With so many options in electronics partners and printed circuit board assembly, there are also so many ways the process can go wrong.  Simply having a great idea and a market to match isn't enough to guarantee success in the electronics business:  The wrong PCB assembler could still undo all your other work.

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.

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.

When something goes wrong with one of your electronic devices, how do you handle the problem? For many businesses, protocol is to simply replace the entire unit, when it's under warranty. Although this certainly is a quick fix and provides customers with a functioning devices, this may not always be the smartest course of action. Do you know when to repair and when to replace? This post will explore the answer to this question, the benefits of PCB repair, and the ways in which a contract manufacturer can help you out in the process.

When to Repair vs When to Replace

Have you noticed that technology actually seems to be shrinking? That's not to say that the market demand is depleting, but rather, that electronic devices are becoming smaller, more lightweight, and increasingly compact. At the same time, the complexity of technology is expanding. As a result, electronics companies are being forced to find ways to take the explosive size of technological advancements and shrink it down to size. 

If you think that electronics contract manufacturers can do little more for your business than assemble your PC boards, think again. Many smaller scale electronics companies choose to work with a third party manufacturer because of their ability to remain involved throughout the entire production cycle. Regardless of where you are at in designing or manufacturing your products, you would be surprised by the level of assistance a contract vendor can offer. From start to finish, you can take advantage of just as much help as you require. Take a few moments to consider all that contract manufacturers can do for you; you'll wonder why you waited so long to work with one.      

Bigger doesn't always mean better - especially in the world of technology. As the digital revolution continues to expand our capabilities, electronic devices continue to shrink into smaller, more compact units. Because of this, electronics companies must take advantage of advancements in manufacturing technologies like PCB assembling. 

A Printed Circuit Board is a foundation used in the design of electrical gadgets. It plays two important roles:

Without the help of rigorous testing and assembly compliances, the whole process of PC Board assembly wouldn't be able to endure the life cycle of being a PCB and more than likely would fail much sooner than later. All of those tests aren't just for the sake of testing, they are implemented to make sure that everything is in working order and the board itself can withstand extreme heat, cold, and even weight distribution and tolerances. However, the tests themselves even need to have perfect ratings--especially when it comes to tolerances, in particular.Tolerances are what the PCB will go through in order to pass all of its testing, making sure it can work properly in certain situations without short circuiting, breaking, or shutting down completely. But most importantly, there are also tolerances during the design phase to make sure that the board is "balanced" when it comes to all of its components and won't suffer from breakage or overload.