I’ve been trying to learn new things every so often. It can be so easy to get stuck in a rut with life and not challenge yourself to explore new ideas that interest you. Between work, family and other time commitments, there are plenty of excuses why your curiosity about the unknown must be put on the back burner.
I keep remembering something my grandma told me though. She said, “Always keep learning – learn something new at least every few years.” And I remember her doing it. She taught herself to knit, to play tennis and she learned all about computers – at age 80! This is just scratching the surface of the interests she pursued. She just didn’t accept the excuses, and neither will I!
In following Gram’s advice, I have been interested in learning about electronics for awhile – so I am – and I’m going to share it with you – so you don’t have any more excuses either! As I was reading over some information about electronics, I kept coming across the topic of circuit boards. Circuit boards have become an integral part of technology since their invention in the 1930s.
Circuit boards allowed for the amazingly tiny electronic devices we enjoy today. Without them, we wouldn’t have things like Ipods, laptops or cell phones. Because of their size and the role they serve, the process for making circuit boards has to be exact. For assistance, board designers use things like computers to assist with their layout, and custom wire baskets to help the boards pass through their manufacturing process smoothly and with minimal contamination.
Circuit boards must be assembled in completely contamination free environments. To help keep the components pure, there are several cleaning processes that they must go through. As a result, people have developed special baskets used to clean the circuit boards. These wire baskets help to hold the circuit board securely and at the best angle for ultrasonic cleaning and draining.
Once the circuit boards are assembled (which is a very intricate process) they are placed on a wire rack for finished circuit boards. This special rack allows the completed circuit boards to go through their final vapor degreasing wash cycle. Then they are sent off for placement in whatever device needs them.
While it doesn’t seem possible, circuit boards will continue to get smaller as the electronic products they support get smaller. This technology is also likely to have many applications we can’t even think of now! While this was an unexpected tangent of my interest in electronics, it was exciting to learn how, for example, circuit boards helped computers go from giant machines that took up several rooms, to this nice compact little thing I’m writing on now!
Electronics are just one of the topics I’m interested in learning more about. Hopefully, I can make the time to continue to explore my interests, and be led to learning more about all of the wonderful things that help make life so…..wonderful!
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