PCB Assembly Sourcing China — SMT Manufacturing

PCB assembly is where the technical gap between sourcing agents and engineers is most visible. A non-technical agent will quote you SMT cost per board. We evaluate your stackup, your DFM compliance, your component sourcing risk, and your test coverage before we put your design into production.

What We Handle

• 2–12 layer PCB fabrication (FR4, high-speed, flex, rigid-flex)
• SMT assembly: 0201 passives, BGA, QFN, flip-chip
• Through-hole and mixed assembly
• PCBA testing: ICT, FCT, flying probe, boundary scan
• Box build and cable assembly
• Conformal coating and potting

Common Challenges

DFM issues discovered too late — Trace clearance violations, inadequate thermal relief, courtyard overlaps — these show up as production defects or rework costs if nobody reviews the design before quoting. We review your Gerbers for basic DFM before the factory does.

Component substitution without approval — Component shortages lead factories to substitute parts without telling you. We implement an approved vendor list (AVL) control process and require written approval for any substitution.

Solder paste and reflow settings — Lead-free and leaded soldering have different reflow profiles. For mixed assemblies, this requires careful programming. We verify reflow profiles and solder paste selection match your component specifications.

First article inspection (FAI) — We require a formal FAI on the first production run: dimensional verification, electrical test results, X-ray inspection report for BGA joints. This documentation becomes the reference for subsequent batches.

IPC standards — We specify IPC-A-610 Class 2 (or Class 3 for industrial applications) on all purchase orders and verify the factory’s inspectors are certified.