During the PCB fabrication and assembly process, some finishing touches will be applied to the board board and the PCBA to add some additional environmental protection. When the bare board is fabricated, some surface finishes will be applied to exposed conductors using an electroplating process. When the board is being assembled, there are other materials that are used to finish the PCBA.

We’ll discuss some of the following additional assembly steps and materials in this lesson:

• Surface finishes
• Conformal coatings
• Thermal interface materials
• Shielding materials

Your PCB might need one or more of these elements during fabrication and assembly, and it will be your job to specify this when you create your order with a manufacturer.