Your business spends a lot of energy, time, and money developing your products. If you rely on printed circuit boards as an essential part of what you sell, you want to guard that investment.
Printed circuit boards may appear to be made of strong materials, which they are, but they are delicately crafted together. One bump or crash and a vital circuit component could be knocked out of place. If your printed circuit board is not intact, it can’t do its job, and your product will fail.
You should discuss packaging and shipping practices with your manufacturer to prevent this from happening. You’ll want to ensure that your printed circuit board is properly protected. After all, not all damage is visible but can hurt your productivity.
It might seem silly to be obsessive over something like the packaging of your printed circuit board. After all, so long as it arrives in one piece and functioning, what’s the big deal?
Consider the time and effort you put into designing and developing your circuit board. The packaging that the printed circuit board is shipped in will protect it. And it will ensure that it gets there safely. After all, you’ve invested a lot of time crafting a circuit board that will be safe in its operating environment. Spending a little time ensuring that the packaging will keep your printed circuit board safe during shipping helps to protect your work.
There are many different ways that a printed circuit board can be damaged during the shipping process, such as:
Packages are at the mercy of the person who handles them, and there could be many people along the shipping process who don’t treat your printed circuit board package as gently as you’d like. Your parcel may experience some bad handling along its journey.
It’s best to be prepared, plan for the worst, and hope for the best. By taking some time and putting thought into the packaging your printed circuit board will be housed in, you’ll be able to avoid disappointment and aggravation when it arrives.
A key rule for printed circuit boards is to handle them as little as possible. Rather, use trays and carts to move them around. If PCB assembly calls for hands-on work, wear gloves.
If you need to transport the board between stations during PCB assembly, use a protective bag to prevent damage. You should also meticulously clean each station often. This can help prevent debris from getting on the board and causing damage.
When working on the PCB assembly line, avoid hand lotions or other similar applications. These can transfer to the board, causing problems.
Avoid PCB assembly where there are items that can cause static, such as carpets, rugs, etc. This can also cause damage to the board.
PCBs are delicate electrical components and need special care and attention. Any minimal change in the environment can cause problems with a board. Moisture, heat, and cold air can damage a PCB, so you need to be cautious about where you are storing your PCBs. Without proper storage, your PCB could warp, short out, or come in contact with mould. Other dangers include animals, dust, chemicals, and more.
Due to these challenges, PCBs should be stored in warm, dry spaces with a consistent temperature and minimal humidity. You can use barrier bags or similar packaging types to provide optimal protection. It’s also best not to store PCBs for long periods.
The packaging you’ll want to use will depend on the PCB assembly and what shipping risks you wish to guard against. Here are some of the most common types of PCB packaging.
Tissue paper or bubble wrap is the bare minimum you’ll want to use in your packaging. It will work if you have a very strong and simple PCB. However, if you have more complex components, you’ll want to use something more robust to protect your board.
This plastic wrap provides extra protection for ESD. You’ll be able to find it as bags, bubble wrap, and plastic wrap. A bonus of using pink poly for your PCB is that it can protect against shocks when packing and unpacking the box. However, it should not be used with certain plastic materials, such as polycarbonate. So, if your PCB has any in its components, you’ll need to find another packing solution.
An ESD bag might be the best packing choice if you have sensitive ESD components. They come in various sizes. You should have your ESD sharp boards put into separate bags to prevent static shocks during shipping. Oversized hardware can also be shipped in ESD bags.
Keeping moisture away from your PCB is a must and something you should consider if your circuit board will be going in a humid climate or overseas. In bags and packages with a moisture barrier, your PCB will be placed individually with some desiccant to keep it dry during travels. An additional bonus of moisture barrier packages is that they can resist punctures. This provides extra protection for your PCB.
If you have a particularly sensitive PCB, you can opt for vacuum-sealed packaging. This type of shipping packaging will have all the air removed before it’s sealed. It will look similar to shrink wrap.
For more information about care and storage for your PCBs, call Circuits Central at 1-800-602-7264 or contact us here.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are toxic and persistent chemicals primarily used as insulating fluids in electrical equipment like transformers in power plants, industrial plants, telecommunications and utility lines, and in large buildings across the country. PCBs have a heavy liquid, oil-like consistency. The properties that make them commercially attractive are:
PCBs are widely dispersed in the environment and are at low concentrations throughout the world. This dispersion has occurred because there have been inadequate control procedures in place to prevent hundreds of millions of pounds of PCBs from being improperly used and disposed. This is of particular concern because upon exposure into the environment, PCBs are not biodegradable, i.e., they do not break up or separate into chemical arrangements, and may result in cancer and other serious health problems among exposed humans and animals, as well as causing significant environmental contamination/pollution.
As noted, within CWA-represented industries and sectors, PCBs have been widely used in transformers. Most electrical transformers have been designed to operate with the current carrying cells immersed in a dielectric fluid. PCB dielectric fluid is known by the generic name, Askarel.
Servicing of transformers may result in exposure to PCBs. For example:
Cleaning the inner surfaces of the transformers with solvents during the rebuilding process, cleanup of spillage and drippings, and scrapings of unserviceable components increases the production of PCB wastes and potential contamination. Further, when the old coil must be disposed of separately from the casing, the potential for workplace and environmental exposure to PCBs is increased.
During the performance of this work, i.e., servicing transformers, it is not uncommon for workers to be exposed to PCBs. Therefore, employers must provide involved workers with the appropriate control procedures and personal protective equipment to ensure that PCB exposures are eliminated/minimized.
An additional concern involves ensuring that uncontrolled PCB leaks and spills do not occur. Such leaks/spillage could seriously contaminate both the workplace, as well as the environment.
Exposure to PCBs may result in very serious health effects. Workplace exposure occurs primarily as a result of inhalation or breathing airborne PCBs as well as skin contact or absorption of PCBs. Short-term or acute health effects include skin, eye, and throat irritation; breathing difficulties; nausea and vomiting; loss of weight; and stomach pain. Long-term or chronic health effects include cancer (PCBs are classified as a human carcinogen), liver damage, and reproductive effects.
Ideally, the employer should replace PCBs with less toxic substances. However, where this is not possible, the employer should provide all of the necessary equipment and procedures to control worker exposures to PCBs. This would include the development and implementation of engineering and administrative controls, personal protective equipment and clothing, medical surveillance, personal hygiene and sanitation procedures, and training and education programs for all workers who work with and/or might suffer possible exposure to PCBs. Since PCBs may cause cancer among humans, CWA members should make sure that the employer is providing the above control equipment and procedures.
Where engineering controls do not reduce PCB exposure to levels below the OSHA standard, respiratory protection must be provided. During this process, employers must adhere to the OSHA Respiratory Standard, 1910.134. This rule calls for the provision of physical examinations, fit testing, and the appropriate cleaning and storage of respiratory equipment.
Personal protective equipment should be provided to prevent skin and eye contact as well as to control respiratory exposure. Skin protection can usually be achieved by wearing non-porous gloves, gauntlets, boots or shoe protection, and aprons or heavy overalls. For major spill clean-up operations, a full suit of non-porous clothing may be necessary. Unless the garment is heavily contaminated, non-porous protective clothing can usually be laundered and re-used. Work clothes should be laundered separately from other garments. Also, eye protection such as goggles and/or face shields should be provided and worn when there is a possibility that PCBs might be splashed into the eyes.
If PCBs are splashed or spilled on a worker, contaminated clothing should be removed immediately and the skin washed thoroughly with soap and water for at least 15 minutes. If PCBs should come into contact with a worker’s eye(s), the eye(s) should be cleansed for at least 15 minutes. In addition, a drop of vegetable oil may be put into the eye(s) to relieve the irritating effect of PCBs. Also, involved workers should notify their doctor of their exposures.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Rules
Presently, there are no comprehensive OSHA regulations concerning PCB exposure. However, OSHA has set permissible exposure limits (PELs) for PCBs of 42% (concentration) at 1 milligram per cubic meter (mg/m(3) and PCBs of 54% (concentration) at 0.5 mg/m(3). (Given that PCBs are probable human carcinogens, CWA members should consider any exposure to be excessive. Therefore, members should ensure that employers are providing the necessary protections as described above).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a PCB Ban Rule effective July 2, 1979 that set stringent environmental exposure standards. Although EPA Rules do not directly regulate worker exposure, the Rules do restrict or prohibit employer PCB use activities that, in turn, reduce the number of workers that would be exposed.
The EPA Rule prohibits the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, and "non-enclosed" uses of PCBs unless specifically authorized or exempted by EPA. Totally enclosed uses will be allowed to continue for the life of the equipment. Also, EPA will allow use and servicing of most existing large electrical equipment containing PCBs under controlled conditions for the life of the equipment. However, the manufacture of new PCB electrical equipment (such as transformers and capacitors) is prohibited.
The EPA Rule also forbids the use of waste oil containing any detectable concentration of PCBs from being used as a sealant, coating, or dust control agent (e.g., road oiling, pipe coating, or vegetation spraying). Further, disposal of PCBs must only take place at U.S. Government-approved disposal sites. Any other method of disposal is illegal.
The key to making the workplace safe for all CWA workers is strong, active local safety and health committees. The committee can identify dangerous conditions at the workplace and discuss them with management. If the employer refuses to resolve the safety and/or health hazard(s), the committee can request an OSHA inspection. The committee should always coordinate its activities through the local officers, the CWA Representatives, and negotiated safety and health committees.
In addition, CWA members may obtain information and assistance by contacting the:
CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department
501 Third Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001-2797
Webpage: www.cwasafetyandhealth.org
Phone: (202) 434-1100.
Developed in 1980 and revised in 1987, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, and 2017.
View all CWA Health & Safety Fact Sheets