Cost estimation of photopolymer resin for 3D exposure of circuit boards

Abstract

The research object in the work is the printed circuit boards (PCB) Production technological process using the additive technology of photopolymer 3D printing. The existing problem is that the manufacturing process of single-sided and double-sided PCBs, simple in technology, from the third to the fifth accuracy class, requires the use of a large amount of consumables and technological equipment. In turn, this affects the cost of the product. The research subject is models and methods for manufacturing PCB using photopolymer 3D printing. In order to reduce the cost of materials: film or aerosol photoresist, as well as reduce the number of technological operations, applying photoresist and for the manufacture of PCBs stencils, it is proposed to use photopolymer 3D printing technologies for the manufacture of PCBs. The paper analyzes the costs of Plexiwire Resin Basic Orange Transparen photopolymer resin for the manufacture of single-sided PCBs and calculates the cost of the consumable (resin) compared to the costs of dry film photoresist. 60 % cost of consumables (photopolymer resin) compared to dry film photoresist for making single-sided PCBs. The work is aimed at determining the dependence of the geometric dimensions of the PСВs topology and the consumption of photopolymer resin on the technological parameters of photopolymer exposure. A regression correlation model of the dependence of resin consumption on exposure parameters has been developed and correlation coefficients have been calculated. It has been established that with an increase in the exposure time of the photopolymer resin, the consumption of the photopolymer resin increases and the deviation of the geometric dimensions of the PCBs topology increases, which in turn negatively affects the quality of the product. Therefore, using the obtained regression model, it is possible to calculate the influence of parameters on the PCB topology and reduce the deviation of conductor sizes and resin consumption.