Selecting the best PCB manufacturer is an important responsibility that you would have as an electronic equipment manufacturing company. Most of the electronic manufacturing companies including the multinational companies outsource their PCB manufacturing needs to third party manufacturers. If you are one such company trying to find the best manufacturer of PCBs, you should try to make all the efforts required to spot the most reliable manufacturer in the industry.
When selecting your PCB fabrication company you need to make your decision based on the quality of the PCB. We need to understand that quality is a very broad term, various factors come into play when establishing the quality of the PCB. The type of board, the accuracy of the board size, the quality of the components, the final finish, everything contributes towards the quality of the PCB manufactured. As you may not know what to expect from the PCB manufacturer until you have personally experienced their quality, it would not be possible for you to assess their quality. The closest you could get to assess the quality of the PCBs before placing the order is by reading the customer feedbacks.
Delivery timeline or the turnaround time is another important factor that would determine the reliability of your manufacturer. Prompt delivery is an important quality of any good PCB manufacturer. Your manufacturing timelines would depend on the availability of the PCBs on time. Only when your PCB manufacturer delivers your orders on time you will be able to meet your commitments to your customers.
Are you dealing directly with the manufacturers or are you placing the orders through intermediaries? If you are placing your orders through intermediaries then you should be aware that they would have very little control over the quality of the PCBs and the timeline. It is therefore important that you do not select any intermediaries to order your PCBs. Look for the manufacturers directly and place the order for your PCBs. This will ensure good quality PCBs delivered right on time.
The PCB manufacturing company should be able to source the PCB components easily without running into any issues. If it is a well-established company, they will be able to source the PCB components easily regardless of the volume involved. Without having adequate sourcing capabilities, your manufacturer will not be able to fulfil you orders. Most often customers do not focus on the PCB component sourcing challenges when selecting their PCB manufacturers. They just look at the quote and proceed with their order. The next time you are to select your PCB manufacturer, try to pay attention to this factor too. Make no mistakes in this regard. You would not want to end up with a PCB supplier that cannot deliver your order as per your needs.
When you take adequate time to screen your manufacturers, you will certainly identify the most trusted manufacturers. You will be able to approach the same manufacturer for all your requirements.
