Editing Printed circuit board (section)

=== Multiwire boards ===
Multiwire is a patented technique of interconnection which uses machine-routed insulated wires embedded in a non-conducting matrix (often plastic resin).<ref>{{Cite patent |country=US |number=4175816 |pubdate=1979-11-27 |title=Multi-wire electrical interconnecting member having a multi-wire matrix of insulated wires mechanically terminated thereon |assign1=Kollmorgen Technologies Corp. |inventor1-last=Burr |inventor1-first=Robert P. |inventor2-last=Morino |inventor2-first=Ronald |inventor3-last=Keogh |inventor3-first=Raymond J. }}</ref> It was used during the 1980s and 1990s. {{As of|2010|post=,}} Multiwire is still available through Hitachi.

Since it was quite easy to stack interconnections (wires) inside the embedding matrix, the approach allowed designers to forget completely about the routing of wires (usually a time-consuming operation of PCB design): Anywhere the designer needs a connection, the machine will draw a wire in a straight line from one location/pin to another. This led to very short design times (no complex algorithms to use even for high density designs) as well as reduced [[crosstalk]] (which is worse when wires run parallel to each other&mdash;which almost never happens in Multiwire), though the cost is too high to compete with cheaper PCB technologies when large quantities are needed.

Corrections can be made to a Multiwire board layout more easily than to a PCB layout.<ref>{{cite web |last=Weisberg |first=David E. |date=2008 |title=14: Intergraph |pages=14–8 |url=https://www.vgamuseum.info/images/doc/intergraph/intergraph_history.pdf}}</ref>