Find the Best PCB Assembly Services for Commercial Purposes

Fast and reliable PCB assembly services can reduce your product development cycle and ensure a timely and prompt release of your new device. Outsourcing PCB assembly can be cost-effective and can help you save time, but it can be challenging to find a good service that can quickly and accurately complete the job, especially for high volume requirements.  Here are a few points to consider when finding the best PCB assembly services for commercial purposes:

•    Look for an expert – Find a PCB assembly service provider with decades of experience and expertise in circuit board assembly and electronic design. Make sure that it has offered its services to many different companies in the automotive, industrial, aerospace and military, and telecommunications equipment markets.

•    See if they have their own facilities – PCB assembly service providers who have their own state-of-the-art facilities can reduce the costs of labor when they are able to work on their own. Reputable companies are capable of handling medium to low volume assemblies and testing with advanced capabilities such as automated selective soldering, an automated stock room, and in-line automated 3D inspection and BGA x-ray with their flex-SMT lines.

•    Verify certifications – Make sure that the PCB assembly service is TS 16949 and ISO 9001 certified. It is important for an electronic design and circuit board assembly company to be compliant to ISO 13485 and AS 9100, too. The personnel must be trained to IPC-A-610 class 2 & 3 and IPC J-STD-001 class 2 & 3.

•    Check the equipment – A good PCB assembly service provider will ensure the highest-quality and accurate results, plus faster turnaround. Hence, they use advanced machinery to complete the job in the shortest times possible. Look for a company that uses high-speed surface mount lines and other devices that can shorten the time to create mixed technology and through whole assemblies.

Five Ways to Build a Prototype PCB Assembly

A prototype PCB assembly can give you a clear idea of how your device looks and functions. Printed circuit boards electronically connect and mechanically support electronic components using pads, conductive tracks, and other features, which are etched from copper sheets and laminated on a non-conductive substrate. Here are ways to build prototype PCB assemblies:

1. Through-hole – This form of mounting technology uses component leads that are placed into drilled holes on a printed circuit board. This was the standard until surface mount technology became available in the 1980s. Some electronic design companies still use through-hole mounting with SMT on certain projects.

2. Surface mount technology – SMT can be a cost effective means to build a printed circuit board because it provides smaller and compact components for improved performance. Surface mount is fully automated, and minor errors can be corrected with ease, resulting in more savings in terms of time and costs to develop an effective PCB.

3. Rapid prototyping – This method lets designers create a more tangible prototype of their design. The resulting prototypes are superior to CAD or 3D models. Through rapid prototyping, changes and improvements can easily be made to the design of a PCB assembly before it is finalized and sent into actual production.

4. Module assembly – A work cell can be developed and optimized to suit your production rate and volume requirements. Reputable manufacturing engineers can introduce flexible robotics into the work cell for a more cost-effective production process. This way, it is possible to make complex control systems with multiple mechanical components and circuit board assemblies.

5. Soldering – Once the parts have been attached to the board, the assembly is passed through a soldering machine. Some boards may go through a wave soldering machine as long as there is no solder paste on the board. Newer soldering techniques rely on the reflow method, especially when a solder paste is used.

Know the Advantages of SMT PCB Assemblies

Circuit boards produced with surface mounting technologies have dramatically changed electronics manufacturing. Surface mount technology is one of the most advanced ways to manufacture electronic circuits where the components are placed or placed directly on the surface of PCBs (printed circuit boards). It has become a better alternative to the through-hole technology method of fitting wire lead components into the holes in a circuit board. There are many advantages to using SMT PCB assemblies. Here are some of them:

• It can be used with through-hole technology – Both SMT and through-hole production methods can be done on the same board. SMT can be used on components that are unsuitable for surface mounting, like heat sinked power semiconductors and large transformers.
  
  
• Cost-effective production – Surface mount technology can be a more cost-effective way to produce printed circuit boards because of the smaller size of its components. SMT components are typically smaller than through-hole versions due to either the absence of leads or smaller leads. It can have leads in different styles or short pins, a matrix of BGAs or solder balls, terminations on the component body, or flat contacts.

• Suitable for smaller devices – The ease of construction and their greater component density make them more ideal for devices that are smaller. SMT PCB assemblies enable you to make feature-packed smaller devices at lower prices.

• Automated assembly – SMT PCB assemblies can work with some placement machines for a faster and simpler way to assemble your device. Certain machines can place over 136,000 components per hour, and small errors in placement are automatically corrected as the molten solder's surface tension pulls the components to align them with solder pads.
  
  
• Versatility – The components can easily be placed on either or both sides of a circuit board. SMTs offer lower inductance and resistance at a connection, resulting in fewer RF signal effects, as well as more predictable and better performance at high frequencies.

• Better performance – In addition to minimizing the effects of RF signals, SMT PCB assemblies offer lower radiated emissions because of the smaller lead inductance and smaller radiation loop area.

• You can have them made – Look for a reputable company that specializes in circuit board assembly services and electronic design to a wide range of industries. This way, you can count on a reliable turnkey supplier to customize SMT PCB assemblies for your needs. Consider a company that has more than three decades of experience in contract electronic manufacturing.