The manufacturing or the assembly process of printed circuit boards is very complicated and many companies end up facing a lot of technical issues, mistakes, or some other problems. In this industry, this happens quite often which is why it is so difficult to find a reliable PCB assembly service. This is why I always mention that when you are searching for such services, it is very important to acknowledge the differences between the assembly and manufacturing processes. It will help you make a better decision and pick the right company for your needs.
However, as I said, reliable companies in this sector are not exactly very common. You will need to do some deep dive searching before you end up finding a business that takes all of their products through a high-quality assembly process.
To make your search a little bit easier and simpler, I decided to write this article which will provide you with several tips for finding reliable printed circuit board assembly services. I hope that you will find these tips very useful in the future.
1. Determine your budget
Before you can start working on your PCB in hiring all kinds of manufacturing and assembly services, it would be a good idea to figure out what your budget exactly looks like. Yes, believe it or not, but these companies offer quite a variety of pricing.
For example, some of the most popular companies out there that provide such services come with a hefty price tag. If you Google for good PCB assembly companies, you will probably see Ray PCB, PCBWay, ChinaPCBOne, Advanced Circuits, and many more. Sure, all of these are popular because of their reliability and good customer experience, but that does not make them the best in the world.
I am sure there are some other alternatives out there that may not be as popular but they still offer great products at a very good price. You just have to search long enough to find those that come with a better price tag.
This is the main reason why you must determine the budget for assembling your printed circuit boards.
2. Experience is key
Printed circuit boards have been around for several decades now, but we have started advancing them considerably in the past two or three decades. The technology surrounding the manufacturing and assembly is more advanced than ever. This is the reason why we can have such small and powerful electronic devices.
However, there are still some companies that are quite behind when it comes to printed circuit boards. Either they still have not progressed and have been left behind. Or, we are talking about a startup company that still does not have the financial power to invest in high-end machines that help with the assembly or manufacturing of PCBs.
To avoid getting an outdated product, it would be best to look for more experienced companies. Those that have been around for more than 25 years in the industry will probably offer the most reliable services as suggested by vinatronic.com.
3. Evaluate the quality of their products
One of the simplest ways you can determine whether the company is reliable and trustworthy is by analyzing their products. Of course, you should be looking at consistency and quality.
Every business that is ready to closely collaborate with its clients should be willing to provide test samples or previous products. Once you get those samples in your hands, you can determine at what kind of level of quality you are dealing with.
Naturally, your most important thing should be consistency. You want every single one of your PCBs to perform exactly the same. One mistake could make the entire printed circuit board inoperative. That should be unacceptable, especially if you are making large and expensive PCBs.
Once you determine that the company follows a pattern of consistency in quality, you have found the right place for your needs.
4. Ask for suggestions
Sometimes, no matter how much time you waste searching online for PCB assembly services, you will not get any kind of results. The entire objective of finding reliable services can seem impossible.
Do not worry, this happens to everyone inside and outside of this industry. With so many new and old businesses these days, it can be quite difficult to find a good one.
This is why it is a good idea to go the old-fashioned way and asked some of your coworkers, friends, or even family members for a suggestion. Ask anyone you know that has worked with printed circuit boards. I am sure that there will be at least someone that can give you a suggestion for a reliable company.
Of course, even if you get a suggestion, you should first do some research on the company instead of hiring them blindly.
5. Do they have enough production lines to satisfy your needs?
This is one of those questions that you will have to ask to determine whether the company really has what it takes to satisfy all of your needs. This is especially important if you need a large patch of printed circuit boards.
If you need a few hundred pieces then it probably will not matter whether they have a lot of little production lines. Anyone could do that badge of 100 pieces. However, if you need tens of thousands of products or hundreds of thousands of products, you should be looking at a business that has enough production power to satisfy the demand.
This is a very common problem in the electronics industry which is why you have to be careful. Even the largest corporations such as Intel, AMD, or Nvidia have troubles nowadays with production. Most of the companies they collaborate with do not have the production lines and workers to satisfy the huge demand. Because of this, we are seeing a huge shortage of graphics cards and CPUs.
There are probably so many other things you could consider when choosing a company, but I believe if you follow these steps, you will definitely find a reliable PCB assembly service.
