Thick-Copper PCBs – High-Current & High-Power Circuit Boards UK And Europe

At Rush PCB UK, we manufacture all types of thick copper PCBs, those with a thicker-than-normal copper layer. For instance, a regular PCB has copper thicknesses of 1 oz (35 µm) or 2 oz (70 µm). Thick copper PCBs typically have copper thicknesses of 3 oz (105 µm) to 15 oz (525 µm). The thicker copper has a larger cross-section and therefore lower DC resistance. This allows the board to carry high currents, thereby optimizing thermal management by favoring heat spreading.

The presence of thick copper in the PCBs has several benefits:

• Substantially increases the current capacity
• Improves the resistance to thermal strain
• Improves the mechanical strength of PTH holes and connectors
• Allows better heat dissipation
• Can survive repeated thermal cycling
• Substantially improves the mechanical strength of PTH holes and connectors
• Helps in reducing the product size
• Reduced failure rates
• Lower production costs

We make thick copper PCBs of different types depending on the requirements of the application. For multilayer PCBs, the thick copper layer is only on the outermost layers, as this improves thermal management. The inner layers have a regular copper thickness. We make:

FR4 Heavy Copper PCBs

These are the most common types, with copper thicknesses of up to 14 oz. We can make these PCBs up to 24 layers.

Ceramic Heavy Copper PCBs

We make ceramic heavy copper PCBs from zirconia, sapphire, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, aluminum oxide, and aluminum nitride. For our ceramic PCBs, we offer copper thicknesses up to 4 oz and up to 4 layers.

Aluminum Heavy Copper PCBs

These are the most affordable of our PCBs. We offer up to 6 oz copper thickness and up to 4 layers.

Teflon Heavy Copper PCBs

These are high-frequency PCBs, made from PTFE substrates from Taconic, Nelco, Panasonic, and Rogers. We offer up to 24 layers.

Flex Heavy Copper PCBs

To preserve flexibility, we offer only limited thicknesses of copper up to 3 oz. For these PCBs, we offer up to 8 layers.

As the presence of thick copper allows the PCB to conduct high currents and handle high power, these boards are typically used for high-power supplies and motor circuits in industries like:

Automotive Electronics

Automotive electronics use high copper PCBs in high-current modules like ignition coils, battery charging, and headlight control. As the ambient temperature within the automobile is typically on the higher side, thermal management is important to keep the electronics functioning properly. High copper PCBs with their superior capability of heat distribution are very useful here.

Renewable Energy

Wind turbine controllers and solar inverters, types of renewable energy systems, operate at low voltages but high current levels. The ability to withstand high power levels and effective heat regulation due to their thick copper makes these PCBs an ideal choice.

High Power Supplies

Electrical appliances need power to operate. Higher capacity appliances need both higher currents and higher power. Although the power supply feeding such high-power appliances is not complex, the need to handle high currents requires PCBs with high copper thickness.

High-Performance Computing

Data centers typically require devices that can easily dissipate heat. This is because high-performance computing generally creates a lot of heat that must be dissipated. By using thick copper PCBs, data centers can handle this critical heat, yet retain their durability and thermal performance. 

Medical Equipment

Many medical equipment use high currents and high power. Equipment like CT scanners and nuclear magnetic resonance equipment use high copper PCBs to allow them to operate for long periods without interruption.

Rush PCB UK is the source manufacturer of thick copper PCBs with more than two decades of manufacturing experience. For thick copper PCBs, we understand the importance of uniform solder mask printing, and therefore, we use electrostatic spraying technology in place of the regular printing process for applying the solder mask. The benefits of choosing us for your thick copper PCBs are:

• We make all types of thick copper PCBs with thicknesses ranging from 1 to 15 oz.
• We offer one-on-one engineering support and professional assistance throughout the project to optimize the design.
• Improve your time-to-market with our DFM, DFA, and engineering support
• We have certifications 
• We follow nomographs for PCB trace width for thick copper PCBs.

Thick copper PCBs from Rush PCB UK are important for the advanced world of electronic circuitry. This is due to their ability to manage high currents and heat dissipation with reliable operations.

If you have a project requiring heavy copper PCBs, please contact Rush PCB Ltd today. Our experts will answer all your questions regarding our capabilities. You can send us your design files and receive a prompt quote.