Method for forming traces on side edges of printed circuit boards and devices formed thereby

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is an object of the invention to provide traces on the side edge of a printed circuit board which avoids the problems of surface defined traces of the type noted above and which advantageously enables the formation of devices which can convert a surface mount board into a board capable of receiving PLCC chips, can define an adaptor for converting a PLCC socket to a PGA header and/or which can stack PLCC chips and/or mount a PLCC chip to a surface mounted board (directly).
According to the present invention, while a printed circuit board is being manufactured, holes are drilled not only in accordance with a particular circuit board pattern, but also along lines which will define edges of the board at positions where traces are to appear.
Then, traces on the surface of the board are applied and all of the holes are plated through employing well-known techniques.
Then, all holes except for those along what will be the edges of the board are masked closed and those holes along the edges of the board are completely filled by a metal, such as solder.
Then, the board is cut along the previously defined lines so as to cut the hole along the edges of the board in half.
This creates a trace along the edge of the board.
If indentations are desired between traces on the edge of the boards, a second row of holes can be drilled along a line offset from the first line and slightly outboard inboard or in line with the edge.
Since these holes are drilled after all holes have been plated and the holes along the edge of the board have been filled with solder, these second rows of holes are unplated and solder free.
When the board is cut along the lines defining the edges, the second row of holes leave indentations between traces on the edges of the board.