Process for the manufacture of circuit boards

Claim 1

A process for extending and fixing continuous conductors between pre-established pairs of contact points on a board base surface along straight paths between selected of said pairs and along inflected paths between selected other of said pairs, the steps comprising: (a) providing a board base having pads affixed to the board surface at pre-established contact points and points where conductor inflections are to be formed and mounting said board base on a table movable relative to a conductor feed guide, with the surface of said board base having said pads facing said guide; (b) engaging the end of the conductor to be extended and fixed to said board surface with the pad at the first of a pair of pre-established contact points on said board surface and affixing said end to said first pad; (c) with said end affixed to said first pad and where said conductor is to be extended and fixed to said board surface between a pair of contact points in a straight path, while feeding said conductor with said guide, moving said board base and said guide in a straight path relative to each other and extending said conductor from said pad at the first of said pair of contact points to the pad at the second of said pair of contact points, severing said conductor and engaging and affixing the severed end of said conductor to said pad at said second contact point; (d) with said end affixed to said pad at said first of a pair of contact points and where said conductor is to be extended and fixed to said board surface between the pair of contact points in an inflected path, while feeding said conductor with said guide, moving said board base and said guide in a straight path relative to each other in a first direction and extending said conductor from said first of said pair of contact points to the pad at the point in such path where said conductor is to be inflected and affixing said conductor at said inflection point to said pad at said inflection point on said board surface, inflecting said board base and said guide relative to each other and moving said board base and said guide in a straight path relative to each other in a second direction and extending said conductor to the pad at the next following inflection point where there is to be more that one inflection in the path, affixing the conductor at the pad at each such inflection point, inflecting said board base and said guide relative to each other and moving said board base and said guide in a straight path relative to each other in a third direction and extending said conductor through inflection points, as aforesaid, until the pad at the second of said pair of pre-established contact points is reached, severing said conductor at said pad at said second contact point and engaging and affixing the severed end of said conductor to said pad at said second contact point; (e) each time said conductor is severed and the severed end has been affixed to the pad at the second of the pair of contact points, moving said board and said guide relative to each other to engage the end of said conductor with the pad at the first of the next pair of pre-established contact points and repeating said steps until conductors have been scribed between the pads of all of the pre-established pairs of contact points; and (f) after all of said conductors have been extended and affixed to said pairs of contact points on said board base to be connected, removing said board base from said table and affixing said conductors along their lengths intermediate said pads to said board base surface.