PCB for Everyone
If you are a professional engineer in the field of Electronics and Embedded Systems, you probably would have designed a PCB and must already be familiar with the process involved in the production of a PCB. Even beginners, hobbyists, DIYers, electronics enthusiasts (whatever you want to call them) are also getting involved in PCBs. With opensource software tools like KiCAD and free ones like EAGLE combined with low cost PCB manufacturing services, you will be automatically tempted to take your design or idea to the next level. This is where the most entry level or sometimes even the professional projects end i.e. designing a circuit, laying out the PCB and getting it manufactured. They assemble the PCB with necessary components themselves. It is fine if you design is small (and not complex) with mainly through-hole components and hand solderable surface mount components. But what if you have slightly complex design with components that are not suitable for hand soldering or what if the number of boards to be assembled is high or you want a professional product with industry defined standards?
Role of PCB Assembly Houses
This is where PCB Assembly Services or houses come into picture. A PCB Assembly House, as the name suggests, assembles the components on your PCB. NOTE: The PCB Manufacturer and the PCB Assembly House may or may not be the same service provider and that is not the topic of discussion. Here, PCB Manufacturing is taken as one entity and PCB Assembly as other. Simply speaking, a PCB Assembly Service takes your PCB, which is already manufactured, collects all the necessary components (we will talk about this later), assembles the PCB with all the components and ships you the fully assembled and ready to use boards. This is the job of any PCB Assembly House. The main aspect of PCB Assembly is getting all the components or parts as per the design. This is where the services provided by PCB Assembly Houses can be categorized.
Parts Sourcing for PCB Assembly
Components or parts sourcing is process of how the PCB Assembly House gets the parts. Usually, there are three ways this can be done. NOTE: The nomenclature may be different but you get the idea behind each type of part sourcing.
Consigned (or Kitted) Turnkey Combo
In consigned part sourcing, you are responsible for procuring all the components and supplying it to the PCB Assembly House. Turnkey (or Turn-key) PCB Assembly is a process where the PCB Assembly House itself gathers the parts for you. A combination of consigned and Turnkey PCB Assembly is also an option where some components are supplied by you while some are sourced by the assembly house.
Advantages of PCB Assembly Turnkey Service
The term “turnkey” in general means that the customer gets a product that is ready for use as in buying a car: turning the key and starting the car. When it comes to PCB Assembly turnkey service, the PCB Assembly House takes care of manufacturing the PCB (dependent on the PCB House), procuring the parts, assembling the PCB by picking and placing the components, soldering the components, testing the board and then shipping the finished board to the customer. The advantages of PCB Assembly Turnkey Service are as follows.
Reduced lead time Low cost Easy monitoring
Top 10 PCB Assembly Turnkey Service Providers
We have done a little bit of research and compiled a list of few PCB Assembly Houses which provide PCB Assembly Turnkey Service. First, I will list out the PCB Assembly Houses with turnkey service and see about each company and its PCB Assembly capabilities one-by-one. Now, let us take a quick look as the capabilities of these PCB Assembly Houses which offer turn-key service. The PCB Assembly capabilities mentioned here are in brief and doesn’t necessarily depict the complete details. For more and detailed information, I suggest you to visit the website of a particular PCB Assembly House and browse through its complete services and capabilities.
PCBgogo
PCBWay
Bittele (7PCB)
Advanced Circuits(4PCB)
RауMing Tесhnоlоgу
Elecrow
PCBCart
Seeed Studio
Eurocircuits
Maxtech Electronics
NOTE:
This list is based on small research by taking services provided and feedback into account. Some of you, who might already have experience with PCB Assembly Houses, can provide your review on any of the PCB Houses and services (even if they are not in the list). This will help other potential customers.
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