PCB manufacturing can be both straightforward and simple as well as complex. It all begins with the design process. In fact, that is typically the crucial part of the entire PCB manufacturing outcome because a single, undetected glitch can result in a batch of useless and unusable boards, wasted time, lost resources and even lost sales or customers. It is why a concise understanding of how to enjoy optimal PCB manufacturing results through the use of a premium vendor and top-notch resources is so crucial to success.

No Touch PCB Manufacturing Leads to Disaster

The modern world has made a sudden and rather massive shift into the online, mobile, and web-based model. As an example, in the past, PCB manufacturing meant a company would usually pay a visit to a PCB manufacturing facility or headquarters to work directly with the team designing or making such crucial components. The fabricators and the client would have to interact several times in order to guarantee that there were no design flaws and that the entire project (from prototype to batch manufacturing) proceeded exactly as expected.

Today, this is a far outdated system and for many companies in need of small to large batch PCB manufacturing, the process involves overseas and no-touch providers. If domestic, it might still mean very little interaction and the guarantees that such exchanges bring. It might even be that the PCB manufacturing and assembly are done in different locations or by different providers.

This can prove quite problematic because it might mean that client expectations are left unmet or even unknown by the manufacturer. It can mean that errors in design go unnoticed until the post-production period when the PCB is meant to be put to use in the final product, but fails to yield the results necessary. And this would mean that the batch of PCBs is unusable; production would be halted, and budget and resources wasted.

Fortunately, the team at Advanced Circuits has created a system and perfected it over the course of more than twenty years. Offering PCB manufacturing – fabrication and assembly, prototypes, and more, we can facilitate projects from start to finish while overcoming many of the potentially harmful issues outlined above.

Free Resources Ensure Fail-Proof PCB Manufacturing

Advanced Circuits proves that the advent of technologies that make everything possible through the Internet instead of real-world exchanges may not be a bad thing. We manage this by using a system of free and effective resources that enable clients to get the very best in PCB manufacturing outcomes, and all done entirely online. Here’s how:

• PCB Artist Software – Free to download and use in its unrestricted format, this industry-best software has more features than anything else on the market, and yet it is also provided in an unrestricted format with more than 500k parts and components in the customized library. Using it also means that some preliminary glitches are erased and that design is streamlined through the presence of a controlled auto router function, digital schematics, and more. Additionally, the use of the software allows clients to enjoy discounted pricing when submitting as a Standard Spec order through the program.
• File Review Software – Our FreeDFM software is another free to use resource that takes the common Gerber file (exported from the client’s software and then uploaded to the site), where it then evaluates a design and ensures that all essential data is included, adjusts or corrects design flaws, and issues a report that itemizes any potential showstopper errors, and identifies what the software was able to address and fix.
• CAM Engineer Review – Before any PCB begins the production process, the designs and/or prototype are reviewed in house by a team of Advanced Circuits’ CAM experts. Advanced Circuits also features live tech support provided by these same CAM engineers at any hour of the day or night, which allows clients to pose any questions or concerns and get a skillful and well-informed answer.
• Through software ordering – When a client has decided that the design is entirely free of errors and that it is ready for entry into the full production cycle, the free software allows them to go right ahead and make that order. When it is submitted in Standard Specifications it also enjoys no added tooling fees, and if it is a Custom Specifications order that has already been produced and enters as Standard Specifications, that same tooling fee deduction is applied.

Regardless of the size of a company or the complexity of a project, the cost of producing PCBs can be surprising. Investing in the necessary software and technologies, having the right teams to understand what is needed, and then seeing the production process completed properly can all add up. After all, even the simplest boards must work their way through key phases that include:

• Design – Is there a team to manage design? What sort of software is in use and what are the costs associated with it? Is there a dedicated team meant to evaluate the blueprints to detect errors? What costs are associated with the prototype? How fast can it be completed?
• Evaluation – Whether designs are printed on films or digitally, someone must troubleshoot them. Is this an outsourced step? Is it something that the manufacturer is counted on to provide? Has this been integrated into the production plan?
• Production – Is this going to occur in one facility with all of the substrate creation, layer building, UV hardening, copper removal, laminating, pressing, drilling, imaging, etching, soldering, and inspecting done by a solid team?

Avoid Costly Errors – Trust Advanced Circuits for a Premium PCB Production Experience

There are too many points in the PCB manufacturing process where disaster might occur, and it makes sense to avoid any potential risks by working with a one-stop shop. This is precisely what the team at Advanced Circuits delivers. Providing the tools required from start (including high end design software) to finish, our team can deliver. No minimum orders and professional reviews guarantee that modern innovations don’t get in the way of a premium production experience and outcome.