Does the standard aluminum board process support through hole components?
Can the base aluminum be exposed on the top side of the PCB?
Hello Kdkirmse,
The standard aluminum boards are single layer only. They are made of a bare aluminum substrate on the bottom, and a copper layer on top, separated by a dielectric layer in between. To have (plated) through holes (copper pads on both top and bottom layers) you would need double layer aluminum boards which are 1. much more expensive, 2. not as good at dissipating heat and 3. difficult to find suppliers for. So I wholeheartedly suggest you stick with SMD components for aluminum boards.
Also, the standard service does not support exposed aluminum on the copper side,
Hope that helps,