The world of technology has exploded around us over the past decade and has made way for new innovations and new industries that employ more and more workers each year. You should know that the average engineer will have a salary that ranges from $50,000 to $150,000. These people are valued because of how important technology is for many of the people living in the United States and also because the industry of prototype assembly is worth a lot of money.
The circuit board and electronic component manufacturing industry in the United States was estimated to be about $44 billion in the year of 2014. So if you are someone who is involved in skilled labor, there is a lot of money to be made in the industry of prototype assembly. Here is what you should know about turnkey PCB, PCB fabrication, PCB inspection, and PCB prototype assembly.
First and foremost you should know that PCB stands for printed circuit board, and this item can be found in basically every single piece of technology that you use. Also, printed circuit boards that have heavy copper will feature a thickness of copper that is more than 3 ounces in inner or outer layers. Board designers use computer-aided design systems with special software to layout the circuit pattern on the board. The spaces between electrical conducting paths are often 0.04 inches or smaller.
Printed circuit boards were introduced n 1945, long before prototype assembly. In 1995, this industry managed to have a worth of $7 billion and in 2000, the industry managed to reach over $10 billion. However, it did not stop as they managed to grow to over $60 billion in the year of 2012. Prototype assembly has now helped this industry grow even more and prototype assembly is an intricate part of the industry.
Most common multilayer boards include 4 layers, 6 layers, 8 layers, and 10 layers but the total number of layers that can be manufactured can exceed over 42 layers. These types of boards are used in extremely complex electronic circuits and often involve a prototype assembly. Circuits on both sides of a double-sided circuit board are done so through one of two methods including surface mount technology and through-hole technology.
Problems caused by printing technique account for 70% of all surface assembly quality issues without consideration of PCB design or quality of components and printed boards. Temperature curve plays a critical role in determining soldering quality. Prior to 160C, temperature rising rate should be controlled at 1 to 2 degrees per second. If the temperature rises too quickly, on one hand, components and PCB tend to suffer heat too quickly, which tends to destroy components, leading to deformation of PCB.
Before prototype assembly became popular, Mylar sheets were used to design printed circuit boards. These Mylar sheets are four times bigger than the circuit board itself and designers will work to create a transparent photomask of the proposed design. Copper is often used in prototype assembly and many designers will use 1 or 2 ounces of copper, but many PCB manufacturers can provide up to 6 ounces of copper thickness.
A solder paste applier, high-speed chip shooter, pick-and-place machine and infrared oven placed in a conveyor configuration can apply solder paste, place and solder 50,000 parts or more per hour. A single automatic line can place and solder more components than 50 hand solder operators, and do it with better, more consistent quality.
The advent of machine-assembly for any size orders means that shops can assembly PCBs in a fraction of the time it would normally take for hand placement. In fact, some PCB assemblers have a standard turn-time of 5 days or less, which is 75% faster than the industry average. Theoretically, transistors will continue miniaturizing until they reach the size of a single nanometer, equivalent to a thickness of 10 back-to-back atoms.
In Conclusion
There has never been a better time for you to invest your money into the process of prototype assembly. As mentioned before, this industry has managed to grow tremendously over the past ten years. So invest some money and you will receive a large sum in return.
