Direct answer: YUESHAN melamine laminate PCB backup board with HDF core and hot-pressed melamine paper surface for FPC, HDI and multilayer drilling. 80±3 HD, 2.0/2.5/2.7 mm, flatness ≤0.10 mm. Buyers typically qualify it by density/hardness, thickness, flatness, moisture behavior, exit burr, drill wear and compatibility with the entry sheet.
Key Takeaways
- Read this page as the buying view of the melamine laminate grade — supplier, specification, line-trial sample and quotation route.
- The Material Profile carries the hot-press mechanism and the physical test data behind the hardness and warpage figures.
- Entities this page owns: melamine PCB backup board, white backup board, melamine laminated backup board, HDF core, melamine impregnated paper, hot pressed laminate, BGA, HDI, MLB, FPC, surface hardness, pencil hardness, warpage, density, burr control.
Melamine Laminate PCB Backup Board Supplier for PCB Drilling
Melamine Laminate is not the same product as UV Melamine. It uses a pre-impregnated melamine paper layer fused to the HDF core under heat and pressure. This gives buyers a hard surface with a more resilient fibre core — useful when FPC, rigid-flex or multilayer drilling benefits from a less rigid landing than phenolic.
Industry pages ranking around this product category consistently use procurement entities such as backup board, backing board, drilling support, density, thickness tolerance, surface hardness, warpage, standard sizes, HDF core, FPC, HDI, BGA, multilayer PCB and customized size. This page integrates those terms only where they describe a real buyer decision.
Commercial Specifications
| Specification | YUESHAN |
|---|---|
| Core | High-density fiberboard |
| Surface | Hot-pressed melamine impregnated paper |
| Hardness | 80±3 HD |
| Density | Approx. 980–1000 kg/m³ class |
| Thickness | 2.0 / 2.5 / 2.7 mm |
| Flatness | ≤0.10 mm |
| Application | FPC, HDI and multilayer PCB drilling |
Standard board formats: 940 × 1245 mm (37 × 49 in), 1041 × 1245 mm (41 × 49 in) and 1092 × 1245 mm (43 × 49 in). These are the full boards this grade is pressed in. Smaller working sizes such as 520 × 620 mm are cut down from the standard boards against the ordered quantity, so a cut-to-size request is quoted on the same boards rather than on a separate stock item. Confirm the current TDS before final drawing release or incoming inspection.
Grade Selection
| Grade | Surface / core | Typical role |
|---|---|---|
| Melamine Laminate 840 | Hot-pressed melamine paper + HDF | 6–16 layer, FPC / rigid-flex, general precision drilling |
| Melamine Laminate 880 | Hot-pressed melamine paper + dense HDF | HDI / multilayer 12–24 layer, lower-burr applications |
Use the PCB Backup Board Selector if you want a quick starting grade from layer count, smallest drill, humidity and exit-burr target.
What the Melamine Laminate Grade Is Built to Control
- Exit burr on fine mechanical holes: the hot-pressed melamine skin holds the copper down as the drill breaks out, which is the defect that costs the most on small-diameter work.
- Resin smear in the hole wall: a fused, non-fibrous face releases less resin into the barrel than a bare fibreboard face, so desmear has less material to remove.
- Panel-to-panel repeatability: a 980±30 kg/m³ core with warpage held inside 0.8% of the diagonal keeps the support plane identical at the first panel and the last.
- Stack flatness under clamp load: the denser build resists conforming to the panel it supports, so the exit plane stays where the program set it.
- Drill wear: an 80±5 Shore D face is hard enough to stabilise the exit point without dressing the bit the way harder specialist boards do.
- Phenolic substitution risk: same hardness class as phenolic, with better dimensional stability and a simpler route for the scrap board.
HDF vs Melamine Laminate vs UV Melamine vs Phenolic
Read this table from the melamine side: the useful question is not which board is best, but which of the four a given stack should be on.
| Backup type | Surface the drill exits into | Where it is the right call | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melamine Laminate | Hot-pressed melamine paper, fused to the core | FPC and rigid-flex work, 12–24 layer precision drilling, and projects replacing phenolic | This page |
| HDF | Plain fibreboard, no facing | 2–12 layer standard production where a plain landing layer already meets the burr target | HDF 880 grade |
| UV Melamine | UV-cured melamine, sealed against humidity | Humid plants, HDI and back-drill work where the surface must not drift through a shift | UV-cured grade |
| Phenolic PHE | Rigid thermoset build-up | Selected IC-substrate and precision routing work bought for rigidity | Phenolic PHE board |
Where the Melamine Grade Is Specified
Flexible and Rigid-Flex Stacks
Coverlay and adhesive layers leave little margin for exit burr, so a fused surface is used where mechanical drilling still has to happen.
Defect prevention guide →Precision Multilayer
Match the 880 grade to small-diameter mechanical holes where hole-wall quality, not throughput, drives the desmear load.
Multilayer stack guide →Phenolic Replacement Projects
Where phenolic is being phased out for handling or waste reasons but the hardness class still has to hold on the line.
Grade-by-grade selection guide →Plant & Process Evidence Behind the Melamine Grade
These are the line, the stock board and the acceptance board this grade is made on. Each image below is here because it backs a figure in the specification table above — the surface, the pressed format, the exit plane and the release check.
Buyer Qualification Checklist
Send these with the RFQ and the melamine grade can be qualified against your line rather than picked by name:
- the backup-board type and supplier specification in use today, and whether phenolic is being replaced;
- laminate family and Tg — standard FR-4, high-Tg, FPC or rigid-flex;
- layer count and the smallest mechanical drill in the program;
- exit-burr limit, and how burr is measured at your end;
- current stack build-up: panels per stack, entry and backup thickness;
- whether the exit side is inspected before or after desmear;
- required board format — 940 × 1245, 1041 × 1245 or 1092 × 1245 mm, or a cut size;
- annual volume and destination port.
Send the melamine specification to Mr. Lucky Xu →
Recommended Entry-Side Pairing
The backup board is only half of the stack — the entry side decides where the drill starts.
AA1100 H18 Aluminum Entry Sheet
For standard multilayer mechanical drilling where a rigid entry sheet is enough to guide the bit in.
AA1100 H18 entry sheet →Lubricant-Coated Aluminum
Adds friction and heat control once the hole gets small and the spindle speed climbs, which is where FPC and rigid-flex programs usually end up.
Lubricant-coated entry sheet →Ordering, Lead Time & Customization
Minimum Order & Pricing Basis
Export orders ship on a 1 × 20GP container basis, and mixed grades can share one container; below a full container, EXW terms apply. Melamine Laminate loads 200 sheets per pallet and 24 pallets to a container. Pricing is issued per sheet against the confirmed grade, board format and thickness rather than against a spot catalogue price, because this grade is normally bought as a phenolic alternative against a defined specification.
Lead Time Logic
Lead time runs 12 days from receipt of the order for a two-container booking, counted from the point where grade, board format, thickness and packing are confirmed. That confirmation books the production slot. Sample and line-trial quantities are scheduled ahead of the bulk run instead of after it.
Customization Limits
Pressed as 940 × 1245 mm (37 × 49 in), 1041 × 1245 mm (41 × 49 in) and 1092 × 1245 mm (43 × 49 in) boards at 2.5 and 2.7 mm. Cut-to-size and custom size requests — including 520 × 620 mm pieces — are quoted on those same standard boards, so cutting is available inside the standard format. The grade is restricted to the published thickness range, and a thickness outside it is not offered.
Industry & Standards Reference Set
- white melamine backup board terminology
- IPC design standards
- YUESHAN technical material profile for this product
Always qualify YUESHAN using its current TDS and sample results.
FAQ
What is Melamine Laminate PCB Backup Board?
It is a hot-pressed melamine-faced fibreboard used on the exit side of the drill stack. This page carries the commercial specification, qualification, sample and ordering detail; composition and process mechanisms are documented separately in the material library at https://www.yueshanpcb.com/materials/melamine-backup-board/.
Should we start at 2.5 mm or 2.7 mm thickness?
2.5 mm is the standard production thickness. 2.7 mm is pressed for stacks that need the extra support height to hold the exit plane flatter. Both are supplied to a thickness tolerance of ±0.15 mm, so the choice is a stack decision rather than a tolerance decision.
Is melamine a drop-in replacement for phenolic backup board?
It is the usual substitution: the same 80±5 Shore D hardness class, with better dimensional stability and a simpler route for the scrap board. It should still be qualified against your own exit-burr data rather than accepted on hardness alone.
Can it be supplied cut to our panel size?
Yes. Boards are pressed at 940 × 1245 mm, 1041 × 1245 mm and 1092 × 1245 mm, and cut-to-size pieces such as 520 × 620 mm are produced from those standard boards to order.
What is the minimum order and lead time?
Export orders ship on a 1 × 20GP container basis, and mixed grades can share one container; below a full container, EXW terms apply. Lead time runs 12 days from receipt of the order for a two-container booking. Sample and line-trial quantities are scheduled ahead of the bulk run.