The goal of this product is undoubtedly to have a PCB that can withstand any adverse electrical, mechanical, or structural effects throughout its expected lifespan. The construction process of the circuit board. These goals are evenly divided between circuit board manufacturing and PCB assembly. For manufacturing, the threat is rupture and breakage, while for assembly, the threat is open or short circuits that may damage components and circuit boards. These threats can be alleviated or even eliminated through the best electronic PCB assembly process. What is the best electronic PCB assembly? Let’s first answer this question and then define a method to ensure its implementation.
What is the best electronic PCB assembly?
Printed circuit board components or PCBA account for approximately half of the steps in the PCB development and manufacturing stage. In fact, all of these are concentrated on the preparation board for component installation, actual installation of components or ensuring secure installation of components. Follow these steps to meet your general requirements for surface mount technology (SMT) or through hole components, in most cases. However, performing the following steps does not guarantee that the manufacturing of the circuit board will achieve quality, reliability, or speed goals.
Except for the simplest circuits, all circuit board designs typically have constraints, limitations, or special conditions that PCB development must comply with. These may include or belong to one of the following:
- Delivery schedule limitations
For many designers, one of the most important aspects is manufacturing turnaround time. The ability of CM to quickly build boards greatly affects the development cycle time.
- Operation lifecycle
If your design is used for critical systems, such as Class 3 medical devices, reliability is particularly important, as system failures may lead to misdiagnosis and even loss of life.
- Component limitations
Many industries and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have strict requirements for components that can be used in their systems. For example, the military and its suppliers in the aerospace industry require recording of the supply chain to avoid counterfeit components.
- Acceptance Quality Level (AQL) Limit
Quality should always be the top priority as it affects your production level and return on investment (ROI). However, some customers have higher standards, which may be due to environmental or scaling deployment concerns.
- Manufacturability level
Depending on the system to which your circuit board belongs, there are various manufacturing levels of acceptable performance. Meeting the highest requirement of IPC-6011 is the level defined for PCB, and the requirement for assembly is to minimize defects and ensure that end users can rely on its high level of performance.
- Yield target
Another important indicator that directly affects product development costs is the rate of return, which is the ratio of the board used to the actual board constructed. Maximizing this rate is the production goal of each design, and it should also be the production goal of each design, as it plays an important role in determining your profit margin.
- Testing requirements
The only way to evaluate the board’s ability to achieve its expected goals is through testing. This test may be evaluated through the following methods: design testing or evaluation of physical characteristics manufacturing testing by the board of directors.
- Regulations and standards
All circuit boards are subject to regulatory control. There are minimum standards for plate structure and materials. There is also quality management and risk mitigation. If your PCB will be used for sensitive or critical systems (such as medical equipment and aerospace systems), then this standard is the standard.
As electronic PCB assembly is the final stage of circuit board manufacturing, it bears the responsibility of verifying that your circuit board meets all applicable standards (such as those listed above). Therefore, the best electronic PCB assembly depends not only on the process of firmly connecting components, but also on the ability to identify design and manufacturing defects, which will make it difficult or impossible to achieve a good and safe connection.
How do you ensure the best electronic PCB assembly?
Functionally speaking, electronic PCB assembly is performed by the contract manufacturer (CM). However, your CM is limited by the data and information you provide. Therefore, your design decisions play a crucial role in the assembly process. Following these suggestions will greatly assist your CM in achieving the best electronic PCB assembly for your design.
Suggestions for the Best Electronic PCB Assembly
- Select appropriate components – purchase components from reliable sources and plan for potential shortages.
- Ensure that your design package is accurate and complete – the best Rule of thumb is to be clear when designing data. This includes not only materials, layout, and stacking, but also images, explanations, and any special precautions.
- Ensure that your material list matches your layout – carefully check to avoid mismatches between component packaging and material list component packaging. Otherwise, you may face board delays and extended turnaround time.
- Utilizing SMT and avoiding the use of through hole components as much as possible – welding surface mount devices (SMDs) and through hole components are different processes; Therefore, both processes require longer time, and when many components become through holes, it takes longer.
- Using single sided component placement – similar to using different welding techniques, top and bottom installation takes longer than single sided installation.
Following the Guidelines of Assembly Design (DFA) – Applying DFA is crucial for assembly optimization. Not doing so may take your valuable time to make design corrections.
