Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are ubiquitous in electronic devices and other relevant applications. Generally, PCBs are made of multiple layers of laminates bonded with multiple layers of resin. The layers are embedded with conductive metallic components and metal vias passing vertically through the layers.

In finite element analysis (FEA), modeling the bodies and traces in PCBs as elements is usually done using solid, shell, and beam elements with coupling or contacts. That method, however, is often arduous and time-consuming due to the sheer number of embedded bodies involved in each resin layer of the PCB.

Mesh-independent reinforcing element technology offers a better alternative for modeling and meshing PCBs by using MESH200 elements to define the topology of the embedded regions and seamlessly creating embedded reinforcing elements. No complex contact modeling, coupling, or difficult meshing techniques are involved.