Quality Assurance Impacts Your PCB Assembly in More Ways Than One

Close up of a small PCB.

PCBs are everywhere. They make up the vast majority of electronics people have incorporated into their daily lives, from cell phones to bluetooth speakers. As a result, an effective quality assurance program is imperative as PCB designs become increasingly more complex with smaller layouts.

Quality assurance is defined as avoiding problems and preventing mistakes, defects, and flaws in manufactured products. To do this successfully, this quality assurance must be integrated throughout the entire printed circuit board assembly process. A lack of quality assurance exposes the company to serious mistakes, human error, manufacturing defects, wasted money, and unsafe products.

Risk ManagementBox Build Square

Risk management is all about catching problems before they actually occur. Steps should be taken before manufacturing begins to detect issues that could lead to extra costs, missed deadlines, and a faulty product. A risk management assessment should include everything from design inspections to ensuring all PCB parts and components can be properly sourced, along with forecasting financial risks and evaluating ways to minimize effects of any unavoidable obstacles that may pop up.

Provide DFM

It can be extremely valuable when your ECM includes a design for manufacturability (DFM) analysis as part of its quality assurance program. A DFM will determine if your design meets the requirements of manufacturing processes to actually produce the printed circuit board. Discrepancies uncovered early on allow for solutions to be offered that will result in the successful manufacturing of a quality PCB.

Quality Certifications

Quality certifications indicate you are working with a company that takes risk mitigation and quality seriously. ISO, AS9100 and ITAR compliance show you are working with a manufacturer that will protect your product. Certifications also show a manufacturer carefully sources parts to ensure counterfeit components will not go into your product.

On-Staff Engineers

When it comes to PCB assembly, the more eyes watching for problems the better. Needless to say, it is extremely valuable to work with a manufacturing partner with engineers on staff to troubleshoot on the fly. When experienced engineers are part of the process, they can readily detect any potential concerns with your product. This optimizes your production process and saves you money. It also minimizes the risk of repairs after your product is in your customer’s hands.

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Testing and Prototyping

Testing and prototyping are essential steps in the quality assurance process. It is the only true way to see how your design functions. A small run on your device allows engineers to test the functionality of your product and make any necessary adjustments. Doing this early on will save time and money. It also gives you greater quality control over your end product.

Undetected flaws during PCB manufacturing not only directly impact the individual boards on which they are found, but they also jeopardize the entire printed circuit board assembly process. This is why Levison Enterprises promotes efficiency and quality through every step of the design and manufacturing process. We have hefty quality assurance systems in place at every level and work to make your product the best it can be. Contact us today for a free estimate on your next project assembly.

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