Why PCBs Are Important In Today’s Technology?

Why PCBs Are Important

Where would we be without electronics in 2020?

Even before the pandemic hit, electronic purchases were at an all-time high but as the world has been staying home almost 24/7, we are consuming more entertainment and information from electronics more than ever before. There are more than likely multiple electronics around you at any given moment—from your key fob to a laptop, your cell phone, and smartwatch.

In 2019 alone, the electronics industry brought in 322,112 million in revenue and is forecasted to bring in 464,554 million by 2024.

“What does this have to do with PCBs?” you might ask. Well, PCBs are the one of — if not the most — important components in electronics. Keep reading to find out why printed circuit boards are important in today’s technology.

What are Printed Circuit Boards?

Stated by a pcb manufacturing company, To keep it brief, PCBs are small parts that make our electronics work. Conductive tracks are etched onto the board and help “tell” the electricity where to go and thus, what to function. They can have many layers, double layers, or be multi-layered, and depending on what it’s being built for, PCBs can be a few millimeters in size or can be up to 22.5” X 54” if needed for larger projects.

Their complexity also ranges greatly. On the more simple side, a garage door opener is made from a single-layered PCB, and on the more complex side, printed circuit boards are put in cars to give you maintenance notifications and even play a large part in autonomous driving.

The Future of PCBs

Printed circuit boards will continue to be a very impactful part of our future. Electronics play such a vital role in the way that technology and civilization are advancing.

Cars

Printed circuit boards are an essential component in automobiles today. As a society, we have become more aware of our carbon footprint and have made strides to decrease our effect on the environment. PCBs are a piece of the puzzle that makes electric cars perform.

PCBs are also very important in regards to the advancements in autonomous driving. As humans are getting taken out of the driving process, printed circuit boards are being heavily relied on. They are being programmed to help with safety and convenience features like letting you know when you’re crossing a line on the road, blind-spot detection, control your infotainment features, and pretty soon, drive you around.

Electronics

Printed circuit boards are constantly being updated and tweaked to meet market demand. As you can probably remember, cell phones used to be the size of bricks. As PCBs and other mechanical parts were able to be “shrunk” in size, phones, and electronics in general, were able to be smaller in size. As the trend continues, you can expect electronic devices to stay small in size and become even more advanced.

Medicinal

Elon Musk recently revealed his new company, Neuralink has been working on a chip small enough to be inserted into the human brain. They have already successfully implanted these chips into pigs’ brains and have more or less been able to foresee the pig’s upcoming movements before the pig makes them which is an incredible accomplishment.

The end goal of this chip is to help heal neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease and dementia. These chips also have the potential to let humans control their electronics with their minds.

Why are PCBs Important in Today’s Technology?

Some of the biggest technological advancements and trends rely heavily on printed circuit boards. From making the electronics we use daily work to potentially controlling the human brain, there is no argument that that PCBs will be a vital part of our future.