Matric | Electronic Contract Manufacturing Resources

A report in 2020 estimated that one in every 10 vehicles globally will be self-driving by 2030. Driverless cars come with several benefits, including improved business efficiencies and reduced road crashes, emissions, and congestion.

You probably take plenty of steps to protect intellectual property at your OEM. But what about the other guys handling your sensitive secrets?

You’re an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in need of an electronics contract manufacturer (ECM) to supply circuit boards for a product you haven’t built before. One of the first questions you need to ask is: “Should the boards meet Class 2 or Class 3 electronics standards?”

As we continue the countdown to Matric's 50^th anniversary, let's recap so far the 1970s and how it all started.  In part one of this series, we discussed how a shared passion for Ham Radios led two electrical engineers turned vo-tech teachers, Lee Richey and Andy Maitland, to open a new business that designed, manufactured, and repaired electronic devices. 

(Editors Note: This blog was originally published in November 2020 and was updated in August 2021 to reflect new information)

Even in our vastly internet-dominated world, nothing has quite replicated the impact of a face-to-face discussion with vendors and fellow engineers. Electronics manufacturing trade shows are valued for their inherent ability to establish a relationship and answer questions in ways you simply cannot achieve via email or over the phone

Electronic contract manufacturers use these shows to break ground with engineers and purchasers in a variety of fields. Matric Group will be attending several "in person" trade shows this year.  We have listed our booth numbers so be sure to stop by!

Let’s take a look at some of the best electronics manufacturing expos out there for you to start meeting great new partners and vendors in the next year:

The IPC standards chart (or tree, in some circles) provides guidelines for the production and assembly requirements of electronics manufacturing companies. Each “code” on the tree is a standard or document outlining the guidelines or requirements for building an assembly.

The year is 1971. Carole King's' hit single "I Feel The Earth Move" is playing through a Plymouth Volare as two electrical engineers/teachers enter a vo-tech school in Oil City, Pa.  It is there that Lee Richey and Andy Maitland will meet and form Matric Limited.

The two teachers were electrical engineers and graduates of DeVry Technical Institute but would not meet one another until their teaching stints in Oil City. 

With their classrooms side-by-side, they found they shared a passion for ham radios, and before long, they opened a small design and repair shop in Andy's mothers' basement.  

Electronic component shortages have been a hindrance on booming electronics marketplaces since 2018. While new orders roll in and production remains steady, there simply haven’t been enough capacitors, resistors and other parts to go around.

After tariffs were imposed on imported Chinese goods and factories were shut down due to the coronavirus, OEMs raced to understand what was ahead for their already-constrained inventory. But, COVID-19 was not the only culprit -- it's actually exposed pre-existing cracks in the supply chain.

Here's why 2022 is shaping up to be another difficult year:

Most often, the foundation, or base, of a printed circuit board (PCB) consists of a substrate and laminate. Different PCB laminate and substrate types determine how the PCB will perform. So, selecting the right types of PCB material for the intended purposes is critical to achieving the best possible: