In this age of technology, it can be difficult to wrap one’s mind around all of the various components that are created or in play just to make one device or system work. The technology that has been developed, over the course of the last couple of centuries, and at a much faster and more involved rate within the last few decades, has allowed our lives to become much more convenient. But when you take a step back to look at the big picture, so few actually understand the inner workings of the devices and technology that they use. Take, for example, printed circuit boards, or PCBs, and the assembly involved to make something function properly.

Printed circuit board assembly services

Whether you are creating a large quantity of circuit boards, or you are looking for small batch PCB assembly, circuit board assembly services must first and foremost provide accuracy and attention to detail. Printed circuit boards are boards with the ability to connect multiple electronic elements together. As these boards are often made to go into computers or other relatively small devices, the boards themselves must be quite small, making the circuits tiny.

This makes it difficult to accurately connect each of the necessary parts, but now, as technology has continued to advance, the use of computers and other machines make assembly much easier and much more accurate. Now, most problems that those working in circuit board assembly services are faced with have to do with printing techniques and errors.

The evolution of PCB production

While we associate our advanced technology with the modern age, the origins of circuit boards trace all the way back to the 1850s, when much bigger and more basic electrical connection systems were being used. Prior to the introduction of PCB design software that made everything much more efficient and accurate, designers used clear, thin, strong polyester film sheets that were as much as four times larger than the actual circuit board. Designers would then create a see through photomask of the design that had been proposed.

Technology never ceases to amaze in its continued development, and now with the help of computer software and systems, designers are able to lay out the tiny patterns that consist of spaces between electrical conducting paths that measure just one millimeter or even smaller. With these types of software and the ability of machines to assemble the boards, any order of any size can be produced in a fraction of the time that it would take to hand place each circuit. There are some designers and assemblers that can produce orders 75% more quickly than the industry average, turning out their orders in no more than five days.

We have yet to see just how far we can go with technology, and the systems that we create to make our lives more convenient will only continue to improve.