As the electronics design of today becomes more complex and smaller, more engineers have now decided to rely on SMT (surface mount technology). After 1980s, the assembled pcb smt technology was transformed into the most preferred technology for PCB assembly during electronics manufacturing. This hasn’t been let up ever since.
The majority of the components of your phone might have been made through surface mount technology. Also, the majority of a car’s components were most likely manufactured through assembled PCB smt.
Now the question is, what does assembled PCB smt mean, and why is it important for this technology to be created.
What is Assembled PCB SMT?
Assembled PCB smt is a way of producing electronic circuits. This is made possible by the placing of components on the surface of the board directly.
Assembled PCB smt is known as an option to the thru-hole or through-hole PCB manufacturing method. As manufacturing of electronics kept gaining momentum, a better and more efficient process now became important. This is how assembled PCB smt came to be. Assembled PCB smt comes with different uses. Also, it has some limitations that the design team must look into.
What are the Advantages of Assembled PCB SMT
Similar to the through hole type, assembled PCB SMT comes with some advantages and disadvantages. Let’s consider the advantages of assembled PCB smt.
Affordable
The birth of the assembled PCB smt was mainly to reduce the costs of manufacturing. assembled PCB smt usually needs the drilling of fewer holes in your printed circuit board. This helps in lowering the handling and processing costs significantly
Lastly, the assembled PCB smt can produce high volumes. This allows a more preferable per-unit cost.
Efficiency
This is another significant benefit of the assembled PCB SMT. It makes use of the space of the circuit board more efficiently. As a result of assembled PCB SMT, engineers now have the ability to finagle different complex electronics in smaller assemblies.
Asides from its efficient use of the space present on the PCB, the process of SMT will be much faster. This will allow the manufacturer to increase the total output. This means that what would have taken about two hours to finish up using the through=hole technology, will only take ten to fifteen minute with the assembled PCB SMT.
Simplicity
For thru-hole assembly, the lead wires usually pass into the holes to help in connecting the components. Due to the fact that the soldering of the components are done onto the printed circuit board, the general makeup will be less complex.
Fewer Errors
The assembled PCB smt relies greatly on SMT machines. SMT is an almost totally automated process; this makes it less prone to any errors.
It can make use of smaller components
With assembled PCB smt, you will be able to make use of smaller, more compact, and lighter components than the through hole method
With this feature, engineers have been able to maximize the space on the printed circuit board, without having to compromise on the performance or function. Furthermore, manufacturers will be able to reduce the products’ weight. This makes them very portable.
The ability of making use of higher power components
The higher powered components are also useful in assembled PCB SMT rather than the through hole technology whereby the leads of the component are inserted in the holes that are drilled into the solder joints of the printed circuit board. Also, this will allow a higher density for packing and then gets rid of the importance of lead forming. This could be time consuming and difficult.
What Benefits Does it Bring to the assembled PCB SMT Process?
Helps in easing assembly
Due to the fact that component leads are usually surface mounted onto the pads, then lead forming isn’t necessary. This ensures that SMT assembly comes faster and much simpler than the through hole technology. For the latter, the component leads have to be bent to form a specific shape and then inserted in holes that are drilled into the solder joints of the printed circuit board
Reliability
Typically the assembled PCB smt components are usually more reliable compared to the through hole types. This is because they are usually less prone to any shock and vibration. Furthermore, using solder paste rather than molten solder helps in reducing the component failure chances as a result og the cold solder joints
It can make use of fine pitch components
With assembled PCB smt, you can make use of very good pitch components. This isn’t possible when using the thru-hole technology. Also, this advantage could be a major one for applications whereby there is limited space, as well as a high component density.
Versatility
Assembled PCB smt technology is very versatile. You can also use it for different applications. This include telecommunications, consumer electronics, industrial control system, and medical devices
Can make use of mixed technology printed circuit boards
Using the assembled PCB smt technology, it is possible to have printed circuit boards that combine both the surface mount and through hole components. This is very useful especially in applications where there are space constraints necessitating the use of the two connectors.
What are the Disadvantages of the assembled PCB smt Technology
Just like all the processes involved in manufacturing, assembled PCB smt come with some disadvantages.
One of the most important disadvantages is that it needs higher attention to every detail compared to the through hole assembly. Though the process is completely automated, the design parameters must be met so as to produce a reliable end product.
There can be an issue when the assembled PCB smt is used in placing the components onto the printed circuit board which will function in conditions involving:
- Environmental stress
- Mechanical stress
- Temperature stress
You can mitigate this issue by blending the assembled PCB smt with the processes of the thru hole so as to enjoy the benefits of the two.
Conclusion
To summarize, assembled PCB smt is a way of producing electronic circuits. This is made possible by the placing of components on the surface of the board directly.
