Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

When we think of manufacturing in the 21st Century, we picture automated machines rapidly pumping out new products with ease. So why can't the process of complex wire harness manufacturing become fully automated as well? To answer this question, we need a deeper understanding of cable harnesses and how they are prepared.

A cable harness, also referred to as a wire harness, cable assembly, wiring assembly, or wire loom, is a grouping of wires and/or cables that are used to transmit signals as well as provide electrical power if needed. The wires and cables are joined together using a combination of straps, cable ties, cable lacing, tubing (either shrink tubing or non-shrink tubing), sleeving, electrical tape, conduit, and braided extruded string.

When designing PCBs in a multi-up array, most designers choose v-score (also referred to as v score, v cut, or v groove) as the singulation method over traditional rout and breakaway tabs. The benefits of v-scoring pcb range from effortless removal of parts from panel form to realized cost savings with better utilization of panel area. When designing circuit boards in array with v-scoring, there are two areas of concern - the angle of the cut, and the depth of the cut.

Over the past several years, the label "hybrid supplier" has become more popular among industry leading product and service companies. The term means combining multiple business elements with a unique process to create a mixture suited to fulfill all of a customer's needs under one company. While this sounds like a very attractive business model for a customer to use, it is much harder than it sounds.

For rigid-flex printed circuit boards (PCBs), the space joining rigid material to flex material (Transition Zone) sometimes contains imperfections that, although acceptable, could impact effectiveness of the final part. Transition zone imperfections can include any of the following:

There are several factors to consider when selecting the type of battery cell to use in your battery pack design. Looking at the battery requirements and the dimensional space available are important. Another factor that comes up is pricing. The top tier manufacturer brands can be expensive, but there are also comparable solutions in Asia that will reduce the cost.

With the news of TTM and Viasystems merger, two of the last big three (Sanmina being the third) circuit board manufacturers joining together is certain to have wide ranging effects on the United States Printed Circuit Board industry. To start, each merger of companies this size are priced to include "synergies" between the two companies. The word synergy is code for closing facilities and cutting people to save money to pay for the acquisition.

In order for Epec or any PCB fabrication company to quote your circuit boards accurately and with minimum delays, it's important to supply a complete PCB data file set, using industry-standard file types. Before you look at getting your quote, learn what information you need to supply to ensure a smooth PCB fabrication process.

Cable pre-molding, sometimes associated with potting or encapsulation, is used to protect the termination points from the surrounding environment.  Pre-molding involves the application of a material around the back section of a connector where the termination points are located.

Wave soldering, the process of attaching electronic components to the printed circuit board (PCB), becomes increasingly difficult as pitch decreases. Pitch is the center-to-center spacing between the conductors on a PCB. So, knowing that wave soldering becomes harder with lower pitch measurements, what is the minimum pitch distance you should maintain on circuit boards? With the appropriate controls, it is still possible to get a good result with pitches as low as 0.5mm (.0197"). Wave soldering defects can occur in pitches below 0.5mm, so we recommend this as the minimum pitch to wave solder a PCB.

The copper weight and corresponding thickness used in a flexible circuit board need to be carefully selected in order to meet both the electrical and mechanical bend requirements of specific flex circuit design. Copper weight for a flex PCB is both the stiffest and most critical component.