Printed circuit board assembly

PCB assembly

We manufacture complete printed circuit board assemblies – surface mount and through-hole – tailored to the design, specification and volume of your project.

Our facilities include:

Five high speed Europlacer units over four automated PCB assembly lines, serving volume manufacture.
3D solder paste inspection – the first ALeader unit installed in the UK.
New Europlacer printer which can handle boards up to 610 x 515 mm – and integrates automatic dispensing of solder paste and/or SMD adhesive.
Aqueous three-stage cleaning.
Conformal coating.
A Quadra 5 x-ray inspection unit.
PTH through-hole and hand assembly.
Selective soldering.
Vapour phase reflow

Out-of-the-ordinary PCB capabilities include flip chips, package-on-package (PoP), plugged, blind and buried vias, flexible circuits, thermal substrates and x-ray inspection.

As it leaves the production line, each PCB is automatically inspected with state-of-the-art AOI equipment (with manual inspection if required) to ensure the board is 100% defect-free before other assembly work.

In addition to our UK sites, we have direct access to manufacturing plants in Indonesia (where there are 12 high-performance SMT lines), Malaysia and the USA, allowing us to integrate your EMS seamlessly around the world to suit your market requirements.

SMT – surface mount

Our surface mount capability is at the heart of our business, with five high speed Europlacer units over four SMT lines to deliver the highest quality product with the greatest flexibility.

We can place components as small as 01005 passives, 0.3 mm pitch and BGAs with a pitch of 0.428 mm and up to 1900 ball devices.

Our latest investment has brought in a new Europlacer screen printer, which can handle boards up to 610 x 515 mm, and a 3D solder paste inspection (SPI) unit – read about the benefits they bring.

Upon completion of the SMT assembly stage, each board is carefully checked using our Mirtec AOI systems in combination with a Dage XiDAT x-ray real time system to verify the soldering of BGAs, LGAs, QFNs and PoP packages meet IPC-A-610 Class 3 standards.

In addition to our on-line equipment, we have also made a considerable investment in our off-line facilities including the latest interchangeable carts for rapid change over and improved lead-times.

Component purchase

We purchase components – electronic, mechanical and fabricated – from suppliers around the world to suit your project and cost objectives. Full traceability is one of many options we offer.

And we also hold an extensive range of ‘common’ electronic components in stock; moisture sensitive devices are kept in accordance with manufacturer – or your free issue – recommendations, including bake and vacuum sealing, or put in one of our dry stores to ensure their shelf life is maintained.

See our global procurement page for more information – and click this link to read the insights into buying new electronic products through the eyes of Debi Fisher, our new Assistant Purchasing Manager.

Engineering preparation

But before we start buying components, we like to work with you on design for manufacturing (DfM) your product to minimise costs, maximise production efficiencies and plan the best test procedures.

This case study is typical.

If you need help with PCB design, we work closely with design contractors who specialise in all types of circuit board technology.

That way your product is optimised for efficient assembly, testing and shipping, making everybody’s life easier – and almost always resulting in a lower price.

Naturally, with high levels of manufacturing expertise, we have very skilled teams of well-trained, experienced and helpful SMT engineering staff who understand the demands of placement accuracy and inspection.

Committed to quality

We have accreditations for quality management (ISO 9001: 2015), medical devices (ISO 13485: 2016) and environmental management (ISO 14001: 2015); all are certified until well into the second half 2024.

Our PCB manufacturing process is certified IPC-A-610 Class 3, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies. Class 3 is the highest class. Click to our special news item on this.

We are also an approved sub-contractor under the ATEX Directive and a certified sub-contractor for UL Approved Products.

And overseas, our facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia and the USA have AS 9100 certification for aerospace, defence and military work and ISO/TS 16949 for automotive applications.

Do you have a project you’d like to discuss with us?

PCB assembly is only one part of any project. We have a total manufacturing facility, giving you a resource to develop, make and deliver complete products to anywhere in the world.

And we’re proud to be members of…