One-Stop PCB Assembly / PCBA manufacturing

What is PCB assembly?It is the abbreviation of printed circuit board assembly, that is, the production process of PCB after SMT assembly or dip plug-in process is called PCBA or PCB'A.

What's the difference between PCB vs PCBA?

PCB is a printed circuit board and is called a “printed” circuit board because it is made by electronic printing. It is an empty printed circuit board without any parts and is an important electronic component in the electronics industry and has been widely used in the production of electronic products.

PCBA generally refers to a processing flow,which can also be understood as the finished circuit board, that is, PCB assembly can only be counted after the processes on the PCB are completed.The above is the difference between PCB and PCBA.

SMT and dip are both ways to integrate parts on the circuit board. The main difference is that SMT does not need to drill holes on PCB,but in dip,it needs to insert the pin pin pin into the drilled hole.

SMT (surface mounted technology) mainly uses the mounting machine to mount some micro and small parts on the circuit board.Its production process is PCB positioning, solder paste printing,mounting by the mounting machine,reflow oven,and inspection.

The dip is a "plug-in", that is to insert parts on the PCB board.It is a kind of plug-in integrated part when some parts are large in size and not suitable for mounting technology. Its main production processes are back glue,plug-in,inspection,wave soldering, plate brushing, and finished inspection.

It can basically be regarded as finished goods, because some factories will produce PCB assembly for shipment, such as selling computer motherboards alone.PCB can only be regarded as a component. the circuit board is an important component in the whole PCB Assembly, but it can not represent PCB Assembly.Because IC,resistor,capacitor,inductor,connector, and other parts must be welded on the PCB to become a finished product, so PCB should only be regarded as a part.

PCB vs PCBA

The process of PCBA manufacturing

Electronic Components Procurement - PCB prototype fabrication- SMT Patch - DIP plug-in - Circuit Assembly testing - Finished product assembly

PCB requires electronic components and consumables

Printed Circuit Board, Electronic Components, Solder Wire, Solder Paste, Welding Rod, Solder Preform (depending on welding type), Scaling Powder, Welding Platform, Wave Soldering Machine, SMT Equipment, Testing Equipment

PCB welding manufacturing

iPCB offers full and partial PCB assembly manufacturing. In full assembly manufacturing, we are responsible for production, material procurement, online order tracking, incoming material certification/quality inspection and final assembly. In partial manufacturing, you can order the PCB and some of the materials yourself, and let us do the rest.

How to get a one-stop inquiry of PCB assembly manufacturing?

BOM Quote, please send your BOM to iPCB with the quantity to be made and we will give you a quote within 24 hours.The BOM must include the quantity, label number, manufacturer name and manufacturer model number.

Before the PCB assembly is delivered, we will carry out various tests on it.

- Visual inspection: general quality inspection

- X-ray test: check whether there is short-circuit cold welding or bubble problem in BGA, QFN, and another welding.

- Automatic optical detection: check whether there are false welding, short circuit, few parts, polarity reversal, etc.

- Online testing

- Function test (according to the test steps you provided)

PCBA

Full PCBA is our core business even at the prototype stage. We utilize our expertise and resources to provide you with one-stop assembly services such as prototyping, material procurement, and manufacturing. If you need to solder specific devices, we will also provide such services.

Avoid the trouble of purchasing PCB components, make you focus on your PCB assembly design.Our purchasing team will purchase more components from the same supplier and use the best method to complete the purchasing task. We will optimize packaging (belt, tube, bulk, etc.) with quantity selection in smaller BOM to reduce cost. We have the ability to handle difficult-to-order materials and obsolete components. We purchase materials according to the material model and manufacturer in your BOM. Don't worry about the danger of any alternative materials. We will not change your design. Alternative materials will also be approved by you before use.

The price of the whole service includes welding cost, smooth plate cost, and material purchase cost. Quotations for electronic components are from Digi key, Mouser, Avnet, arrow, future, Newark, or designated suppliers.We don't charge any purchase fee.

We understand the importance of punctual delivery. In PCB fabrication, material procurement has been carried out at the same time. We will review engineering problems and component problems before welding. If there are no hard-to-order components and documentation errors, a full set of PCB assembly manufacturing usually takes two weeks.

DFM is very necessary for batch welding. We will review your Gerber files, BOM, assembly files, and circuit diagrams to prevent any engineering problems. As a supplier of electronic outsourcing services, we will reduce costs through reasonable PCB assembly and convenient welding operation. We also recommend that you use a solder mask window to get a high yield and prevent a short circuit bridge. Before we purchase materials, we will make a comprehensive matching check between your component list and PCB file. This can effectively avoid waste of cost and late delivery.

Similarly, even in small batch welding, DFM should also be involved in your circuit design.A variety of probe test models and test limitations are available. You will get our professional guidance on how to distinguish test points. Through your troubleshooting guide, diagnostic test, and related documents,we can make your board fully tested to meet your test requirements.

We have a variety of ways to make your batch welding risk-free. In our full range of services, all PCBs are electrically tested. Before welding other PCBA boards, we can also send you some boards to test first. X-ray test is used to detect the welding quality of BGA and components without extended pins. We can solve all welding problems before delivery.

We try our best to reduce the cost of batch PCB assembly manufacturing.There is no NRE and steel mesh cost for repeated orders. We will compare the price of materials among large suppliers and choose the suppliers with good quality and low price, so as to reduce the cost of materials. We have established a solid cooperative relationship with large suppliers to provide competitive prices while ensuring quality. We guarantee that you will get good quality, reasonable price, and punctual delivery service in our full set of PCB Assembly.

PCBA test

PCBA test

It refers to the test of electrical conductivity and input-output value based on PCB assembly board with electronic components.

Why test?

In PCB design, there are numerical relationships between different test points, such as voltage and current. However, the process of PCBA production and processing is very complex, including many important links, such as the PCB manufacturing process, component procurement and inspection, SMT chip assembly and so on. During the production process, various problems may occur due to improper equipment or operation. Therefore, it is necessary to use professional test equipment or manual multimeter to test the test points to verify whether the actual meets the design requirements, to ensure that each product will not have quality problems.

The test is a key step to ensure the quality of production and delivery.FCT test fixture is made according to the test point program and test steps designed by customers, and then the PCB assembly board is placed on the FCT test rack to complete the test.

PCB assembly test principle

Connect the test points on the PCBA board through the FCT test stand to form a complete path, connect the computer and recorder, and upload the MCU program, which will capture the user's input action (e.g., long-pressing a switch for 3 seconds), control the on/off of the nearby circuits (e.g., flashing of LEDs), or rotate the motor by operation. By observing the voltage and current values between the test points on the FCT test bench and verifying that these input and output actions are as designed, the entire test is completed.

How to test the PCBA board?

1.Manual test

Manual testing is to test directly by the vision and confirm the component mounting on PCB through vision and comparison. This technology is widely used. However, the large number and small components make this method more and more unsuitable. Moreover, some functional defects are not easy to be found, and the data is not easy to collect. In this way, more professional testing methods are needed.

2.Automatic optical inspection (AOI)

Automatic optical testing, also known as automatic visual testing, is carried out by a special tester. It is used before and after reflow and has a good effect on the polarity inspection of components. Easy-to-follow diagnosis is a common method, but this method is poor in short circuit identification.

3.Flying needle tester

Needle testing has been widely welcomed in the past few years due to advances in mechanical accuracy, speed, and reliability. In addition, the requirements for the test system with fast conversion and fixture-free capability required for prototype manufacturing and low-yield manufacturing make the flying needle test the best choice.

4.Function test

This is the test method of a specific PCB or a specific unit, which is completed by special equipment. Functional tests mainly include final product tests and hot mock-up.

5.Manufacturing defect analyzer (MDA)

The main advantages of this test method are low initial cost, high output, easy-to-follow diagnosis, fast and complete short circuit, and open-circuit test. The disadvantage is that the function test cannot be carried out, there is usually no test coverage indication, the fixture must be used, and the test cost is high.

How are electronic components placed on PCB to form PCB assembly?

At present, the mainstream PCB assembly is assembled as SMT (surface mount technology). It will first print solder paste on the empty board, then paste the electronic components on the PCB, flow it through the reflow furnace, and paste the components on the PCB through solder paste welding.

A few PCB assemblies requiring dip will adopt wave soldering technology. Generally speaking, there will be some heavy electronic components on the assembly board that need to be inserted and pulled by an external force. These components are not technically unable to be made into SMD components, or the price of SMD components does not meet market expectations or some components that must be inserted and pulled by external force when used by end customers, They will be designed as through-hole components, that is, dip, and then welded to PCB through wave soldering furnace.

One-Stop PCB Assembly / PCBA manufacturing

PCB assembly manufacturing and design process are that ipcb provides practical technical solutions according to the customer's design concept, analyzes the market positioning of the product, and provides functional proposals, various lists, and reports. It can help customers make the product more adapt to the market demand on the basis of meeting the product function.

1. Provide test program. In the manufacturing and design process, ipcb will provide users with test programs for circuit board design and manufacturing, set up test points on the board, or general function tests, and use professional test stands to test the stability, noise, path, etc. of the board to ensure the quality of the manufacturing process. After the sample production is completed, function and stability tests are conducted, including waterproof, drop, noise, etc. After the sample design is passed, mass production is carried out.

2.Provide DFM report. During the manufacturing and design process, engineers will analyze the structure of the circuit board and give constructive suggestions to make it conform to the manufacturing process and improve the quality of the product, and then provide the corresponding DFM report according to the user's requirements.

3. Optimize the manufacturing and design in the BOM bill of materials in the actual procurement process, there are usually components can not meet the process requirements. At this time, engineers will put forward optimization proposals and alternative BOM material solutions to ensure that the material does not affect the function of the PCBA board on the premise of maintaining maximum consistency within the technical parameters.

For your PCB assembly design

Our SMT welding process is carefully matched to ensure that it meets your design and your limitations. We will provide some DFT suggestions according to the SMT PCB assembly documents provided by you, but everything is subject to you. In order to complete the SMT assembly, we will be very happy to cooperate with your engineers. We handle SMD components in strict accordance with SMT welding requirements. We have very high production requirements to achieve precise control of reflow soldering.

In order to detect the quality of SMD solder joints, we use X-ray detection. For example, QFN, DFN, BGA, and other leadless packages, a visual inspection can not fully find the welding problems, but with 3D X-ray detection, many SMT welding problems can be found, which is particularly important in BGA welding.

For more detailed PCBA design and manufacturing comments, please click Download - PCBA DFM

How to find a best PCB assembly manufacturer

Many customers are confused about how to choose a manufacturer because they don't know where to start to make the right choice Choose a manufacturer with high quality, high efficiency and high service, so how can we find the best PCB assembly manufacturer quickly?

1.Looking at the manufacturer's SMT technical equipment, PCB assembly processing, and production requires very professional and highly equipped equipment, such as high-speed chip mounter, reflow welding in the multi-temperature zone, etc. if the manufacturer has many advanced production equipment, it shows that it has a certain production capacity.

2.Looking at the price quoted by PCBA, generally speaking, the price of  manufacturing and production is relatively transparent, including high price and low price, but it is not "the low price wins".Some  manufacturers will purchase the original components through formal channels and implement strict quality control, resulting in an increase in the processing costs; Some PCB assembly board manufacturers deliberately cut corners to reduce prices. Therefore, we should select the manufacturers with high-cost performance according to our actual needs for quality, efficiency, service, and service.

3.Look at the product placement of PCB assembly manufacturer, mainly observe whether the placement of incoming materials, semi-finished products, products to be inspected and finished products are reasonable and clear, meet the standards and whether it is possible to use protective measures such as turnover vehicles and electrostatic boxes that help to improve the safety and reliability of products, Through the processing of these details, it can reflect whether the manufacturer has a strong ability to grasp the details of each process step in the processing link.

4.Look at the service attitude of PCB manufacturers.The processing manufacturers with a good service attitude can take the initiative to take responsibility,quickly respond to enterprise needs and help enterprises solve difficult problems. Only having a good service awareness can enhance the sense of trust of enterprises and better promote order cooperation.

5.PCB assembly board manufacturer starts from every detail. Only the processing manufacturers can meet the above standard requirements and adhere to the business philosophy of paying close attention to detail, high service, high quality, and high efficiency, which shows that the PCBA patch processing factory is a very suitable choice and has certain comprehensive strength, which is worthy of your trust and trust.

No matter what stage your design is at, we are happy to help you with your project in any way we can. At your request, iPCB is a specialist prototype PCBA manufacturer and we will provide you with DFM advice early in your P-design. Once the project has progressed, we will provide you with sampling lead times and flexible one-stop pcb assembly manufacturing arrangements.

Please learn more about the products of PCBA manufacturer: PCBA products