A cost effective way to carry high current and eliminate board traces in Power Supply boards.

UNIPOWER designs, manufactures and markets standard and customized 20- to 3000-watt switching power supplies and systems that power the products of major manufacturers of computer, office automation, industrial, medical and aerospace equipment worldwide.

Maximizing space utilization in a highly populated board
In a highly populated board, the problem of scarce space is compounded with the need to distribute high current to various components throughout the board. High current distribution means heavy traces which take a considerable amount of board space. Space utilization can be maximized by removing the heavy traces from the PCB and utilizing a bus bar to distribute current to the various components or to the external output tabs.

UNIPOWER Power supply uses CCI Board Stiffeners to distribute current

A UNIPOWER 820-watt switching power supply requires a highly populated board (see above picture). A total current of 130 amps is distributed to the various components in the board. Considerable space is saved by eliminating the board’s current traces and, in its place, using a CCI Board Stiffener B500 type.

Additional benefits obtained from the use of CCI Board Stiffeners include:

Rigidizing PC boards during production, assembly or in finished products.
Decreasing shock and vibration damage to boards.
Carrying current or creating ground equalization as well as carrying current.
Eliminating the need for costly additional PCB layers.
Saving time through ready availability and easy installation.
Offering the flexibility of various standard and custom configurations.

Application Note 60A