Modern electronics are evolving so rapidly that new becomes old in just a few years -- or less, if you’re an iPhone superfan. In fact, the average life of a new integrated circuit is less than 2 years.
Prototyping is just as important to the electronics manufacturing process as designing, engineering, and testing. Ignore it at your own risk.
NOTE: This article was updated on September 16, 2019 to reflect recent information regarding tariffs.
Two days after Independence Day 2018, President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariffs went into effect, imposing an extra 25% tax on imported Chinese goods. This affected over $50 billion worth of “industrially significant technologies” used by U.S. electronics manufacturers and their buyers.
When user safety depends on equipment functioning reliably -- as is the case with many medical devices and handheld mining equipment, for example -- electronic components must be trustworthy.
Electromechanical PCB box build assembly services are one of the most important offerings of electronics contract manufacturers. In addition to the manufacturing and population of PCBs (printed circuit boards), this full turnkey production is a simple, all-in-one approach to addressing your manufacturing needs. This includes wire harnesses, metal fabrication, and sub-level assemblies.
PCB contamination testing is not for every project, but it’s a lifesaver for some.
There is no shortage of reasons to test a PCB assembly, and there is no shortage of ways to do it. Out of the many functional tests available, PCB microsection analysis has a pretty specific purpose.
For those in the electronics manufacturing supply chain, RoHS compliance is a big deal. Hopefully you’ve treated it as such well in advance of the July 22, 2019, RoHS 3 deadline.
Solder is what makes the electrical connections work on your printed circuit board (PCB). Solderability, then, measures how well metal is wetted by molten solder to secure those connections. It’s one of the most essential PCB testing methods.
In the constantly evolving world of technology, safety remains a top concern among engineers during development. Whether it’s a sensor in your car, your son’s handheld video game, or a surgically implanted medical device in your elderly neighbor, we need assurance that our products are intrinsically safe (IS) during use.
If you’re considering switching an existing electronic product design from through-hole technology to surface mount technology (SMT), you’ll want to do your homework first.
Two things are fairly certain about the current electronic component shortage: It’ll end, and it’ll someday return.
International Traffic and Arms Regulation (ITAR) came about in 1976 because of a need to control the export of military equipment and related sensitive information. Today, government enforcement of these regulations is far stricter than the Cold War days.
The electronics manufacturing supply chain ranks #1 as a source of risk to many OEMs. These snags include environmental and other international regulations, which at times may seem as tangled as the wires behind your desktop.
When introducing a new electronic product design, many OEMs don’t fully understand the differences between IPC classifications -- or understand them at all.
If there's anything certain in the U.S.-China tariffs staredown, it's uncertainty.
Box build assembly. Systems integration. Top level assembly.
Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, are the microscopic building blocks of current electronics. Look no further than the smartphone in your pocket -- these tiny devices make up many of the sensors in our phones that collect data like motion and image stabilization.
These little pieces have opened up a world of possibilities for companies looking to innovate with their products and craft revolutionary new ones Here’s a quick-and-dirty MEMS design guide to help your PCB design for electromechanical assemblies compete with the best.
In an ideal world, getting a quote for prototype production from your electronics contract manufacturer (ECM) would go smoothly and quickly. But the reality of prototype quoting is much less streamlined than either original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or ECMs would like.
If you’ve put in the hard work of designing an electronic product, chances are you have high expectations for its success with your target market. But before you can get anything into the hands of customers, you need to have it in a project box that protects your carefully designed product and makes it truly useful and accessible.
Your great, new electronics product is almost ready to go. All you need is ICT testing (in-circuit testing) -- or perhaps another method of testing.
The decision to single or dual source from electronics manufacturing services partners plays a heavy hand in determining the infrastructure of your supply chain. Each option has its advantages and potential hazards, and each OEM needs to determine the best fit based on its own size, order volumes, demand, etc.
The decision on which electronics manufacturing supplier to choose can be a difficult one. The outcome of the quoting process often decides who will build your assemblies. That’s why inaccurate quotes are a back-breaker for both OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and ECMs (electronics contract manufacturers).
For example, let’s say you received a quote from a supplier that was higher than your desired threshold. Other than that, this OEM checks all the boxes of an ideal supplier. However, you simply cannot accept a quote in that range. Little did you know; the quote was inaccurate, and the price was more in line with your targeted range.
Sure, this could be the fault of the ECM’s quoting process, and that would be on them. But if the OEM did not provide all the necessary printed circuit board (PCB) documentation up front, a missing file could have the same effect.
If you needed a pacemaker to keep your heart beating as it should, would you settle for the level of electronics quality you’d find in a cheap toy for toddlers? That’s the essential difference between IPC Class 1 assembly requirements and Class 3 electronics requirements.
As today’s electronics designs become smaller and more complex, more engineers are relying on ...
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