With the holiday shopping season in full swing, retailers are pushing out their inventories. Thousands of electronics will be sold in the next couple of weeks. Electronic designers and manufacturers are working overtime to get their designs and products to the retailers? shelves. Last minute designs and productions can be sped along with these prototype PCB assembly techniques.
Work with high volume PCB manufacturers
There are all types of PCB manufacturers available. While low volume ones might be able to provide a better price point, they are not always the quickest at production. High volume PCB manufacturers, on the other hand, have advanced equipment and tools that can speed up the entire process. Currently, there are three methods available to print the PCB legend, which contains the component designators, switch settings, test points, and other indications that are helpful in assembling, testing, and servicing the circuit board. These are silk screen printing, liquid photo imaging, and ink jet printing. If a PCB manufacturer is able to speed up all of these processes, they are likely to produce a much faster prototype PCB assembly service.
Create the designs with quick turn intent
Some PCB designs are very intricate and take longer to produce. Other, simpler designs can be turned around much quicker. Quick turn PCB prototypes do not have that complex of PCB layouts or PCB design services. The quick turn PCB is ideal for rush prototype PCB assembly services. Additionally, when the design is simpler, there is less chance of PCB assembly failure.
PCB failure can usually be linked to one of two factors, performance problems from environmental stresses or problems that were caused by the manufacturer during the production process. A design that does not have as many layers or complexities is less likely to have either one of these component problems.
Follow standard assembly and production techniques
Just as other industries are constantly improving for better efficiency and quicker assembly, the prototype industry is also continually finding new and better ways to produce prototype PCB assembly services. Because these assembly techniques are newer, they tend to take longer to produce and have a greater risk of assembly problems. When in a rush, it is best to stick to the proven techniques and to avoid introducing any new process to the assembly service.
The FR4 glass epoxy is the current primary substrate upon which the vast majority of PCBs are produced. A thin layer of copper foil is laminated to one or both sides of an FR4 panel. Circuitry interconnections are etched into copper layers to produce printed circuit boards. More complex of circuits is produced in multiple layers. Generally speaking, multi layer PCBs require more advanced of design and assembly, making them less than ideal for quick turn PCB services.
Prototype circuit boards are an important part of the electronics industry. Many of the electronics that we use on a daily basis including computers, laptops, phones, and even the traffic lights in your city, are initially designed and assembled with printed circuit boards. As we get closer to the holiday season, there will be an increase in electronic purchases. Many businesses will rush the PCB design and assembly service in order to get more electronics products on the shelves.
