Position Printing

Position printing, also known as silkscreen or component marking, allows for the printing of information regarding component placement or other labeling on the outer layers of a printed circuit board (PCB). It's a crucial step in the overall manufacturing process to ensure that components are accurately positioned.

Function

Silkscreen enables the application of labels such as component designations, reference designators, serial numbers, logos, or warning messages onto the PCB. These pieces of information can aid in simplifying assembly processes, minimizing errors, and enabling clear identification of components and connections.

The ink or paint for silkscreen printing is often chosen in high-contrast colors such as white, black, or yellow to ensure good readability on the PCB material.

Manufacturing

Position printing is usually carried out after etching the PCB traces and before populating the electronic components. The ink or paint for silkscreen printing is typically applied using screen printing techniques.

A fine mesh screen is used, which is open at the desired locations to transfer the ink onto the PCB. The screen is positioned over the PCB, and the ink is spread over it using a squeegee, allowing it to only pass through the open areas of the screen onto the surface. This results in sharp and precise labeling.