History

Through-hole technology almost completely replaced earlier electronics assembly techniques such as point-to-point construction. From the second generation of computers in the 1950s until surface-mount technology (SMT) became popular in the late 1980s, every component on a typical PCB was a through-hole component. PCBs initially had tracks printed on one side only, later both sides, then multi-layer boards were in use. Through holes became plated-through holes (PTH) in order for the components to make contact with the required layers. Plated-through holes are no longer required with SMT boards for making the component connections but are still used for making interconnections between the layers and in this role are more usually called vias.

Characteristics

A box of drill bits used for making holes in printed circuit boards. While tungsten-carbide bits are very hard, they eventually wear out or break. Making holes is a considerable part of the cost of a through-hole printed circuit board.

While through-hole mounting provides strong mechanical bonds when compared to SMT techniques, the additional drilling required makes the boards more expensive to produce. They also limit the available routing area for signal traces on layers immediately below the top layer on multilayer boards since the holes must pass through all layers to the opposite side. To that end, through-hole mounting techniques are now usually reserved for bulkier components such as electrolytic capacitors or semiconductors in larger packages such as the TO220 that require the additional mounting strength, or for components such as plug connectors or electromechanical relays that require great strength in support.

Design engineers often prefer the larger through-hole to surface mount parts when prototyping because they can be used with breadboards.

Installation of radial-leaded parts (e.g., LEDs and electrolytic capacitors) and integrated circuits are done in the same manner except the parts are already formed in a 90° direction.