Optimal Support Locations for a Printed Circuit Board Loaded With Heavy Components

In the design of printed circuit boards (PCBs), it is preferable to increase their fundamental frequency so as to reduce the effects of the dynamic loading on them. The dynamic characteristics of a PCB carrying various electronic components and modules are most significantly affected by the geometrical and material properties of the bare board and by the boundary conditions supporting the loaded PCB. In this research, a PCB carrying a heavy CPU cooling fan and supported by six fastening screws is investigated by the modal testing and analyzed by the finite element method. After the finite element model of the PCB is verified by the experimental results, the locations of the six supporting screws are optimized to achieve a maximum fundamental frequency for the loaded PCB. The position of each fastening screw can be determined by two design variables, i.e., $x$ and $y$ coordinates. Two cases are studied: the symmetric case (six design parameters) with the symmetric constraint on the support locations imposed, and the asymmetric case (12 design parameters) without the constraint imposed. Finally, verification experiments are performed on the two PCBs supported by screws located at the optimal positions. Although relatively large differences between the calculated, optimized fundamental frequencies and the experimental values are observed, the experiments confirm a very significant improvement in frequency for both cases.