Knowledge Base

A Complete Guide to PCBA Manufacturing Process

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.

Preparing the project files before pcba manufacturing

PCBA Manufacturing

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

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

PCBA manufacturer

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

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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