We all know what a stencil is, in the traditional sense. Children often make use of plastic stencil sheets in order to practice drawing shapes, while sign makers and other professionals are able to utilize them to create perfect letters. Here in the world of designing and manufacturing PCBs, though, we rely on laser cut SMT stencils. Although not too far off from the regularly recognized units, these laser cut SMT stencils are much more complex and simplify the process of PCB assembly by making it easier to apply solder paste to the board. This post will cover everything that you need to know about laser cut SMT stencils.

Uses

Throughout the electronics manufacturing process, a stencil may need to be used for a couple of purposes. First and foremost, stencils are a true life-saver when producing a board that relies on surface mount technology (SMT). Another instance when stencils are useful involves the use of automated component placement equipment (with the exception of hand-loaded prototypes. Why? Because it acts as an alternative to the requirement of hand soldering every single component. 

Over the past several decades, surface mounted technology (SMT) has grown in popularity and has widely replaced through-hole technology. But why is SMT so preferable to through-hole mounting, and can through-hole still be relevant in certain applications? By taking a few moment's to learn about both methods, you'll gain a thorough understanding of the unique characteristics of the two, the key differences between them, and what it is that makes SMT the preferred option.

For most of the history of manufactured electronics, "through hole" printed circuit boards have been the standard.  The idea has been effectively unchanged since the 50s, although there've been improvements in size and manufacturing quality.  A through-hole circuit board needs holes drilled through it for connections and circuitry to pass through.

From time to time, we all need a little bit of help. As a business owner, though, you may tend to pride yourself on your independence, and have a strong desire to keep all of your processes in-house. But what if soliciting design, assembly, testing, and fulfillment services could actually help you to grow your company an enable to you bring in more cash? That would probably grab your interest, and it has, indeed, peaked the curiosity of other small to midsize electronics businesses. A growing number of companies are turning to contract manufacturing services as a means of improving their own existing business models. Could this be a viable solution for your needs? If you're on the fence, take a look at 6 of the many ways in which a contract manufacturer could help to improve the development of your electronics.

1. Knowledge & Experience

It may seem like ancient history, but there was a time not so-very long ago when printed circuit boards were drilled with a simple drill press. An operator would repeat the process of manually moving the panel to the exact X and Y coordinates before pulling a lever and drilling an individual hole. Fast-forward to today and consider the fact that our modern PCBs often require more than 10,000 drill hits in all different sizes.  Just imagine how long it would take an operator to complete one measly project using the old methods of drilling! Fortunately, the process has been simplified significantly throughout the years. Let's take a look at how our methods have evolved, and what drilling a PCB entails today.

In an increasingly globalized economy, it's growing more and more important for electronics companies to have the ability to reach out to new consumers by increasing capacity. At the same time, however, these businesses can't afford to add capital investment costs or lower the quality of their devices. Outsourcing companies exist primarily to fulfill this unique need. Through a strong partnership with a quality contract manufacturer, businesses can scale up, remove the more tedious and time-consuming tasks from their repertoire and put their focus on core competencies. It's because of this that so many OEMs are looking to outside help in order to prove their business models.

Why do companies hire contract manufacturers?

Every high-tech electronic device began with a solid design. Not only does the design process allow engineers to flesh out their many options, but the completed schematic acts as the blueprint for the manufacture of a device, and provides valuable insight for those who must troubleshoot or repair a unit down the road. Because of this, it's extremely important that your board designs are thorough and easy for others in the electronic engineering field to understand and make sense of - especially in cases where you plan to outsource the assembly and manufacture process. To ensure that your project goes off without a hitch, we've written this post to explore the importance of proper electronics board design and how to guarantee that the job is done right. 

The Value of Excellence in Board Design

There's a world of manufacturing options out there, literally.  Since the outsourced manufacturing boom of the 90s-00s, the only challenge facing a company looking for assembly electronic solutions is sorting through the many, many options on the table.

For a lot of companies, the options boil down to "who has the lowest prices?" but that's really only the start of the matter.  Sure, there are plenty of assembly plants that will provide what you ask for, more or less, but you can ultimately get far more out of your assembly service without paying too much more money.

With the boom in global electronics manufacturing and sales, it's little wonder that more companies are looking into electronic goods than ever before. Thanks to a world of manufacturing facilities, any design can be brought to market at surprisingly low investment costs.

However, like in any wide-open market, there's also a wide range of quality and services on offer. Too many companies simply look for the cheapest source, at least based on up-front costs, without considering the range of additional services that can ultimately reduce their TCO and boost the project's ROI.

When companies are looking to outsource their Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly, especially offshore, they may fail to consider the importance of communication and oversight in these processes. Good PCB design and assembly requires a two-way street, with a partner who's listening to you and your business needs.

If those communications break down, or if your assembly source is so far away that oversight becomes impossible, the chances of something going wrong in the design increase dramatically.