How electronic manufacturing has changed over the years?

The field of electronics has been revolutionized in the recent years, as there have been major developments in the technology. It has been backed by the improvement in discoveries and strengthening the designing part of electronics, which also lead to the growth in demand for electronics across the globe.

With consumers getting more and more aware about all this, gradually almost all the electronic manufacturers have adapted novel technologies for manufacturing and assembly of the products.

Alike any other aspect of electronic, PCB manufacturing has also seen immense developments. Where there was the use of old methods such as point to point or thru hole for the sake of Printed Circuit Board manufacturing, it has now been replaced by a technique that is much savvier than the older one. There is now the use of surface mount technology for the process of PCB board manufacturing.

There are a number of reasons for this novel choice, but the most important of all is the fact that SMT technology is cost effective and the manufacturers are saving a lot of money with the help of this technique. They now don’t have to opt for the previously used methods for getting their PCB units assembled. The PCB units being the innermost core that has high level of importance, needs to be manufactured with precision!

This is why one point that is usually kept in mind by electronic manufacturers is the selection of a service provider that offers PCB assembly.

When the task of printed circuit board assembly manufacturing is outsourced to a firm, you must be sure that it can adequately to all your PCB manufacturing needs.

Since the electronic gadget is going to be looked upon as a wholesome product and no one is going to be bothered about who provided you with the small parts in making it complete, there is need for staying careful. The service provider has to be trustworthy.

Plus, PCB assembly services need to be backed with proper support. This means that there is need for choosing such a company which can provide complete support and maintenance.

This is the reason why these manufacturers have to be researched well, before finalizing on a particular option. This research needs to be done with care so that you can find the best option in the vicinity, and can ensure that the overall image of your brand remains spotless.

Which technique replaced thru-hole method for PCB manufacturing?

The method that was used for Printed Circuit Board manufacturing in the past was the thru-hole method. In this method, the printed circuit boards were drilled and the components were connected to the circuit using leads. After drilling the holes, the leads are soldered with pads that were located on the other side of the board. This was done either by hand, or with the help of an automatic system. This method was not at all cost effective. Plus it was highly time consuming. These two were the most prominent reasons why it was replaced by SMT (Surface Mount Technology).

Surface Mount technology is the technique that is employed in the current times. It is widely being used because it is much more efficient and not at all time.
This popularity has seen an upsurge because of its usage and functionality which is much more than what the previous methods such as point to point or thru hole ever offered. In the Surface Mount technology, there is no need of soldering or drilling. The components are placed directly on top of the circuit boards in this technique, which makes it a much easier process.

Another benefit of using SMT is that it is relatively easy to install, than the traditional methods of PCB board assembly. There may sometimes be the use of solder balls of flat contacts in this method.

An additive feature of the SMT technique is that it is much more cost effective than any of the older methods of manufacturing PCB boards. There are a number of printed circuit board assembly manufacturing firms that offer solutions according to the specific needs and variations of the clients. All you need to do while looking for one of them is to search for someone who is certified and trusted.

When you conduct a thorough market research for such service providers, you shall also find a recent increase in the use of SMT technique over the older methods for manufacturing printed circuit boards. As discussed above, the reason for the same is the number of benefits that this technique has brought about for the industry.
In the end, it all boils down to what your exact specifications are. When you lay out your plans in front of the service provider, they shall be able to suggest the best method to carry them out for you.

Changing trends in PCB assembly manufacturing!

Gone are the days when electronic devices used to be bulky. With the coming of printed electronic circuit boards, it has been possible to create electronic devices, which are much compact and far more efficient as compared to earlier times.

However, the technologies used for printed circuit board manufacturing have also evolved a lot over these years. Let us have a look at how things have changed over the years –

1.

The earlier times – the first printed circuit boards were nothing else but flat foil conductors that were laminated over an insulating board. Albert Hanson, a German inventor, is credited with the discovery of these circuit boards in the year 1903. Thomas Edison also tried his hands on manufacturing circuit boards, and came forward with a method in 1904 that used electroplating techniques. However, in the year 1913, Arthur Berry from the Great Britain got the patent for a print-and-etch motion technology used for the manufacturing of these boards

2.

Late in the 50’s – with time things evolved gradually, and thru the hole technology came into picture. This method of PCB board assembly manufacturing made use of drilling holes in the boards. The leads of the equipment are passed through these holes, and soldered onto the board. These were effectively used in the second generation of computers. Though the boards manufactured by this technique proved to be little costly because of added cost of drilling, but because of the ease of manufacturing, this technology was widely accepted.

3.

In the 80’s – although in 1960’s there was rise of surface mount technology for PCB creation, but it was not until late 1980’s and mid 90’s that this technique gained momentum. One step ahead of the thru-hole technology, boards manufactured using this method were much more efficient as the equipment to be used were directly mounted on the surface of the boards. This made available much larger surface area as compared to the previous methods. Therefore the boards became much smaller, and their circuit efficiency became much larger. These were also cheaper priced as compared to the previous counterparts.

All the above mentioned information clearly reflects the changes that technology has brought in the field of PCB manufacturing, and the change has not stopped yet. There are still researches going on for developing better and more efficient methods that can take the circuit boards to an altogether different level.

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We can meet your box build assembly requirements, from surface mount and through hole assembly to cable manufacturing, panel wiring and complete cabinet assembly.

We're dedicated to lean manufacturing techniques in all of our operations, including box build assembly and printed circuit board assembly. We have numerous box build assembly work cells dedicated to our customers’ products, ensuring that we continually maximize efficiency and improve our processes through enhanced operator knowledge and experience.

Our Box Build Assembly Services

Global and domestic supply chain for all of your custom manufactured components

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PCB SOLUTIONS -State of the Art Surface Mount Technology

With multiple surface mount lines, featuring leading edge pick and place technology, we have the flexibility and capacity to build a variety of assemblies. Because of our capability to handle both leaded and lead-free applications for RoHS compliance, we offer our customers the highest standards of quality and reliability.

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Surface Mount Equipment and Capabilities

Capable of placing 0201 SM devices, 2ml x 1ml

Fine pitch down to .012"

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More About SMT

Surface-mount technology (SMT) is a method for constructing electronic circuits in which the components are mounted directly onto the surface of printed circuit boards. An electronic device so made is called a surface-mount device (SMD). In the industry it has largely replaced the through-hole technology construction method of fitting components with wire leads into holes in the circuit board.

An SMT component is usually smaller than its through-hole counterpart because it has either smaller leads or no leads at all. It may have short pins or leads of various styles, flat contacts, a matrix of solder balls (BGAs), or terminations on the body of the component.