There are many types of PCB, which can usually be classified according to the standard of order area, product layer number, characteristic process or material. According to the difference of PCB enterprises' emphasis on order area market, there are differences in delivery time, product usage, product model, customer structure, production technology and pricing strategy. The PCB industry is further subdivided into sample PCBA, low volume PCB assembly industry and high volume PCB assembly industry.

PCB demand mainly comes from the R&D stage of customer's electronic products, such as research, development and testing. It is the front link of low or high volume PCB assembly, and has certain professional characteristics. After the electronic products are successfully developed and finalized, the project will enter the low or high volume PCB assembly stage. Therefore, the sample orders in R&D stage are characterized by multi-varieties, low volume and quick delivery.

Batch PCB boards can be further divided into low volume PCB assembly and high volume PCB assembly according to the order quantity. Among them, low volume PCB assembly are mainly used for the needs of professional user terminals such as communication equipment, industrial control, medical health and automotive electronics, while high volume PCB assembly are mainly used for the needs of ordinary user terminals such as consumer electronics and some automotive electronics.

The downstream application fields of professional PCB mainly cover enterprise-level industries such as communication equipment, industrial control, medical health and automotive electronics. Usually, PCB products are required to have the characteristics of high reliability, long service life and strong traceability, with higher requirements for PCB manufacturers' processes and materials. The downstream application fields of general consumer terminals mainly cover consumer electronics and some automotive electronics, and PCB products are usually required to be thin, small and flexible. Because of the large demand of general consumer terminals and the relatively more standardized PCB, the production scale of PCB manufacturers is required to be higher. And the sample and small batch board products are rich in variety, so they are not easily affected by macroeconomic disturbance. As there are great differences in the R&D, production, management and sales modes among sample PCBA, low volume PCB assembly and high volume PCB assembly, different types of PCB enterprises have their own characteristics in terms of customers, products and production.

Based on the existing policy, population and market advantages in mainland China, the PCB manufacturing industry will continue to shift to mainland China in the future, and the output value of PCB in mainland China will be further enhanced. From the downstream market of PCB, the market demand of terminal electronic products is becoming more and more diversified, customized and low volume. The production capacity of middle and high-end templates and low volume PCB assembly in Europe, America and Japan will be further transferred to Chinese mainland, and the demand of middle and high-end templates and low volume PCB assembly in China's PCB will be greatly increased. In the future, the growth rate of China's mid-to high-end templates and low volume PCB assembly will be higher than that of the overall PCB industry demand, and the diversified development trend of terminal electronic products will promote the proportion of templates and low volume PCB assembly to gradually increase.

R&D investment promotes the continuous expansion of the model market.

PCB is the basic component of electronic information products, involving many downstream industries. The prototype is mainly used for R&D, pilot test and new product development of downstream electronic information products manufacturing enterprises. Professional PCB manufacturers are required to assist in the production of the prototype in the product R&D stage, and the growth of R&D investment in the whole industry drives the continuous expansion of the prototype market.

The downstream application fields of templates and low volume PCB assembly are developing rapidly.

PCB runs through all stages of electronic information product research and testing, and is widely used in high-tech industries with high R&D investment intensity, such as communication equipment, industrial control, automotive electronics, semiconductors and national defense and military industry. Similarly, the downstream of low volume PCB assembly is mainly used in enterprise-level professional user application industries such as communication equipment, industrial control and automotive electronics.

PCB manufacturing industry is a technology-intensive industry with high technical barriers. PCB industry integrates electronics, machinery, computer, optics, materials, chemical engineering and other disciplines to engage in product manufacturing services. Therefore, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the corresponding disciplines and have the ability to comprehensively apply them to actual production.

From the point of view of manufacturing process, with the development of PCB products towards high precision and high density, the production of various low volume PCB assembly products, especially various high-end products or special substrate products, requires different engineering organization and process adjustment, and involves different patented technologies, proprietary know-how and special processes, which have strong flexible manufacturing characteristics. Secondly, in the process of product manufacturing, enterprises need to have various abilities (such as electroplating, etching, drilling, surface treatment, etc.) in the production of all kinds of low volume PCB assembly products. Any defects in the process will lead to the decrease of the finished product rate, thus affecting the operation of the whole supply chain where the enterprise is located.

From the perspective of application fields, the downstream application fields of low volume PCB assembly industry are extensive, involving industrial control, medical instruments, security electronics, communication equipment, aerospace and many other industries. Customers in various industries have different demands for PCB products, and PCB products have the characteristics of various varieties, complex processes, and endless applications of new technologies and materials. PCB manufacturing enterprises need to have the ability to provide solutions for customers in different fields. With the rapid development of the industry, PCB orders are increasingly concentrated in companies with high technical and manufacturing capabilities, and in large companies that can quickly provide customers with comprehensive solutions. However, the small-scale companies are limited by their own technical ability, so there will be few orders, which will lead to smaller and smaller profit margins, which will increase the market risk of new entrants in the industry.