Materials selected for industrial motherboards and their advantages and disadvantages

Industrial motherboard is one of the important components in industrial equipment, which undertakes the tasks of data acquisition, processing, and control command issuance. In the design of industrial motherboards, the selection of materials is a very critical step. This article will introduce in detail the materials selected for industrial motherboards and their advantages and disadvantages.

1、 Organic glass fiber (FR-4)

Organic glass fiber, also known as FR-4, is a common industrial motherboard substrate material with flame retardancy, high temperature resistance, and high mechanical strength. Due to its good stability and low cost, FR-4 is widely used in the electronic industry.

advantage:

Good flame retardancy: FR-4 has good flame retardancy and can effectively reduce fire risk.

High temperature resistance: FR-4 has good high temperature resistance and is not prone to deformation during long-term high-temperature operation, ensuring the normal operation of industrial equipment.

High mechanical strength: FR-4 has a high mechanical strength, which can effectively prevent damage and failures caused by vibration, impact, and other reasons.

Disadvantages:

Not suitable for UHF applications: FR-4 materials are not suitable for UHF (GHz level) applications because their dielectric constant is large and can cause signal attenuation at high frequencies.

Restricted design form: FR-4 materials have certain rigidity and cannot be freely bent or bent, limiting the design form of industrial motherboards.

2、 Polyimide (PI)

Polyimide (PI) is a high-performance, high-temperature material with excellent mechanical properties and high-temperature resistance, which is widely used in high-demand applications in aerospace, military, and other fields.

advantage:

Excellent high-temperature resistance: PI has excellent high-temperature resistance, and is not prone to deformation and failure at temperatures of 300 ℃ or even higher.

Excellent mechanical properties: PI has excellent mechanical properties, such as high strength, high stiffness, and high toughness, which can ensure the stability and reliability of industrial motherboards in various environments.

Suitable for high-frequency applications: The low dielectric constant of PI makes it excellent in high-frequency applications, such as microwave circuits, radio frequency circuits, etc.

Disadvantages:

High cost: The relatively high cost of PI materials has limited their application in industrial motherboards.

Difficult to process: PI has high hardness and wear resistance, so there are certain difficulties in processing, drilling, and other aspects.

3、 Ceramics

Ceramic is a new type of industrial motherboard substrate material, which has been widely used in high-performance fields. Ceramic materials have excellent characteristics, such as resistance to bending, flame retardancy, and low dielectric constant, which can meet various complex application requirements.