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PCB Assembly Equipment

Take your project from concept to production with the right PCB assembly equipment

By Apryl Beverly
PCB assembly equipment is used to produce electronic circuits with specific functions, such as amplifiers, radios, oscillators and many other electrical devices. There are three types of printed circuit boards – single-side, doubled-sided and multi-layered. Single-sided printed circuit boards have components on only one side of the panel, while a double-sided board is used when there are too many components for a single-sided PCB. A multi-layered board has a panel with layers of printed circuit boards separated by insulation layers.

Choosing the right configuration method for your printed circuit board equipment is a major step in taking your prototype from concept to production manufacturing. You can decide to purchase a new or used PCB manufacturing machine and other PCB assembly tools to produce your prototype in-house or you can use outsource your PCB assembly to various engineering firms specializing in printed circuit board assembly. Consider the following when starting your PCB assembly:

1. Will I configure my own PCB in-house?

2. Will I outsource my PCB assembly needs?

3. What are the costs of vendors and PCB assembly equipment?

 

Configure your printed circuit board equipment in-house

Configure your prototype in-house with a new or used printed circuit board machine and other PCB assembly tools. You can purchase printed circuit board machines and other printed circuit board assembly equipment online and produce your prototype in-house at your own pace.
Try: LPKF Laser & Electronics manufactures printed circuit board machines for nearly any engineering environment. Chemcut, one of the world’s largest developers and suppliers of PCB manufacturing machines, has sales representatives in various states around the country.

Outsource your PCB assembly

You can outsource your PCB assembly to a vendor specializing in electronics assembly. Using a vendor has more restrictive time constraints because you are on the vendor's time schedule, not your own. However, while not always the fastest route to production, vendors offer highly skilled engineers who can provide useful insight on configuring your prototype.
Try: PCBexpress offers online pricing for a broad range of printed circuit board machines and other equipment. Screaming Circuits is the PCB assembly partner for PCBexpress. Screaming Circuits offers online quotes and PCB equipment assembly in as little as 24 hours.

Compare costs for PCB equipment assembly

Determine the amount of PCB assembly equipment needed to produce your prototype before deciding on in-house configuration versus outsourcing. Once you evaluate your need, you may find that outsourcing is more cost-efficient if you are not a skilled engineer.
Try: Advanced Circuits is a PCB manufacturing facility that offers new customer special pricing for PCB assembling equipment. E-TekNet offers instant online quotes and guaranteed on-time shipping.

 

  • Online suppliers of PCB assembly equipment will generally provide free or low-cost delivery options and software to help you design/layout your PCB.

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