Following the creation of PCBs, the next critical step is efficiently assembling them for the mechanism’s completion. The process involved in the mounting of different electronic components onto a PCB is known as electronic board assembly. Hillman Curtis is a top pcb assembly electronic company located in China that offers high-quality, low-cost PCB. Hillman Curtis has many years of experience in PCB manufacturing and PCB assembly electronic, having provided solutions for electronic PCB assembly in meeting customer design specifications.
When soldering the electronic components, the circuit board is referred to as PCBA or Printed Circuit Assembly. Conductive pathways or traces engraved in laminated sheets are used to form the assembly within non conductive substrate.
SMT is most commonly used in PCB assembly electronic industry. Hillman Curtis.com has been committed to providing since the company’s inception, we have been a leading manufacturer of circuit boards for makers and other advanced electronics engineers. We’ve earned ISO 9001 certification and have been working on PCB as well as PCB assembly lines for decades. With our vast domestic manufacturing capabilities as well as our ability for overseas manufacturing, we can manufacture high-quality, low-cost board assemblies for our customers.
Where Can I Find Electronic PCB Assembly?
Electronic manufacturers frequently rely on a variety of contractors and vendors to secure materials, subassemblies, and other component needed to deliver products. Hillman Curtis oversees the whole process from the PCB fabrication to the assembly. You won’t have to deal with multiple vendors, and there will be no order delays. Our customers can rely on us.
Also, whatever is the challenge, our program engineers and managers work tirelessly in developing solutions all from the system design down to the assembly, even whenever manufacturing includes the manual steps or exception processes. The sales team works 24 hours daily, 7 days weekly to help customers with their orders. Also, we can provide obsolescence management to make sure of a consistent product supply over a specified time period.
Steps Prior to the Assembly
Before the actual PCBA process can begin, a few preliminary steps must be completed. This aids PCB manufacturers in determining the functionality of a PCB design and primarily consists of a DFM check.
To begin, majority of PCB assembly electronic companies require the PCB design file, as well as any specific requirements and design notes. This is done so that the PCB assembly electronic company can inspect your PCB file checking any issues, which may somehow affect the manufacturability and functionality of the PCB. This is called a DFM check.
This DFM check examines all of a PCB’s design specifications. This check specifically looks for potentially problematic, redundant, and any missing features. Each of the issues mentioned earlier can affect the final project’s functionality negatively and significantly. A well-known flaw in PCB design is leaving insufficient space in-between the PCB components. Then this could lead to shorts as well as other problems.
DFM checks could reduce manufacturing costs as well as get rid of unforeseen expenses by identifying potential problems before they occur. This is due to the fact that these checks reduce the scrapped boards. DFM checks are included with every Hillman Curtis project order as our commitment into quality even at low cost. Hillman Curtis offers FREE DFM and DFA checks with priceless values because the Valor DFM/DFA check on which Hillman Curtis relies is an automatic system that contributes to high speed and accuracy.
We provide skilled employees and advanced equipment to make sure the quality works in line with the assembly project. This is from circuit board prototype to electronic circuit board assembly, in addition to a variety of services.
PCB Assembly Electronic Process
The first step in the Hillman Curtis factory’s PCB assembly electronic process is to test the machine, which ensures that the production process runs smoothly.
Stenciling
This is similar to the silkscreen stenciling of a T-shirt. This metal stencil is useful for the application of paste to some important parts of the printed circuit board.
Placement
Electronic components that will be placed on the PCB boards arrive in reels or trays and are loaded in your assembly machine. All through the process of loading, intelligent systems make sure that no components are accidentally misloaded or switched.
Following that, this assembly machine automatically takes out components with the vacuum pipette, it then place them on the board using precisely X-Y coordinates. Following the completion of the SMT, the circuit boards are then taken to your reflow ovens to help in soldering, This secures the board’s components.
Reflow
Next, the paste has to be reflowed to form a strong solder joint. These boards would be placed on conveyor belts that will transport them via large ovens, thereby exposing them to heat to help melt your solder. The board passes through different zones of temperature as it moves through the oven, permitting its warming up and cooling down at controlled rates.
Manual Soldering
A technician then solder the components of the plated through hole manually. In the larger manufacturing facility, through hole components might be soldered making use of a technique called wave soldering, in which the passing of the board is done over a molten solder pan while a pump creates a solder upwelling, which appears to be the standing wave.
Testing and Inspection
AOI visual inspections are performed in almost all series production processes to make sure of the assembled boards’ quality are ensure the quality of all assembled boards or to detect and make changes to a specific mistake. Automatically, this AOI system checks every board and then compares its appearance to the pre-defined, correct, reference image using several cameras.
Insertion of a Through Hole Component
With respect to the board type under PCBA, this circuit board could include components other than SMDs. Plated through hole components, or PTH components, are examples of these.
The plated through hole is the hole present in the circuit board, which is plated through. These holes are used by PCB components to transmit signals from a side of your circuit board onto the other. Soldering paste will not work in this situation because it will run through that hole straight with no chance of adhering.
Rather than use soldering paste, PTH components necessitate a more specialized soldering method in the subsequent PCB assembly electronic process:
Manual Soldering
This manual through hole insertion involves a simple procedure. One person in one station is typically given the task of inserting a component in a specific PTH. When they’re done, the circuit board is moved into another station, whereby a different person is inserting the different component.
This cycle is repeated for every PTH requiring outfitting. Depending on the number of PTH components must be inserted during one PCBA cycle, this can be a time-consuming process. Most companies try avoiding designing using PTH components specifically for this purpose, but PTH components are usually still common in PCB designs.
Wave Soldering
This refers to the automated part of the manual soldering. However, the process is quite different. After the component of the PTH is installed, the circuit board is placed on yet a second conveyor belt. At this period, your conveyor belt goes through a special oven, whereby a molten solder wave washes over its circuit board’s bottom. This solders the pins present on the board’s bottom at the same time.
For double-sided PCBs, this soldering is almost impossible because soldering the whole PCB side will render all the electronic components that are delicate useless.
Packaging
The completed PCB board! Hillman Curtis packages PCB boards in static shielding bags.
Things to do after the PCB Assembly
To put it mildly, the PCB assembly electronic process can be filthy. Human or manual effort could cause the transfer of dirt present in fingers as well as oils to the surface of the PCB. However, the soldering paste will leave some flux back. When everything is finished, the results may appear a bit dingy, which is referred to as a practical and aesthetic issue.
Flux residue begins to smell and feel sticky after months of remaining on a PCB. It also becomes slightly acidic over time, which can damage solder joints.
Furthermore, when new PCB shipments are covered in residue and fingerprints, customer satisfaction suffers. For these reasons, washing the product after completing all soldering steps is critical.
The best tool that aids the removal of residue from the PCBs is a high pressure, stainless steel washing apparatus that uses deionized water. The device is not harmed by washing PCB in the deionized water. This is due to the fact that ions present in the regular water, which cause harm to the circuit, and not even the water. As a result, deionized water cannot harm the PCBs during the wash cycle.
When done washing, the completed PCBs set for packaging.
What Kind of PCB Assembly Electronic Service Do You Need?
Electronic assemblies are classified into two types: surface mount and through hole. Leads from the necessary components are placed directly in through holes present on the circuit board when doing through-hole assembly. Components for SMT assembly are usually placed on a printed circuit board’s outer surface.
Depending on the components used, through hole and SMT technology may be combined in one circuit assembly. Following the placement of the components as well as their leads, these leads are then soldered onto the circuit board assembly so as to finish mechanical and electrical connections.
Soldering could be completed in a variety of ways. For the large quantities, automatic equipment like SMT assembly may be used in the soldering process. Skilled technicians can solder smaller parts or quantities with very small dimensions by hand. Tweezers, soldering irons with fine tip, as well as microscopes may be required for extremely small assemblies.
How Does a PCB Assembly Electronic Company Help Your Business?
Complete service
Rather than buying components from multiple vendors, you can consolidate the whole electronic assembly for Hillmancurtis.com and take advantage of our experience and capabilities? We’re very confident of our ability and capability to offer and provide top-notch electronic assembly to serve different projects.
Service that is consistent
You won’t have to waste time coordinating with different people in different locations if you use a single electronic manufacturing service.
Hillman Curtis will designate a team member to act as an expert on the whole project. This improves the efficiency in our construction process whenever one person overlooks every step, problems can be addressed before they come to light.
Reduce shipping costs
Having a vendor offering professional assembly, the best way to reduce the cost of electronic assembly is by creating a culture of efficiency in your production line. Hillman Curtis Manufacturing, as an electronics integrator, has vast experience and can help you create this culture.
Packaging is an essential component of any project, but it is frequently overlooked or given low priority. Obtaining the proper packaging materials is critical for safe delivery.
Service of High Quality and Professionalism
Hillmancurtis.com is proud to provide the highest quality PCBs in the industry. All of our manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001 certified and we update and improve equipment constantly to assure that we’re meeting our customers’ needs.
Every day, our customers tell us how happy they are with their PCB. They are also more than willing to refer us to others once they have a firsthand experience with the high quality we offer. Your board will be inspected by one of our talented engineers who will ensure it’s up to international standards before it ships. Testing is part of our routine so all boards pass inspection.
The one thing that helps Hillman Curtis gain wide recognition around the world is how good of a product it is. The company is heavily focused on quality when building their PCBs. This helps in clarifying technical requirements as well as find solutions to technical issues.
To help you reduce errors before physical fabrication, our skilled engineering team will review your product’s engineering file for free. They’re savvy business people who know ways of reducing cost and improve process efficiency. When the engineers have approved your product, we’ll send it to fabrications departments so everything can be produced according to your specifications.
Conclusion
PCB Assembly Electronic involves the process of mounting various electronic components to a PCB. Working with us at Hillman Curtis ensures high-quality pcb assembly that suits your needs.
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