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Conductive Ink Traces June 14, 2006

Conductive ink, for example the Dow Corning PI-2000 series of Silver Polymeric Interconnect Materials, can be used to print conductive circuit traces. Generally, the ink is applied using a screen printing technique, with typical print thicknesses of 25 um to 40 um. Sheet Resistivity is specified in milliohms/square at a 25 um print thickness and varies from 8 to 81 for the currently available inks. For comparison, copper has a Sheet Resistivity of 0.68 milliohms/square at a 25 um thickness.

The Sheet Resistivity can be used to calculate the resistance of the printed traces as follows:

Resistance = Sheet_Resistivity*(Length/Width)*(Ref_Thickness/Thickness)

where "Ref_Thickness" is the thickness at which the "Sheet_Resistivity" is specified in the ink's data sheet and "Thickness" is the actual thickness of the ink you are printing.

The Calculator
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Find PCB Trace Width Based on Power April 20, 2006

I had a request for a calculator to find the width of a PCB trace based on its voltage drop or power dissipation. This time I am trying something new. I made the calculator as an Excel Spreadsheet and posted it on Zoho Sheet. Let me know how the Zoho Sheet works for you.

Note that there are two tabs - one for voltage drop and one for power dissipation. The sheet is embedded below or can be opened in its own window by clicking the following link:

https://www.zohosheet.com/public.do?fid=3083



PCB Via Calculator March 12, 2006

This Javascript web calculator calculates the resistance, voltage drop, and power loss of printed circuit board vias. Note that vias are made out of plated copper which typically has a resistivity of 1.7E-6 to 2.2E-6 Ohm-cm. The calculator has an input box for the resistivity which defaults to 1.9E-6 Ohm-cm.

Updates:
May 22, 2006 - Added thermal resistance calculation.
January 19, 2007 - Minor Clarifications.
March 28, 2007 - Updated resistivity. See comment 12.
June 21, 2007 - Added estimated ampacity. See comment 17.

Inputs:

Finished Hole Dia
Plating Thickness
Via Length

Optional Inputs:

Applied Current Amps
Plating Resistivity Ohm-cm

Electrical Results:

Resistance Ohms
Voltage Drop Volts
Power Loss Watts
Estimated Ampacity Amps

Thermal Results:

Thermal Resistance Deg. C/Watt

Notes:
Resistance = Resistivity*Length/Area
Area = pi*(Inner_dia + Plating_thk)*Plating_thk
Resistivity = 1.9E-6 Ohm-cm (plated copper)
(plated copper is much more resistive than pure copper)
Copper Thermal_Resistivity = 0.249 cm-K/W (at 300K)
Est_Ampacity [Amps] = k*(Temp_Rise [deg C])^b*(Area [mils^2])^c
For IPC-2221 external layers: k = 0.048, b = 0.44, c = 0.725

References:
[1] "Constructing Your Power Supply - Layout Considerations", by Robert Kollman
http://focus.ti.com/lit/ml/slup230/slup230.pdf
[2] "Current Carrying Capacity of Vias", by Doug Brooks and Dave Graves
http://www.ultracad.com/articles/viacurrents.pdf

Calculator Wish List March 3, 2006

If there is a calculator that you feel would be a good addition to this site, please add it to the comment section of this post and we’ll do what we can to implement them.

PCB Trace Width Calculator January 31, 2006

This Javascript web calculator calculates the trace width for printed circuit boards based on a curve fit to IPC-2221 (formerly IPC-D-275). Also see the via calculator.

New features:

Inputs:

Current Amps
Thickness

Optional Inputs:

Temperature Rise Deg
Ambient Temperature Deg
Trace Length

Results for Internal Layers:

Required Trace Width
Resistance Ohms
Voltage Drop Volts
Power Loss Watts

Results for External Layers in Air:

Required Trace Width
Resistance Ohms
Voltage Drop Volts
Power Loss Watts

Notes:

The trace width is calculated as follows:

First, the Area is calculated:

Area[mils^2] = (Current[Amps]/(k*(Temp_Rise[deg. C])^b))^(1/c)

Then, the Width is calculated:

Width[mils] = Area[mils^2]/(Thickness[oz]*1.378[mils/oz])

For IPC-2221 internal layers: k = 0.024, b = 0.44, c = 0.725

For IPC-2221 external layers: k = 0.048, b = 0.44, c = 0.725

where k, b, and c are constants resulting from curve fitting to the IPC-2221 curves

For geometry diagrams, click on the pictures below.

pcb-trace-geometry-2.png     pcb-trace-geometry-1.png

For frequently asked questions, see the comments.

PCB Trace Resistance Calculator January 24, 2006

This online web calculator finds the resistance of copper PCB traces (a.k.a. tracks) of given width, thickness, length, and temperature. It can also be used for copper bars (e.g. bus bars). Several choices of common units are available. Enter the Width and Thickness below. Optionally, enter the Temperature and Length, or just leave the default values. (To find the needed trace width based on current, see the PCB Trace Width Calculator.)

May 17, 2006 - Added (lateral) thermal resistance calculations.
January 18, 2007 - Clarified equations.

The Calculator
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Find Standard Resistor and Capacitor Values January 21, 2006

This javascript calculator finds the closest standard resistor (or capacitor) value in each of the IEA series. Use this, and get rid of that tattered old standard decade resistance table taped to your cubicle and put a nice photo there instead!

Desired Value:

IEA Series Closest Value Error
E6
E12
E24
E48
E96
E192

Which IEA series applies to the various component types?

Health Calculator

This post includes an online calculator that calculates how many calories you burn per day and your Body Mass Index (BMI).

Calories/Day
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the calories needed for basic body function without any activity. Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) your BMR plus calories burned from activities. These can be helpful in planning food intake, diet, etc.

Body Mass Index (BMI)
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggests the following:

The Calculator
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