PCBA production is not an easy task, especially if you are heading for your first
prototype or sample productions, whenever you are an experienced engineer or a big
enterprise preparing for mass production, knowing the complete steps in the process of
PCBA manufacturing is crucial. In this article we will try to cover what is PCBA, how do
we produce a PCBA board, and the way that PCBasic a PCB & PCBA manufacturer
can provide an instant quotation for any project you might need.
Before starting the SMT PCBA process we need to ensure we have all the project files
prepared, usually, this will be in form of a “Gerber” file exported through the CAD
software you or your project engineer used to design the PCB design. These Gerber
files will be used to produce PCB board, when generating Gerber files usually there are
other files involved such as “drill” files that are used for the production of the PCBA
board, another type of file you usually need to prepare will be the “pick-and-place” file
that tells the SMT machine where to place the components, the files are necessary for
the SMT PCBA process and will be required in order to ensure the operation goes
smoothly without further unnecessary questions.
Although it might sound a lot, today most if not all the CAD software can generate those
files automatically ensuring no sweat whatsoever on the engineer's or project manager's
side.
Creating a proper BOM for pcba manufacturing
Once we have the Gerber, drill, and pick and place files prepared, it’s time to ensure our
BOM is well organized and ready to be delivered to the PCB & PCBA manufacturer, In
previous articles, we mentioned how to prepare the best BOM for your project but one
thing to remember is to include as many important details such as components serial
numbers, alternatives, quantity, and direction.
PCBA board will usually include multiple devices, sometimes SMD and sometimes DIP
components, a BOM should state the accurate components information in order to ease
the work and reduce the questions from the PCB & PCBA manufacturer.
Usually, CAD software can generate this kind of BOM file automatically but it’s
recommended to overlook the file before submission to ensure no errors has been
made during the automation process, the PCBA supplier will usually check the files
before approving them in order to ensure no such errors occur, if errors were to be
found, the PCB & PCBA manufacturer will normally notify the customer in order to
adjust the necessary changes and re-submit for confirmation.
Submitting files for an pcba manufacturing instant quotation
Once you have all the files well prepared, it’s time to send the project for a quotation!
some PCB & PCBA manufacturers and suppliers will sometimes offer a manual
quotation where you need to submit an email asking for pricing and wait a couple of
days and sometimes a week to get one, at PCBasic we offer instant quotation through
our website where you can upload the information and get quotation which will be
verified during working hours by the project manager in order to ensure no information
has been missed.
During the quotation process, PCBasic's engineer will perform a casual files PCBA test
in order to ensure nothing is missing, and if any questions arise during the process,
PCBasic will notify the customer instantly with some suggestions on what should be
done to resolve the issue.
Arranging production of pcba manufacturing
Once the quotation is done and the production fee has been paid, PCBasic will prepare
for production right away. as a PCB & PCBA manufacturer, the first stage will be to
produce the PCB and purchase the necessary components. You might be wondering
what is the difference between PCB and PCBA, well, PCB will be considered the bare
bone of the project, the actual board that has been designed. PCBA is short for PCB
Assembly which is the assembly process of the PCB board where components are
being picked and placed by automated machines in order to ensure speed and quality
control during the manufacturing process.
If your project is being prototyped with only a few samples, The PCBA supplier will most
likely assemble your board by hand by assigning an engineer to do the task. This
process might take longer but is necessary for prototype PCBA board manufacturing as
the cost of opening an entire SMT line for a few samples will be way too expensive and
unreasonable.
Testing and verifying for pcba manufacturing
Once the production is finished you might think that the project will be delivered to you
instantly, well, at PCBasic we care about quality so we will ensure to run multiple quality
tests and PCBA reliability testing techniques in order to ensure quality and consistency
across the entire production. During the PCBA reliability testing, we can ensure that
production went smoothly such as checking the direction of the components, their
values, and even whenever the component is genuine and not a counterpart. Some of
those PCBA reliability testing techniques were developed by PCBasic and even
patented, that’s how much quality of production and customer satisfaction means to us.
Sometimes customers will have special requirements such as burning a specific
firmware or performing custom PCBA reliability testing according to the needs and
specifications of the project, this is more than usual and welcomed request and
PCBasic as a leading PCB &
PCBA manufacturer always does the best to serve the
diverse global customers with different project requirements in order to ensure the
customer is happy and the project functionality is working just as expected.
Shipping and logistics of the pcba manufacturing production
Once everything is done it’s time to deliver the final product. Different regions have
different requirements and PCBasic works with leading delivery and logistics companies
to ensure that the products can reach everywhere fast and safely. as a PCBA supplier
we encounter different projects with different requirements such as batteries
requirements, anti-static protection and so on, for each requirement we have a solution
and we always ensure consistency and reliability when dealing with world wide
customers with different requirements and needs.
If your next project is just around the corner, whenever you are prototyping the first
batch or preparing for thousand pieces mass production, PCBasic is here to serve you
with the best service, quality assurance and speed.
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