The work involved in delicate electronic components found on circuit boards requires the skills of assembly board manufacturers and assemblers. Original equipment manufacturers often outsource their electronics to assembly board manufacturing companies. There are several (ECM) electronic contract manufacturing companies all over the world. They provide a variety of services from designing to delivery. Working with a well known local assembly board manufacturer provides better communication and customer service.
Some OEM companies work with several manufacturers to get completed parts. Those that work with one assembly board manufacturer from start to finish can see savings in time and cost, improved quality in fit and function, and higher customer satisfaction. An assembly board manufacturing company can provide designing, prototypes, large and small production runs, assembling, testing, order fulfillment and after market services. Getting aftermarket parts from the same assembly board manufacturer, that produced your original parts, can ensure you that the aftermarket parts are identical to the original parts. Besides OEMs, some assembly board manufacturers provide full service electronics manufacturing services to the government/defense/security field, the medical field, industrial/commercial fields and wired/wireless networking fields.
In order to provide services to the government, defense and security fields, an assembly board manufacturing firm must be a registered ITAR supplier, comply with ISO 9001:2008 and other manufacturing standards. Because of the need to meet higher standards, the assembly board manufacturing firms that meet these standards employ designers, engineers, management teams, assemblers and other employees who are experts in the electronic field. Because of these higher requirements, and the additional cost for approved tooling and employee training, to attain the certifications, most OEMs outsource to assembly board manufacturing firms rather than doing the work in house.
It is important to select an experienced assembly board manufacturing firm as they use the most advanced manufacturing processes, state-of-the-art manufacturing and assembly equipment, and the most technically advanced equipment for testing. If you plan to work with an assembly board manufacturing firm, you should conduct extensive research prior to making a final selection.