Robert Tarzwell

High Power Printed Circuit Design and Manufacturing Robert Tarzwell

With currents as high as 600 amps, an engineer has the ability to design a printed circuit board that can carry large currents and support the fine traces and features of the computer circuits needed to drive the high power. The high power circuits of today can contain from 1 to 12 layers and also feature multiple levels of copper traces. Multiple levels means that one layer can have 12 oz. of copper for the heavy tracks and 1 oz. of fine featured traces for SMT circuitry, all interconnected. In fact, up to 5 copper levels have been manufactured, although not cheaply. Circuit boards from one manufacturer even feature very heavy copper traces that extend off the board to facilitate easy wiring.