The future of PCB Manufacturing lies in customisation

Mass production of any product relies firmly on producing the same product in large numbers to fill a demand. With PCBs, this has been the case due to the surge in demand of pieces of technology that have become a staple of daily life. TVs, laptops, smartphones, watches and more all manufactured to meet a large demand.

Larger appliances aren’t immune to this, either, but while we can make smaller and smaller components, it all depends on the capabilities of the technology and what the user expects of them each day. Producing in such large numbers helps keep the cost down, certainly, but does it always meet the needs of the user?

This is the question we’re asking ourselves at UK Electronics daily to make sure that our service always reflects what our customers – and the end user – needs.

What does this mean for PCBs?

In the end, while mass production is still an important park of PCB Manufacturing, there has been a dramatic shift to customisation. Units that meet a specific purpose. These can be produced on mass, to an extent, once it’s known what each unit needs to or what it’s going to be used for.

If customised units become normal, tailored for individual use, then mass production will take on a whole new meaning. PCB assembly in the UK will still be required, and it’s a service that we can help with at UK Electronics, but with a shift to wearable technology gaining momentum, how and what we print might change.

There will still be a demand for more traditional PCBs, whether simple or multi-layered units, but that demand could be matched by customised electronic components and it will be interesting to see how far each area goes.

How we’re keeping up with the changes

One way to keep up with changing demand is PCB prototyping. This is a service provided to make sure the design of any PCB going into production is fit for purpose and follows a thorough design stage before we can start with the manufacturing.

Our PCB prototyping is available as a standalone service, so we can evaluate your needs before production. This means you can bring us examples of units you already have for further testing or to have us work on production.

It also lets us test new PCBs for different pieces of technology that are coming to market. This keeps us as innovators and leading the way in this industry and allows us to meet any needs a client may have, whatever the PCBs, components or end devices are.

Printing electronic components is going to continue, and whatever form that takes, we’ll be there to meet it. Customisation will present new challenges but we have the experts and facilities to meet the demands of our customers. What exactly those challenges are remain to be seen.

If you’d like to learn more about our services, feel free to contact our team at UK Electronics today.