Less Time, Less Cost, Better Quality: How Is that Possible?

Cutting production time and cost tends to be seen as working in opposition to improved quality levels. But that’s not necessarily the case with electronic assemblies.

Certainly, if cutting costs is the only thing you care about, quality will almost certainly suffer. But that’s largely the world of high volume, low durability consumer electronics. In high-reliability markets we work in a quality and durability-first environment.

It’s also the case that the levels of smart design, process control and supply chain management demanded by our customers and internal systems results in time and cost savings.

Design for Manufacture and Design for Testing are disciplines that promote simplicity: simpler board layouts and fewer layers wherever possible. It’s also about carefully considering component placement to simplify assembly and ensure there are no issues with signal degradation or component overheating.

This all naturally leads to more efficiency throughout the process and faster throughput. A focus on quality means there are fewer rejects, negligible levels of non-conforming components and less need for reworking PCBs – all of which would add to costs.

Process Agility

What also helps is being able to select the ideal manufacturing process. Wave, reflow and selective soldering techniques all have their place. All are available when it comes to identifying the most streamlined workflow for a particular product and production volume. We’re not tied to a specific process.

Automation

Highly accurate component placement is generally best achieved through automation, which also improves throughput and consistency. When you extend this logic to inspection and testing it’s another illustration of how efficiency and quality improvement will work together harmoniously in the right environment to reduce overall costs.

Supply Chain Discipline

The demands of total traceability mean that we tend to work with a select group of approved suppliers who can guarantee supply continuity for cost-effective, quality-assured components. We know components will conform to requirements and never need to panic buy through the electronics spot markets to keep production moving.

Serving high-reliability markets is all about producing durable and reliable electronic assemblies. The disciplines involved lead naturally to a mindset that pursues efficiency and streamlined workflows. Simpler processes are always easier to manage. This also saves time and cost in the long run.

If you’re interested in learning more about modern electronics manufacturing for high reliability markets access our free resource centre to find out more.