Conventional A rigid PCB of thickness 1.6mm, with wire-leaded components mounted on only one side of the PCB, with all the leads through holes, soldered and clipped. Conventional circuitry is generally easier to debug and repair than Surface mount. A PCB with tag-leaded components soldered flush to PCB pads. Holes are still needed on the PCB, but not where the component leads are attached. Surface mount circuitry is generally smaller than conventional.
Surface mount is generally more suited to automated assembly than conventional.
In practice, most boards are a mix of surface mount and conventional components. This can have its disadvantages as the two technologies require different methods of insertion and soldering. Double sided Laminate A bare PCB laminate having tracks on both sides, normally with PTH holes connecting circuitry on the two sides together. Multi-layer A PCB Laminate may be manufactured with more than two layers of copper tracks by using a sandwich construction. The cost of the laminate reflects the number of layers.