Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

From powering everyday gadgets like smartphones and laptops to complex systems in medical devices and aerospace technology, printed circuit boards (PCBs) are fundamental to modern electronics. They are essentially the heart and soul of all the electronic gadgets and devices that we use in our daily lives. For those in the PCB industry or even casual tech enthusiasts, understanding the basic principles of printed circuit boards is invaluable.

In the world of printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing, the devil is in the details. Even subtle design features like plated edges, castellated holes, and advanced milling techniques have far-reaching implications in terms of cost and production time.

As I think about the processing of multi-layered printed circuit boards (PCBs), I find it interesting that in the early 1980s, I wouldn’t have dreamed of where we are today in terms of technology. I mean, think about it. Where we are in comparison to then is simply phenomenal.

You may be asking: what is an HDI printed circuit board and what makes it different than standard PCBs? Let’s break it down for better understanding from a design and from a supplier point of view. As Epec continues to grow our design business, it has become very apparent that many designers are very good at what they do and have no manufacturing knowledge to proof designs against.

More often than not, a quote will be requested without enough information to price, never mind to manufacture. In 1957, IPC was founded as the Institute for Printed Circuits by Richard Zens (Printed Electronics Corp/Epec), Al Hughes (Electralab), Robert Swiggett (Photocircuits), William McGinley (Methode), and Carl Clayton (Tingstol).

In printed circuit board (PCB) designs, through holes are used to connect components and conductors on different layers of the board and can be divided into two types: plated and non-plated through holes.

I am still amazed at how far technology has brought us throughout the years. When asked about printed circuit boards (PCBs) and what they go into, the answer is everything you can imagine, everything you use in most cases.

As the oldest production printed circuit board (PCB) company in North America, perhaps in the world, the 70+ year story of Epec Engineered Technologies is connected to the development of the PCB and the electronics industry. Epec’s storied history also includes delivering PCBs for the Apollo 11 spaceflight.

So, let’s talk about non-recurring charges, better known as NREs, that are applied to most new and new revision first-time orders for manufacturing of printed circuit boards (PCBs). These charges help aid in several crucial steps for manufacturing with a cost of processing, programming, testing, and manpower to deliver a quality product.

As a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer for more than 70 years, we have worked with thousands of customers to provide quality products in prototypes of a few pieces to many tens of thousands of circuit boards repetitively.