Application of Aluminum in PCB Design

Because aluminum does not contain any flux metal in its production process, it is very easy to design and produce a variety of unique PCB designs. Therefore, it is very popular to use it in customized electronic product market. LED display keyboard is such a popular product, it uses a series of small aluminum PCB to produce visual display. The production of the keyboard can produce a unified high-quality image on all seven keys. This is achieved by applying a metal base on the bottom of the PCB.

Another popular choice for this material is the use of aluminum thermal expansion plates, often abbreviated as MEC or metal core printed circuit boards. The main advantage of using MEC is its high conductivity. Due to this function, MEC does not allow water or liquid to pass through, which helps to avoid electric short circuit in the process. Another advantage of MEC is that due to its special vapor barrier, it can maintain the ideal circuit state even under extreme temperature conditions.

However, the disadvantage of using MEC is that it is more expensive than other types of boards. This is because the production process takes longer, so the cost of manufacturing MEC increases. In addition to the time factor, MEC is much thicker than any other type of aluminum PC board. Although this may not cause problems for mass production, those with limited production plans may not be willing to invest in MEC production, especially when the budget is tight. Last but not least, the thickness of the copper core PCB commonly used in MEC greatly limits the possible size of the backlight area that a computer can use.