PCB Manufacturing Process
After the PCB design is printed onto a piece of laminate material, a copper foil layer or copper coating is applied. The copper is then pre-bonded to that same piece of laminate, which serves as the structure for the PCB.
SMT Process
SMT is the process wherein components are mounted onto the surface of a PCB. The components are designed specifically to be directly mounted, rather than hardwired, onto the circuit board for the vast majority of electronics.