A Cyprus-based startup has unveiled a desktop machine that promises to fabricate, assemble, and test a working circuit board prototype in about 30 minutes.
PewCB has unveiled the PewCB One, a desktop machine designed to fabricate and assemble PCB prototypes without sending the design to an external factory. According to the company, the process from a prepared PCB design and exported Gerber files to a completed prototype ready for testing takes about 30 minutes. The system is designed to support a Build, Test, Revise and Repeat workflow for PCB development.
The PewCB One uses a 1,064 nm fibre laser with about 20 watts W of average optical power, a pulse duration of roughly 100 nanoseconds and a 35 μm spot diameter. The laser selectively removes copper, solder mask and substrate material to form circuit traces on pre-made, double-sided ceramic blanks with plated vias and edge through-holes, eliminating the need for drilling and electroplating. The same laser also cuts a disposable metal stencil for solder-paste application, which is aligned and discarded after use. According to PewCB, the system supports trace widths as low as 0.1 mm in production use, while testing has achieved 0.025 mm traces and 0.04 mm spacing, supporting QFN packages with a 0.35 mm pin pitch and 0201-size passive components.
Unlike conventional PCB prototyping, which requires sending the design to an external fabrication service, the PewCB One keeps the fabrication and testing process on the engineer’s desk. According to PewCB, the system can support three or more PCB iterations in a single day, allowing engineers to build, test and revise designs without waiting for each prototype to return from a factory.
The PewCB One is available for early-bird orders at $5,000, including the machine and a starter set of 20 ceramic PCB blanks. PewCB requires a 30 per cent deposit to reserve a unit and estimates delivery at about 90 days from the order. Shipping costs, import duties and regional taxes are not included in the listed price. The company also lists several limitations, including the possibility of solder bridging around exposed copper near pads if the stencil system is not used correctly, the risk of the ceramic substrate cracking under hard impact, and fixed via locations determined by the pre-manufactured PCB blank.
At $5,000 before shipping, import duties and taxes, the PewCB One is positioned as a desktop PCB fabrication system for rapid prototyping. Its claimed same-day iteration workflow allows engineers to fabricate, test and revise boards without sending each prototype to an external fabrication service.
