What to Consider When Choosing a PCB Assembly Company
By the time you have reached the assembly stage, you have already devoted a lot of resources and time to your printed circuit work. You wish to ensure this vital step does justice to your product. If you are subcontracting your assembly, you want the right partner. The huge array of PCB assembly companies challenge. How do you select a good PCB assembly company and determine which one suits your project the most?
What does PCB assembly entail?
To choose the correct PCB assembly company, you ought to know what the process entails – particularly as it applies to your particular project. PCB assembly is the stage in manufacturing in which you fill an empty board with the electronic elements required to make it into a useful printed circuit board. It is these elements that make a board the circuit that helps an electronic product to work. PCB assembly generally takes place through surface-mount technology or through-hole manufacturing.
You can choose one method or combine the two.
Follow an appropriate timeline. You probably desire the process of selecting a PCB assembly firm to go as fast as possible so you can keep your work moving, get your product to clients, and maximize profits while reducing costs. Rushing through this vital step can cause more time wastage than time gained in the long term, though. Commit quality time to fully understand what a PCB assembly company provides before deciding to partner with them. That being uttered, do not allow a firm that’s slow to respond to your queries to hinder your progress. If obtaining the info you require, like a quote, needs reaching out to the firm many times or needs an extensive back-and-forth that appears unnecessary, seek elsewhere. Huge businesses might not feel a huge impact but smaller businesses will. The right PCB assembly company should be in a position to work per your timeframe, so long as it’s rational.
Experience level. It is crucial to look at how experienced a PCB assembly company is. This is vital as there’s a greater likelihood that a PCB assembly company with vast experience has already worked on the kind of boards the client needs. Inexperienced PCB assembly companies are more likely to test with your requirements to get experience. This might not only play mayhem with production timeframes but also saddle the client with inferior PCBs. It’s preferable to consider firms with more experience. Asking the PCB assembly company how long it has been around might appear simple, but it’s only the start of unlocking the doors to more queries about the kind of boards it has produced before, and if its services match the client’s expectations. For example, a PCB assembly company might be experienced in making rigid boards for 20 years, however, it might be unable to make flexible boards, since it doesn’t have that experience.
Staff training. A PCB assembly company might have enough workers, but there’s no assurance the output quality will match client requirements if the staff lacks proper training. It is crucial for the workers to have the engineering expertise needed for reviewing boards and giving recommendations for improvements. Proper training is needed for operators to excellently handle the process machinery. See the documents of a PCB assembly company’s staff to ensure they have the needed training.