of the industry in both regions for the next two years. Likewise, reliability and cost were the top two technical challenges for the industry in both regions. Are these findings consistent with your experiences of making or specifying PCBs in different regions? Do you think the regional differences are getting smaller? We welcome your comments.      

Q:
Are PCB technology differences between regions as significant as often claimed?
A:

The IPC study shows most differences are smaller than expected, with many shared priorities across regions.
 

Q:
Which area shows the biggest regional variation?
A:

Flexible circuits, as Asia produces more low layer count flex for consumer electronics.
 

Q:
Why do North American and European OEMs use more buried vias?
A:

They specify more sub lamination or complex constructions, while Asia often relies on any layer via approaches.
 

Q:
Does Asia still dominate PCB production?
A:

Yes. Asia produces roughly eight times more PCBs than North America and Europe combined.
 

Q:
Do regions share similar investment priorities?
A:

Yes. Direct imaging and AOI are top capital investment areas globally, and reliability plus cost are top technical challenges everywhere.