OEMs may not be aware that here in the U. S., PCB microelectronics assembly and manufacturing is leading in technology advances and provides OEMs a relatively easier way to bring their production back to the U. S. compared to onshoring PCB SMT production.
There are clear facts supporting that statement. But there’s certain criteria that must be considered to select the proper U. S. PCB microelectronics assembly and manufacturing line, as shown in Fig. 1.
Check out our SMT007 column to get more details. In the meantime, here are some tips that help you to better understand PCB microelectronics assembly and manufacturing.
- Process detail, steps, and procedure need to be very precise.
- High levels of precision allow in depth and detailed viewing and exact die placement, which is measured in microns, not mils.
- There is no room for making errors while doing assembly.
- Each assembly step needs to be perfectly performed.
- Once a microelectronics die is attached and wire bonded, it cannot be re-worked, unlike SMT.
- If four wires out of 200 are broken during testing or during assembly, the whole die needs to be discarded and assembly must be performed again.
The facts are there is in the U. S. skilled manpower, process engineers, excellent state-of-the-art technologies and machines with extremely high tolerance. There are also cleanrooms that meet all the requirements for successfully assembling and manufacturing small, yet highly advanced products for a variety of OEMs.