Double Sided Aluminium Board For Round Driver Modules
A double sided aluminium-based board in a round format. Routing on both sides of the metal core lets a driver circuit and its LED or power devices share one thermally managed board instead of being split across two.
What This Board Is
Round aluminium boards turn up wherever the housing is round: downlights, ceiling sensors, circular actuators. The board photographed uses both sides of the core, with a central mounting hole and components distributed around it. Double sided construction is the point at which aluminium boards need plated holes, and our published plated wall thickness for aluminium is above 0.02 mm.
Aluminium cores for double sided work go through the automatic PTH line before graphic plating.
- Aluminium PCB
- 2 layer
- See specification
What You Get From This Build
- Both sides of the core carry circuitry, so a driver and its output stage fit on one board
- Round outlines are routed to ±0.2 mm so the board seats squarely in a circular housing
- Plated through holes on aluminium are built to a wall thickness above 0.02 mm
- Maximum board size for double sided aluminium is the same 450 x 450 mm as single sided
Who Specifies This Board
- Downlight and ceiling luminaire manufacturers
- Sensor module makers with circular housings
- Actuator and fan controller builders
- Designers who ran out of space on a single sided aluminium board
Four Failures This Build Is Designed Against
Each one is a real way this class of board goes wrong, and the tolerance or process decision that prevents it.
A driver that will not fit on one side of the core
Double sided construction roughly doubles the usable area without increasing the diameter of the board.
Two boards and an interconnect where one would do
Putting the whole circuit on one core removes a connector, a cable and an assembly operation.
Boards that sit off centre in a round housing
Outline tolerance of ±0.2 mm and hole position of ±0.05 mm keep the mounting hole concentric with the routed edge.
Heat trapped on the far side of the core
Plated holes tie both copper layers together, so heat generated on the top side has a path to the mounting face.
Technical Specification
Product detail from the catalogue record, followed by the published process capability for the Aluminium PCB family. Anything the legacy catalogue did not record is marked TBC rather than filled in.
| Item | Technical specification |
|---|---|
| Product name | 2 Layer Aluminium PCB |
| Legacy catalogue reference | 2 Layer(MCPCB) |
| Product family | Aluminium PCB |
| Layer count | 2 layer |
| Surface finish | See specification |
| Maximum board size | 450 x 450 mm, single and double sided |
| Board thickness | 0.3 to 3.0 mm |
| Minimum track width | 0.15 mm |
| Minimum track space | 0.15 mm |
| Minimum hole size | 0.5 mm |
| Plated hole wall thickness | >0.02 mm |
| Plated hole diameter tolerance | ±0.05 mm for φ≤0.8 mm / ±0.08 mm for φ>0.8 mm |
| Non-plated hole diameter tolerance | ±0.05 mm for φ≤0.4 mm / ±0.1 mm for φ>0.4 mm |
| Hole position tolerance | ±0.05 mm |
| Outline tolerance | ±0.2 mm |
| Insulation resistance | 1012 Ω at normal condition |
| Dielectric strength | >1.3 kV/mm |
| Peel-off strength | 1.4 N/mm |
| Solder mask abrasion | >5H |
| Thermal stress | 265 °C for 5 seconds |
| Flammability rating | 94V-0 |
| Maximum working temperature | 125 °C |
| Bow and twist | <0.01 mm/mm |
What The Board Is Made Of
| Material | Specification |
|---|---|
| Base | Aluminium core, 0.3 to 3.0 mm total board thickness |
| Dielectric | Thermally conductive dielectric, >1.3 kV/mm dielectric strength |
| Copper | Peel-off strength 1.4 N/mm, tested at 2.2 N/mm to GJB1651 |
| Solder mask | Abrasion resistance >5H |
| Surface finish | OSP as standard |
What Can Be Changed
- Board thickness from 0.3 to 3.0 mm
- Single or double sided construction
- Profiled, round and strip outlines
- OSP as standard, other finishes on request
- Board size to 450 x 450 mm
- Assembly in the same plant
How This Board Is Made
Eight stages on equipment sourced from the USA, Japan, Germany and Israel. Every stage listed runs inside our own plant.
Core preparation
Aluminium core scrubbed on the scrubbing line to prepare the copper surface.
Imaging
Dry film laminated, exposed and developed to define the circuit.
Etching
Etching line removes the unwanted copper, then film stripping clears the resist.
Through holes
Double sided boards run the automatic PTH line to a wall above 0.02 mm.
Mask and legend
Solder mask and legend applied, with the dielectric verified for insulation resistance.
OSP finish
Applied on the WYD 0302 OSP roller coater.
Profiling
CNC routed to the finished outline at ±0.2 mm, including profiled and round shapes.
Flatness check
Bow and twist verified against the 0.01 mm per mm limit.
What Is Checked Before It Ships
- Dielectric strength verified above 1.3 kV/mm
- Insulation resistance at 1012 Ω at normal condition
- Thermal stress check at 265 °C for 5 seconds
- Bow and twist held below 0.01 mm per mm
- Laminate flammability rated FV-0 to GB/T4722 clause 26
What The Plant Holds
- ISO 9001:2000. Quality management system certification recorded by the company. Current revision year available on request.
- ISO 14001:1996. Environmental management system certification recorded by the company.
- UL. Certification recorded by the company. File number available on request.
- RoHS and lead free. Listed in the company environmental policy alongside pollution prevention and resource reduction.
Certificate numbers, issue dates and current revision years are not published on the legacy site. Ask for copies with your enquiry and they will be sent with the quotation.
How It Compares With The Alternatives
Three boards from our own catalogue, side by side, so the trade-off is visible rather than argued.
| Board | Layers or build | Finish | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Layer Aluminium PCB | 2 | See specification | Round and double sided thermally managed boards |
| 1 Layer Aluminium PCB | 1 | OSP | Single sided driver and motor boards |
| 4 Layer Rigid PCB | 4 | Immersion gold | Dense circuits with no thermal constraint |
What To Send With Your Enquiry
Four things that decide whether the quote comes back right the first time.
- Give the diameter and the position of the central hole relative to the routed edge.
- State the surface finish you need. The legacy catalogue record for this board does not name one.
- Mark which side mounts against the heatsink face.
- Confirm the required dielectric strength if the board sits on a mains referenced circuit.
2 Layer Aluminium PCB Questions
What surface finish does this board use?
The legacy catalogue record for this item does not name a finish. Tell us what your assembly needs and we will quote it. Our aluminium range is built with OSP as standard.
Can you plate through an aluminium core?
Yes, for double sided construction. Published plated hole wall thickness on aluminium is above 0.02 mm.
What is the minimum hole size on aluminium?
0.5 mm, which is larger than the 0.20 mm we drill in FR4 because the core material behaves differently.
How do the mechanical tolerances compare with FR4?
Outline tolerance on aluminium is ±0.2 mm against ±0.10 mm on rigid FR4. Hole position is ±0.05 mm on both.
Other Boards In The Aluminium PCB Family
Boards built on the same line, with the same tolerances, in a different configuration.
Single Sided Aluminium Board With OSP For Motor And Driver Circuits
Single Sided Aluminium LED Bar With OSP Finish
Double Sided FR4 Board With Lead Free HASL
Four Layer Immersion Gold Board For Dense SMD Routing
Where This Board Is Used
The fields the legacy catalogue records for this class of board.
This Board In Context
Get 2 Layer Aluminium PCB Priced Against Your Own Files
Send Gerber RS-274X with an NC drill file, or an ODB++ package, with the layer count, thickness, copper weight, surface finish and quantity. We check it against the published capability before quoting.