Motherboards are so commonplace these days that it’s easy to take them for granted. When you really look into the development of the motherboard, you’ll quickly discover they could be classed as the miracle of modern electronics.

So, what are motherboards and what are they made up of? Here, you’ll discover a brief guide to these impressive technological advancements.

What is a motherboard?

A motherboard is considered one of the most important parts of a computer. It contains a lot of components that are required for the computer to work correctly. These include the CPU and input and output connectors.

The base is typically made up of a rigid plastic. It is then layered with thin aluminium foil or copper layers, known as traces. It is these which form the circuits between the components. They also tend to feature numerous slots and sockets to allow them to be connected to other components.

How are they made?

They may look simple, but motherboards are actually really complex to make. Manufacturers face a lot of challenges, despite improvements made within the industry.

Firstly, printed circuit boards (PCB) are used as a base. Very complex layers of fibreglass are fused together to create a solid layer. Two additional fibreglass layers are then added to the top and bottom, coated in copper. On top of that copper layer, is a chemical known as photoresist. After the PCB has been constructed, it’s then that the motherboard can be developed.

The manufacturing process can be broken down into four sections. This includes Surface Mount Technology, DIP, Testing and Packaging.

What components and parts are used?

Motherboards are used to connect all major components within a computer. So, what components are required for the motherboard itself?

The main components used within motherboard creation, are mouse and keyboard connectors, USB, a CPU chip, RAM slots and PCB connectors. These are just a very small number of the components used. If you’re creating your own motherboards, it’s crucial you ensure you’re using the highest quality components.

As you can see, motherboards can be fairly complex in how they’re made. Considering how small they are, it’s amazing to think that they play such an important role in how our computers work. Creating your own motherboards isn’t easy so if you are thinking of branching out into motherboard creation, you’ll need to spend a lot of time researching and developing the skills required to make them.