Copper High Current Pcb

When using free pcb software and integrating fans or heat sinks is not possible a pcb with high current density should use at least double this amount of copper.

Copper high current pcb. Circuits operating at over 10 amps should go as high as 3 or 4 oz. Get the benefits of selecting an established pcb manufacturer and supplier with the know how to tackle thick copper configurations. High current pcb how to design and optimise to make it more perfect. The amount of copper used in most pcbs is equivalent to about 1 oz.

Heavy copper plated vias carry higher current through the board and help to transfer heat to an external heatsink. Efficient handling of high currents combined with electronic control dr. Bittele gives an example of calculating allowable current through a trace. Lehnberger andus electronic 29 09 2011 high current pcbs system integration of busbars and electronics 2 motivation for busbars in pcbs there are a number of pcb technologies for high currents.

But i would like to know if there is a more professional way of overcoming this problem. Higher copper thickness does come at an additional cost but can help save space on your boards since with higher thickness the trace width required is much less. Furthermore fabricating heavy copper on the outer layers of a pcb can be a problem as the etching process results in a trapezoidal cross section for a trace fig 1. If the application calls for a current carrying capacity higher than 4 oz rush pcb recommends doubling a layer rather than increasing the copper weight further.

I need several of these high current carrying tracks on my pcb which will consume too much space to afford. Projects requiring higher currents stronger circuitry connections and compact board designs benefits from heavy copper pcbs. On board heatsinks directly plated onto the board surface using up to 120 oz copper planes. Most methods show insufficient conductor cross sections.

The boards are capable of handling high temperatures without warping or disruption. Current carrying capacity can also be significantly affected by the number of vias pads and components. On board high power density planar transformers. Bittele electronics discusses pcb trace width and provides a trace width calculator that estimates the minimum trace width for current and copper weight.

The higher the copper thickness the less wide your trace has to be to carry the same current.