The rapid and dynamic development of the electronics industry has changed not only the lives of consumers, offering newer and increasingly smaller equipment, but also the working methods of specialists who have had to adapt to the demands of the market. We can notice the changes in the world of electronics primarily due to the existence of more and more extensive machine parks, whose owners offer contract electronics assembly. This allows third-party customers to benefit from fully automated solutions without having to purchase dedicated equipment.
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Contract electronics assembly – why is it worth it?
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Contract electronics assembly, also called EMS (Electronic Manufactoring Service), is a service that allows manufacturers of all kinds of electronic equipment to outsource the creation of printed modules, individual components and even entire devices.
Modern machinery allows customers to take advantage of the latest technological advances, which make it possible to carry out even the most complex orders.
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The great advantage of the electronics assembly service is also the support at almost every stage – from the joint refinement of the project, through the purchase of all the most important components to the creation of prototypes, final series, organization of logistics and even warehousing.
Electronic circuit assembly – what is worth knowing?
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With the huge increase in demand for electronic equipment, requirements are also changing – the devices offered by manufacturers are subject to increasing miniaturization, which has forced the development of new assembly methods.
THT
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In the past, THT, or Through Hole Technology, through-hole assembly was very popular. This method is used when assembling various types of components on a PCB. The whole process involves threading special leads, commonly known as legs, through dedicated holes. Then the legs protruding on the other side are cut, and the whole thing is soldered. As for the soldering process itself, it is usually carried out semi-automatically. To speed it up, special fields are often used, usually made of tin-coated copper, which not only facilitate soldering, but also indicate the paths on the PCB. Wave assembly, which involves a machine producing a wave of tin under a sliding board, is also among the popular solutions. An alternative to this method is spray soldering, during which the board is placed under special nozzles that shoot molten tin.
Our machinery includes a dedicated soldering robot, used for the through-hole method, which minimizes the risk of error.
SMT
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Because of the aforementioned requirement for miniaturization, SMT (Surface Mount Technology), commonly referred to as the surface method, is much more commonly used. The SMT method electronics assembly service uses state-of-the-art machines, which not only guarantee full precision, but also great time savings. The method itself involves placing components on a PCB – before soldering SMT components, the board is covered with solder paste. SMD components are then soldered directly on the surface of the board in a dedicated oven – without the need for threading, as is the case with the THT method.
The great advantage of this method is, first of all, the possibility of creating smaller and smaller devices – components soldered on the surface of the board take up much less space. If you are interested in soldering SMT components, it is worth bearing in mind the need to invest in machinery or hire an EMS company.
The following is a great advantage.
Lead and lead-free soldering
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Today, due to current regulations and standards, lead soldering, which was once popular, is increasingly being abandoned. Although this method was characterized by low cost and relatively low complexity, lead-free soldering has become the standard.
Lead solder itself consists of lead and tin, which are extremely dangerous and harmful to humans. As a result, this method began to be abandoned. On the other hand, the lead-free solders used today most often combine copper, tin, silver or nickel in their composition, so they guarantee not only high quality, but are also safe for humans and the environment.
Modern soldering machines
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In our company we use modern soldering robots, which not only provide significant time savings, but almost completely eliminate the risk of making a mistake. On the other hand, the machine park has been equipped with as many as three production lines – one of which is dedicated exclusively to the production of prototypes – so we can cope with both smaller and more complicated orders. We also used an optical inspection system (AOI), which takes care of the highest quality of production – the machine not only catches, but also categorizes errors, allowing customers to avoid additional costs associated with defective products.