Glossary Table P
Package: A hermetically sealed container for an electronic component with terminals to provide electrical access to the inside of the container. |
Pad: The pattern indicating the appropriate connection and attachment of electronic components on the PCB. |
Pallet / Carrier: A frame used to hold a PCB during assembly. |
Passivation: A form of surface oxidation that acts as a barrier to further oxidation or corrosion. |
PCB: Printed Circuit Board. |
PEC: Printed Electronic Component. |
Pick and Place Machine: Automatically "picks" components from a supply and "places" them on the PCB in the correct location. |
Pick and Place: An assembly process in which components are selected and placed onto specific locations according to the assembly file. |
Pin-Through-Hole (PTH): A method of fusing low-density components to a printed circuit board using pin-through-hole connections. |
Pitch: The center-to-center spacing between conductors on a printed circuit board. |
Plating Resist: Material used on an area to prevent plating. |
PLC: Programmable Logic Controller (Simple Computer) |
Popcorning: Condition in which microfissures occur in the thermoset plastic body of a multi-lead device caused by the vaporization of trapped moisture. |
Potting: Encapsulation process of embedding an assembly inside a container. |
Preforming: Shaping the component leads prior to inserting into a printed circuit board. |
Printed Circuit Board (PCB): Made from insulating, non-conductive material, this board has metal tracks which connect soldered on devices and components. |
Product Assembly And Test: The process of placing components on printed circuit boards using surface mount and through-hole technologies. |
Prototyping: The processes of building a small quantity to test and verify design before production. |
PTH (plated-through hole): A plated hole providing connectivity between different layers or sides of a PCB. |