IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1514429
IPC COMMUNITY 59 WINTER 2024 A Plant-based PCB Material: Jiva Soluboard Another interesting development is the Jiva Soluboard, a PCB material made of jute, which means it is fully organic and, funny enough, can be dissolved in pure water of 90°C or above. This can be seen in this YouTube video. Until recently, this material has been usable for sin- gle-sided PCBs only, but according to Jiva, the new Soluboard v2 shall withstand plating pro- cesses, which means it can be used for PCBs with plated through-holes. NCAB plans to test this material in parallel with the Shengyi mate- rial to see differences, understand properties, and how it can be used for real products. Conclusion Your question now might be, "When can we order PCBs made of this material, and when can we test the circularity?" Unfortunately, we don't have a definite answer yet. As men- tioned, we will order more boards, test them, and send them to customers willing to do field tests. For the recycling, we will follow the lam- inate factories very closely and share with our customers as we go. Additionally, one factor that can speed up the concept of PCB recyclability is the interest among standardization organizations like IPC and UL, and papers presented in global con- ferences. Overall, as the concept of PCB recyclabil- ity gains momentum, we need to explore the challenges of achieving true circularity due to the heterogeneous nature of electronic prod- ucts. Testing and development of new mate- rials show promising results, all of which con- tribute to the goal of recyclable PCBs. While uncertainties remain about the timeline for fully recyclable PCBs, continued research and collaboration can accelerate progress in the recycling and sustainable use of PCBs.