Surface Mount Technology - The Preferred Technique For PCB And PWB Assembly

As a compact, efficient and critical component of a wide variety of electronic equipments like computer terminals, automobile devices, PLCs etc, PCBs are one of most important components for the electronics industry. Moreover PCB assembly also has a very prominent influence on the electronic industry in new technology implementation. PCBs are now widely used in the industry as essential and reliable components for connecting different individual parts within an electronics system. Among all the different techniques used by the PWB assembly services, SMT or Surface Mount Technology is the most popular and compared to through-hole assembly technology that was the previous standard method for PCB manufacturing SMT brings a lot more flexibility with improved quality and better production efficiency.

Here are a few reasons those have made Surface Mount Technology the preferred method of prototype PCB and other printed circuit boards designing and manufacturing:

• Smaller Components: This is one of the most important advantages of SMT. Surface mount devices, that is, devices manufactured by using this technology are smaller and more compact and also offer improved performance.
• Components made with this technology are also smaller in size and allow higher component density on the boards (total number of components per unit area) as well as greater number of connections per component.
• Faster automated assembly as more than one component can be placed on the board every hour.
• Even small errors in component placement are automatically corrected as due to the surface tension of the molten soldering material components are automatically pulled into alignment with the solder pads.
• Offers high-frequency performance that is not only more predictable but also results in fewer unwanted RF signals due to low induction and resistance at the connection.
• SMT offers better mechanical performance even under shake and vibration.
• Components made with SMT have smaller loop area compared to components made with through-hole technology and also have lower radiated emission.

Through-hole and point-to-point assembly technology those were mostly used for PCB assembly before the arrival of the SMT used to require a lot of time for soldering the pads to the printed circuit board frame and connecting wires. On the other hand, in Surface Mount Technology, components are soldered on the board’s surface directly using simple automation techniques, thereby saving a lot of time during the entire manufacturing process.

Another reason that has made Surface Mount Technology the preferred method for PWB assembly services is its cost efficiency. When an OEM requires prototype PCB in small quantity, SMT with its automation technique can manufacture prototypes against much lower costs. That is why if you are looking for a PCB assembly service you better find one that uses automated SMT assembly technique. As PCBs developed using SMT also uses components those are much smaller in size, the manufactured boards look sleek and compact and they are also more energy efficient. No wonder that SMT manufactured PCB boards are now the most preferred in the industry.

About The Author

David Fischer is an Engineer and has a special interest in the world of circuit board. He is also a part of the lab testing teams in various companies. He loves to write and share his extensive knowledge & experience in this field. He highly recommends BestProto.net for building electromechanical and PCB prototypes.