As you may already know the PCB manufacturing process does not stop with the printing of the PCBs. There are a number of other steps before which you could actually make use of the PCBs. You need to assemble all the components to the board as per your circuit diagram. Only when all the components are installed on the board you will be able to use the board. Therefore, PCB assembly is one of the crucial stages of building a fully functional printed circuit board. 

There are different ways of handling your PCB assembly needs. You could get your PCBs assembled in-house provided you have well trained staff to take care of your requirements. You should also have all the required equipment such as soldering mechanisms or reflow oven, component picking equipment and so on. Instead of investing a lot of money on PCB assembly equipment, you need to identify the best PCB manufacturing company that also takes care of PCB assembly process. This will help you save a considerable amount of money and also time. Your PCB assembly company will be able to do a better job in professionally mounting the components on to the board. 

Before selecting your PCB manufacturer you need to find out how the service provider will assemble the PCB components. There are two ways of assembling the components namely manual assembly and automated assembly process. If your PCB is designed for automated assembly then it would be easy for your service provider to automate the process. In case you have failed to take this factor into account when you were designing your PCBs then automating the assembly process may not be a viable option. Therefore, you will have to first find out how your PCB assembly company will handle the process.

If you are manufacturing high end electronic devices then the final finish of the PCBs is also equally important. The PCB assembly company should be able to be detail oriented company so that they deliver PCBs of exceptional quality and finish. As you could see the PCB assembly capabilities needed vary from product to product. So if you are going to outsource your PCB assembly needs then you will have to match your requirements with the service provider’s capabilities. 

Your order volume should also be taken into account when you are identifying your PCB assembly companies. Only when you find a company that is well-staffed, it is possible for them to deliver your bulk PCB assembly orders in a timely fashion. Customers do not pay attention to all these service provider capabilities and as a result they end up with some random service providers only to feel let down. It is your responsibility to pick the most dependable PCB assembly companies by carefully reviewing the service providers to safe guard your own interests. Try to spot the most reliable agencies to send your PCB assembly needs. Find out whether they will also source the PCB components for you.