On July 3rd, 2024, we had India customers visit our office and factory. All our staff of our customer warmly welcome the guest from afar.
Our sales manager Peter, along with Connie and Marina, gave a detailed introduction to our main business and product expertise. They talked about our strict quality control, careful selection of PCB board materials, advanced production equipment, and mature manufacturing processes. Our guests seemed quite impressed with how thorough we are in ensuring top-notch quality.
Actually, we’ve been working with this customer for several years now, and it’s been a fantastic journey of building trust and collaboration. This visit was a great chance to dive into a new PCB project and show off our latest innovations, including electric heating films, ceramic PCBs, and bendable aluminum PCBs.
When checking the sample books, the customers specially mentioned the blind vias and checked the related products for many times. It looks like they are extremely interested in this technology. You know, blind vias, buried vias, through hole vias, micro vias and thermal vias are always our strengthens.
Next day, Connie will be taking our guests on a tour of our metal dome and dome array factory. It’s always exciting to show our partners the heart of our operations and let them see firsthand the dedication and precision that goes into our work.
Best Technology is a one-stop PCB and PCBA service provider in China and Vietnam. “High mix, Low-Middle Volume, High Quality and Fast Delivery” is our advantages. Custom PCBs available in our company as well. You can get high-quality PCB board and PCBA at a very transparent price. For more information, feel free to contact us at any time.
In PCB electronics, components are classified into two main categories: active and passive components. Understanding these differences is crucial for anyone working with electronic circuits. Active components control electricity flow and require an external power source. Passive components do not control electricity and do not need an external power source.
What are active and passive components meaning?
Active and passive components, simply say, the device that needs an energy (electrical) source is called an active device, and the device that does not need an energy source is a passive device. Active components, such as transistors and diodes, require external power to function. They can control the flow of electricity. Passive components, like resistors and capacitors, do not need external power. They cannot control electrical flow but can store, resist, or filter energy. Both passive and active components are common useful in PCB assembly and SMT technology.
Active components play a dynamic role in circuits. They can amplify signals, switch currents, and perform various complex functions. These components rely on an external power source to operate and influence the behavior of the circuit. For instance, a transistor can amplify a weak signal, making it stronger and more useful for further processing.
Passive components, on the other hand, are more static in nature. They cannot amplify signals or control current flow but are essential for other functions like energy storage and signal filtering. Resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers are common examples. Each of these components has a specific role in maintaining the stability and functionality of an electronic circuit.
What are the key differences between active and passive components?
The main difference between active and passive components is their ability to control electricity. Active components can amplify signals and perform complex tasks. Passive components can only store, resist, or filter energy. They cannot amplify signals or control current.
Active components are energy-dependent. They require an external source of power to function and can influence the flow of electricity within the circuit. For example, an integrated circuit (IC) can perform multiple functions like amplification, switching, and signal modulation, all of which require external power.
Passive components, in contrast, do not require an external power source. They can only perform their functions passively. For instance, a resistor can limit the current flowing through a circuit without needing additional power. Similarly, a capacitor can store electrical energy and release it when needed, all without external energy input.
Common active components in electronics
Active devices are the main components of electronic circuits. From the physical structure, circuit function and engineering parameters, active devices can be divided into discrete devices and integrated circuits.
1. Discrete devices
Bipolar transistor, generally referred to as transistor or BJT
Field effective transistor
Thyristor
Semiconductor resistors and capacitors – resistors and capacitors manufactured by integrated technology are used in integrated circuits.
2. Integrated circuit
Integrated circuit can be divided into analog IC and digital IC. Analog integrated circuits mainly deal with continuous analog signals, such as sound, light, temperature, etc., and retain the continuity and accuracy of the signal through amplification, filtering, mixing and other operations. In contrast, digital integrated circuits are used to process discrete time digital signals, convert the signal into binary digital form, and then perform logical operations and processing.
Basic analog integrated circuit devices generally include:
Passive devices in electronic systems can be divided into circuit components and connection components according to the circuit functions they play. These components are essential for functions like energy storage, filtering, and impedance matching in electronic circuits. The common passive components are including:
Circuit components
Diode
Resistor
Resistor network
Capacitor
Inductor
Transformer
Relay
Key
Speaker
Switch
Connection components
Connector
Socket
Cable
PCB (printed circuit board)
Why are active components crucial in modern electronics?
The ability of active components to control and manipulate electrical signals makes them indispensable in a wide range of applications.
In computers, for example, active components such as processors and memory chips perform complex calculations and store large amounts of data. In communication systems, active components amplify weak signals, making long-distance transmission possible. Without these amplifiers, the signal would decay with distance, leading to a decline in communication quality. Power electronics, another key area of modern development, relies heavily on active components. Devices like power converters, inverters, and motor controllers use transistors and integrated circuits to efficiently convert and control electrical energy. This efficiency is crucial for applications ranging from renewable energy systems to electric vehicles.
It’s fair to say that without active components, devices like computers, smartphones, and TVS wouldn’t function the way they do today, and our era of big data wouldn’t be moving as fast as it is today.
How do passive components complement active components?
Both active and passive components are indispensable in a circuit. They depend on each other and complement each other. Without active components, the circuit cannot be activated or perform a specific work. Without passive components, the circuit cannot be controlled and adjusted, nor can it achieve a stable operating state. Such a relationship between the two is like the relationship between the “dynamic” and the “static” of a circuit.
For example, in an audio amplifier circuit, the power supply and amplifier are the active components, and the load and resistance are the passive components. The power supply provides energy, the amplifier amplifies the signal, and controls and limits it through load and resistance, and finally realizes the amplification and regulation of the audio signal. In signal processing, inductors filter out high-frequency noise and protect sensitive active components from interference. Transformers, on the other hand, enable efficient power transfer between different parts of the circuit, allowing active components to operate within their optimal voltage range.
Comparing the Energy Requirements of Active and Passive Elements
Active components need an external power source to function. They consume energy during operation. Passive components do not need external power and generally do not consume energy, except for minor resistive losses. This difference impacts the design and efficiency of electronic circuits.
Active components, such as transistors and integrated circuits, rely on external power to operate. This power requirement means that active components consume energy during their operation. The amount of energy consumed depends on the specific component and its application. For instance, a power amplifier consumes more energy than a simple transistor switch.
Passive components, in contrast, do not need external power to function. They operate solely based on the electrical energy present in the circuit. Resistors, capacitors, and inductors do not consume significant energy, except for minor resistive losses in resistors. This low energy requirement makes passive components more efficient in certain applications.
The difference in energy requirements between active and passive components impacts the overall efficiency of electronic circuits. Designers must carefully balance the use of active and passive components to achieve optimal performance and energy efficiency. For example, using passive filters instead of active ones can save energy in low-power applications.
Active and Passive Component Images and Symbols
Recognizing symbols are essential for reading and designing circuit diagrams. They provide a visual representation of the components and their functions, helping designers understand the overall structure and operation of the circuit. Recognizing these symbols is a fundamental skill for anyone involved in electronics. Here is a detailed images and symbols listing of common active and passive components.
Above all is the introduction to passive and active components, hope it is useful for every engineers. Best Technology is a professional PCB and PCBA manufacturer in Asia. We have our own factory in China and Vetnam. Welcome to contact us if you have any questions about components and PCB assembly.
PCB is an indispensable part for any electronic equipment in small toys or computers., etc. The complex interconnection components include resistor, diode and capacitor, which help components work normally in series. In a sense, it is similar to the “brainâ€Â of the system. PCB assembly process must be of no any mistakes. Here are some points that need to be paid attention:
1.Supply chain management: In order to create high quality PCB, the first thing needing consideration is supply chain. For the availability, both quality and price are important, so is delivery time of components.
pcbassembly
2.PCB layout. The common question during manufacturing stage is pcb layout in minor differences. Even though various types of designs looks the same to outward seeming, the manufacturing processes are different. You need to ensure PCB layout is feasible during manufacturing process.
3.Test-test has to be conducted after PCB assembly. What needs to be done is to design test point. Some tests include:
Micro-section analysis-also referred to as cross section analysis. This test contributes to identifying components fault and thermal-mechanical faults.
pcbassembly
Solderability test. This test contributes to testing reliability of PCB solder pad, to ensure a firm surface and a reliable soldering point. It also contributes to confirming if storage will have an effect on solder components.
PCB pollution test-This can test many issues, such as corrosion and degradation. Scaling powder residue will result in pollution and thereby case components failure. Pollution analysis is famous for its accuracy and preciseness.
Optical microscope-This can test the issues relevant to PCB and soldering as well as overall pcb assembly. The process is famous for its speed, as it involves using high-power microscope to inspect incorrect structure.
Printed circuit board assembly(SMT), also known as “stuffing†or “populatingâ€Â the bare printed circuit board, is quite an intricate process which involves many different stages. Best Technology’ in house printed circuit board assembly service makes ordering your turnkey printed circuit boards a hassle-free experience as you can count on the industry’s largest support team to help you control every step of the process.
Solder Paste – Solder paste is a combination of flux, a chemical created to assist in the bonding and melting of the metal, and small fragments of metal (solder) so as to apply the electronic components to the printed circuit board. The paste is placed on the board in specific places along the board in exact amounts with the use of a Solder Stencil and a paste application machine, automatically.
Pick and Place Machine – This machine is essential in an automated printed circuit board assembly process. The machine is programmed to automatically coordinate with complete accuracy the places to precisely mount each electronic component to be soldered to the printed circuit board. These machines are exact and quick.
Infrared Reflow – After the precise bonding element (solder paste) is applied to the PCB, the board will be directed to the reflow oven to join the electronic components to the board by melting the solder paste. This “oven†is comprised of many heaters whose main function is to heat the board to a precise temperature and control the level of cooldown as the solder hardens. This process is crucial to the creation of properly functioning electronics. The printed circuit board will run through a series of testing to ensure no issues or short-circuiting nor misalignments have occurred.
As is well known, solderability is very important for any type of printed circuit boards, we must do solderability test of each batch PCB we made. In this way we can inspect the weldability of the PCB before we go ahead the assembly process, much helpful for SMT.
In our circuit board manufacturing workshop, we have professional equipment to do that testing. But normally these equipment was expensive, and a lot of people want to know a simple and cheap way to do that solderability testing, so today we are doing a simple solderability test and show you all the steps.
1. Take a small solder pot, plug in the power, turn on the switch and heat the solder pot to a certain high temperature(about 8 minutes).
2. Put a tin bar to the solder pot, then you can see the tin bar is begin to melting, slowly into liquid tin, then more and more.
Tin Bar
3. After few minutes, there will be enough melting liquid tin in the solder pot to do this test.
melting-tin
4.Use a tweezers to pick up a PCB circuit, first clean the PCB with rubbing alcohol. Because the unclear surface or the oxidation of the PCB will affect the test result.
5. This is the key step of this test, put the PCB into the solder pot, depth about 2 mm,time 4-5 seconds is ok. Then you can see the tin will go into the hole of the PCB.
Solderability Test 1
Solderability Test 2
6. Take out the PCB from the solder pot and put it into the cold water. After few seconds, you can see the experimental effect.
Test Results
This solderability test is very simple and easy. We can see the results very soon. We, Best Technology did solderability of every batch PCB we made, and we also supply our customers with the solderability test report and the test samples.
Any comments about that, leave your message or write email to us. Best Technology, always to be your best partner of circuit boards in China!
