Important Things You Should Know About Printed Circuit Boards

Printed circuit boards, often referred to as PCBs, are self-contained modules of inter-linked electronic components that are commonly found in basic devices like radios to more sophisticated computer systems. Circuits are made using thin layers of conducting material "printed" or deposited on the surface of a substrate or an insulating board. Once the circuit is laid, individual electronic components can be placed on or through the surface of the substrate and then soldered to complete the inter-connecting circuits. Contact fingers along the edges of the substrate serve as connectors to other printed circuit boards or some external electrical device, such as an on-off switch. A PCB may consist of circuits that perform one single function or several functions.

Printed circuit boards come in different forms, but the most commonly used types based on their construction include multi-layered, double-sided, and single-sided boards. Single-sided boards, as the name suggests, have components on one face of the substrate. When components are too many for a single-sided board, double-sided boards may be considered. With double-sided boards, electrical connections are made by drilling holes all the way through the substrate so that each side can be inter-linked in appropriate locations. The inside of the holes are plated with a conducting material. A multi-layered board, on the other hand, features a substrate that contains several layers of printed circuits, which are carefully separated by insulating layers. Components on the surface are connected using plated holes drilled down to the proper circuit layer, effectively simplifying the device's circuit pattern.

Printed circuit board components can be electrically connected to their proper circuits using two methods, namely, through-hole technology, and the more recent surface-mount technology. Through hole technology requires thin wires and leads, pushed through the small plated holes in the substrate and they soldered to connection pads on opposite sides of the board. Surface mount technology, on the other hand, eliminates the time-consuming process of drilling holes into boards as well as the space-consuming connection pads that are inherent with through-hole applications.

A Quality Electronic Contract Manufacturer is Vital for Modern Electronics Designs

More industries are relying on electronic contract manufacturers to make sure that they can keep up with the growth in global electronics manufacturing. Newer technologies and innovations are enabling electronic contract manufacturers to create prototypes and develop designs at lower costs. Working with a good electronic contract manufacturer will ensure a high-quality and robust electronic design that is modern and effective for today's standards. A reputable manufacturer has a state of the art and on-site facilities with the latest equipment and machinery. On-site manufacturing facilities can help ensure lower production costs and faster turnaround times.

Find a good electronic contract manufacturer that has at least three decades of providing electronic design and manufacturing engineering services. This way, they can work with your in-house engineering and design staff. They can recommend development and full service design partners to work on your custom projects, too. This is because they are affiliated with knowledgeable and skilled engineers who can work with wired and wireless electronics.

A good electronic contract manufacturer can handle large batches of designs. They make sure to keep you involved in the manufacturing and design stages, too, so you can be sure that you are getting the product that you need. You can rely on their in-house designers to come up with improvements. Prototype designs can be optimized to further lower the production costs.

Working with a reputable electronic contract manufacturer can help you turn an idea into a reality. They can design and make the prototype for you. Just be sure that you are working with a company that is compliant with ISO 13485 and AS 9100, and ISO 9001 and TS 16949 certified. Consider a manufacturer that provides full documentation, quality management systems, and ECNs that are easy to access online, and that you can get reliable and continuous support from the company.

Circuit Board Assemblies Can Lower Costs & Improve Quality

Hiring the right company to take care of your circuit board design and assembly requirements can lower your overall product development costs while improving your product’s quality. Outsourcing PCB assembly services to an expert company is often more practical because of the following reasons:

1. Less Investment

Doing PCB assembly in-house means making huge capital investments in equipment and production lines, as well as manpower and training. There's almost no foreseeable ROI on such investments for most companies, so outsourcing is more sensible.

2. Economies of Scale

Outsourcing your PCB assembly requirements allows you to use the resources of a large and dedicated electronics assembly plant to produce more units faster at a much lower cost than you can do with your in-house facilities.

3. Design Services Included

While not all PCB services include design, most expert PCB manufacturers offer design consultancy to help you improve or refine yours. They can engineer solutions to help your company produce better products cheaply.

4. Access to Expertise

The best electronics assembly companies have many years (even decades) of experience in the mass-production of electronics. You will have to pay a premium for such expertise if you hire a specialist to manage your in-house operations, but you can get it cheap when you outsource your project.

5. Guaranteed Quality Control

Do you have all the resources necessary to do PCB assembly checks and guarantee that your PCBs you produce pass all quality standards? Probably not—and it won’t be practical to invest in an entire system, either. The best electronics manufacturers have already put in place extensive quality control procedures, ensuring that only top quality components are produced.

It’s prudent to outsource your PCB assembly requirements to take advantage of lower prices and better quality. There is a peace of mind and confidence that comes with knowing that you are putting a reliable product in the market. It’s no longer practical to do your assembly in-house, and there are plenty of very good reasons to look outside your organization instead.

Things to Consider About Electronic Circuit Board Assembly

As an electronics manufacturer, you are bombarded with many great electronics, printed circuit board assembly, and service partners. With the different types of processes, systems, and technologies available in the market, there so many ways that production can go wrong. This is why it is never enough to have a great idea to market, but the right technology and a trustworthy partner who can take care of every stage of your electronic board circuit assembly with great attention to detail and quality. The wrong choice of PCB assembler can very easily undo all the hard work you have put into the conception of your product. Here are important things you should consider when looking for an ECB partner:

• Standards. Finding the right PCB assembly service requires a great deal of patience especially in doing research. The sheer number of service providers in the industry may send you off-track, which is why it is critical to set your criteria when seeking out potential companies. Don't simply choose the cheapest vendor you can find. Instead, look for an experienced firm that is compliant with international standards and has a proven track record when it comes to partnering with and supporting the requirements and aggressive schedules of their clients.

• Facilities. Choose a company with robust manufacturing facilities. When contracting an ECB firm, never take anything on faith and make it a point to ask about the manufacturer's equipment. Don't settle for companies with antiquated machines and technologies. Instead, choose one that has a specialized, standard-compliant facility equipped with all the modern production facilities your project will need. Apart from the latest production equipment, choose a company that maintains an ideal environment for sensitive electronics components, ranging from humidification systems to ESD flooring, and automated stockrooms, which enable extensive quality management.

5 Key Benefits of Using Electronic Product Design Services

Completion of a stellar electrical design is one of the most critical steps to introducing a new product. Because electronic devices are complex in design, particularly in their core components, your development process can suffer greatly without the right expertize, causing you to waste valuable time and budget. Well-developed process control and design experience are only two of the reasons why you should consider outsourcing electronic design to a professional company. The following are other major factors you should think about if you are still hesitating to decide, when it comes to using a service:

·         Lower development cost – Starting an electronic design process from the ground up can be prohibitively expensive. Initial costs can significantly be lowered if you have an experienced custom electronic design team by your side—one that has an established workflow and access to cost saving tools to provide you low-cost solutions.

·         Accountability – A reputable electronic product design company is accountable to you because deliverables are directly tied to service costs. This means that you can have greater control over schedules as they must account for the expected time of completion.

·         Expertize – Efficient product design requires training and experience, which can take many years to acquire. Companies provide you access to talented, skilled, well-trained and highly experienced designers to work on your project. Because you are essentially renting expertise, you don't necessarily have to pay for the same amount of training for long-term hires.

·         Productivity – Outsourcing electronic product design ensures high productivity. Not only this, you can be sure that the people you are working with have ample knowledge of what you are trying to achieve, having worked with and for different market verticals. This gives them authority to tell you which design development techniques are proven to work or are more apt for your application.

·         Resources – Product design companies give you access to all the resources they have gathered from years of experience in the industry. This implies, that you get to develop products that are up to date and will best add to your company's growth.