Mechanical milling offers significant advantages compared to chemical etching, whether in terms of environmental...
Blog categories
Search in blog
Latest posts

We're delighted to introduce our new range of SMTix products for electronic board assembly!

We are pleased to announce the acquisition of the high-speed spindle production activity from SPINDTECH. This...

Join us on booth C82 to discover our solutions for the manufacture of PCB and assembly of electronic boards. Don't...

Join us for our webinar: " From previsualisation to results: SMTix 2.0 and advanced reflow soldering technology in a...
New electroless through hole plating solution from DCT
DCT ProPlating is an application-tested technology designed for through-hole plating of double-sided and multilayer PCBs prototyping. This compact and efficient solution offers a fast and user-friendly operation. It ensures consistent and safe plating results, with excellent thermal stability, making it an ideal solution for achieving through-hole plating on both double-sided and multilayer boards.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Effortless Prototyping: The DCT ProPlating process, when combined with mechanical CNC drilling (such as Technodrill 3 or DCT DM350/Hybrido), enables easy in-house fabrication of circuit board prototypes within a single day. This approach speeds up time-to-market by eliminating production delays and high costs associated with external ressources, while also ensuring that your valuable design data remains secure and under your control.
• Superior Plating with Advanced Technology: DCT ProPlating leverages specially-developed silver-based plating technology to quickly plate vias as small as 0.4 mm (15 mil) with an aspect ratio of up to 1:4. Even smaller holes can be plated under specific conditions. The entire plating process can be completed in just a few minutes, making it highly efficient for both double-sided and multilayer boards.
• Exceptional Electrical Performance: The electrical resistance of DCT ProPlating vias is exceptionally low, around 20 mΩ, depending on the material thickness, ensuring excellent performance and reliability for your PCB applications.
PROPLATING PROCESS
A specially developed conductive paste (polymer) is used to quickly and efficiently plate vias. The process follows these simple steps:

-
1. Board Milling: Begin by milling the PCB layout with a precise circuit board CNC or laser system to ensure accuracy in design.
2. Film Application and Hole Drilling: Apply a protective film to the milled PCB surface, then drill the necessary through-holes to be plated.
3. Conductive paste Application: Secure the board to a vacuum table and use a squeegee to apply the conductive paste to the protective film. The vacuum process draws the polymer through the vias for effective coverage. The conductive paste must be applied to both sides of the board to ensure the vias are fully plated.
4. PCB Curing: After the polymer is applied, remove the protective film and place the board in a convection oven for 30 minutes at 160°C to cure. Once cooled, the board is ready for component installation and testing.
PROPLATING SPECIFICATIONS
Max. PCB size: 229 x 305 mm (9’’ x 12’’)
Min. hole diameter: 0.4 mm (15 mil) up to an aspect ratio of 1 : 4
Number of plated holes: No limit
Max.number of layers: 4
Solderability: Max. reflow soldering 250 °C (482 °F), max. manual soldering 380°C (716 °F)
Base material types: FR4, RF- and microwave materials (incl. PTFE-based materials)
Processing time: Approx. 35 min
Electric resistance (Hole ø 0.4 - 1.0 mm at 1.6 mm / 63 mil material thickness): About 20 mΩ with standard deviation of 7.7 mΩ

-
DCT desktop vacuum table - VT300
Ref. U900213

-
Silver-based conductive paste - DCT ProPlating
Ref. U700235
Related posts




