Printed circuit boards are becoming more popular with users every day. The HDI PCBs have had the most significant growing trend over the last several years.
Will that trend continue, and can we expect the industry to continue growing? If you are looking to learn more about market forecasts for HDI boards, you come to the right place!
Here are some of the most exciting predictions that the experts made for the years to come.
About the Market Situation of HDI PCB
Before we head into forecasts, let’s mention current statistics. It doesn’t take an expert to see that the printed circuit boards are trendy throughout the world. You can even find guides explaining how to make a PCB at home.
However, if you want to launch a commercial product, it is vital that you design and assemble a reliable PCB, and you need professional equipment and experts for that.
The PCB industry has recently set a new standard in high-density to interconnect technology (HDI). Users throughout the world have accepted it and implemented it in their products and other applications.
1.1. How Much Will the Market Generate in 2025?
A report published by experts pinpoints that this market earned more than $9.4 billion in 2017. The estimation is that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) will be over 11% in the coming years. If you do the math, that means that the HDI PCB market can generate more than $22 billion by 2025!
That is not only 2.5 times more than the result made in 2017, but it is also an achievement that will positively surprise the entire industry. And the best part is that it seems more than feasible, especially if we consider the fantastic progress the sector made in only a couple of years.
Even if the growth is somewhat less than projected, There is no doubt that the high-density interconnect PCB market will usher in a bright future. The technology hasn’t reached its peak yet, which means we can expect even better boards in the coming years. On top of that, more companies are joining the production of HDI boards every day, increasing their use.
HDI PCBs Application is The Most Popular in the Next Few Years
If we analyze the situation from 2017, we can notice that about 66% of the total HDI PCB revenue was for the tablet and smartphone industry. That makes sense because these products require a high-performing board that will be thin and compact-sized at the same time.
The experts do not doubt that smartphones and tablets will remain the most popular HDI PCB application in the coming years. They should keep the leading position for at least five years from now, but the exciting thing to discuss is the growing popularity of other smart products.
We are talking about smartwatches and other wearables with “smart” features. All those products are electronic devices, and they require printed circuit boards to work. As a result, the PCB industry has been producing significantly more for this application.
The estimated annual growth rate for PCB use for smart wearables is around 14% in the coming years. Although smartphones and tablets will remain at the top, watches and other wearables will get closer by 2025.
Which HDI PCBs Market Segment Will Grow the Most?
If we want to discuss this, we need to see how the end-users utilize devices containing PCBs. Consumer electronics is a market segment that covers a broad range of products, and it doesn’t come as a surprise that it is among the dominating ones at the moment.
But here is another forecast that you may find surprising. It is the industrial electronics where HDI PCB will mark the highest growth.
The reason for that might lie in the increased variety for the use of high-density boards. They offer a reduced size with improved performance, making them suitable for a massive range of applications. Logically, many industries want to use that to their advantage and take products and services to the next level.
It is hard to give the exact prognosis for the growth of industrial electronics as an HDI PCB market segment. But it seems that the experts unanimously agree that we will get to see them far more often than before.
HDI PCBs– How Many Layers Will Future PCBs Have?
We need to set one thing straight – the rule that a PCB should have as many layers as the application requires will always remain true. Today’s manufacturers can develop extremely complex layers. There is no point in using (or paying) them if they are no necessary for your requirements.
However, the other segments are growing, and the same should happen with the number of layers — the report we mentioned at the beginning of the article focused on analyzing three different categories.
From four to six layers, from eight to ten layers, and 12 or more sheets.
The forecast marks the last category as the one that will have the highest growth rate by 2025 and beyond. Many factors contribute to that, but the obvious is the increase in applications and industries that utilize high-density boards. Portable and consumer electronics and the automotive industry might have been among the dominating PCB users, but many other sectors have already joined or will join shortly.
If you wonder about the best way to know how many layers your PCB needs, the smartest move you can make is to discuss it with a professional. WellPCB has staff members with decades of experience in the industry, and they can provide valuable advice on the best solution for your board. Additionally, they can help you to assemble PCBs of superb quality that will exceed all your expectations.
HDI PCBs– Why Is It Important to Keep Reducing Size and Weight of PCBs?
The industry’s capability to continue reducing the size and weight of PCBs will remain a crucial factor to affect market growth.
It is only understandable that the customers pinpoint miniaturization as one of the first requests for high-density boards. We can see tablets and smartphones becoming thinner over time, and PCBs need to match the new demands in terms of restricted space for the board’s components. Microtia, an interconnector, has helped accommodate the high density of elements in a limited space.
If we are talking about mobile phones and tablets, in particular, you can see a trend in display growth and customers’ demands for the increased battery life. All these leave little room to fit a PCB, which still has to respond to the challenge of securing reliable performance of the product.
HDI PCBs Relationship Between Cost and Performance
Although size matters in the PCB industry, it is the performance of the boards that the manufacturers will also have to keep at the highest possible level. Furthermore, it is vital to find the best possible balance between performance and cost continually.
The users are looking for reliability and efficiency, and they want to be sure they will use their products for a long time. Producing a top-quality board is somewhat expensive at the moment. Although the HDI PCB market has fantastic growth, the industry is looking for ways to reduce the cost. That may happen if they keep reducing the size of the PCB itself.
It sounds logical – by using a small board, your investments in materials are lower. If you maintain top performance, you achieved a better ratio of performance and cost. It is a challenge that the industry will continue facing in the coming years, but one everyone firmly believes it can manage.
HDI PCBs– Why Is HDI Technology Becoming So Popular in the Automotive Industry?
We have covered consumer and industry electronics and tablets and smartphones, but we feel the need to discuss the automotive industry, too. That segment has been using PCBs for a long time, and it also adopted high-density boards.
The automotive industry uses these to run electronic devices that have “smart” features. You will find PCBs in vehicles that offer autonomous driving, as well as advanced safety systems. Add to that some other functions： GPS navigation and driver assistance; there are many new opportunities for HDI technology in the automotive industry.
Conclusion
You can feel the excitement about the future of the HDI PCB market throughout the industry. You’ve only seen a part of the forecasts. Most of them will probably come true, but even if they don’t, the future of HDI boards remains bright. You may want to join and add high-density PCBs to your application as soon as possible! We don’t doubt if we have a fantastic journey.
