The printed circuit board is the first thing production waits for, and the first thing on which you can lose weeks. At Convel we take on the whole chain: choosing the technology, ordering the PCBs from proven manufacturers, incoming inspection, and then SMD assembly and THT on our own lines. Instead of coordinating a board manufacturer, a component supplier and an assembly company, you settle with a single partner. And if you order a larger batch of boards, we will store it at our site and draw on it for subsequent orders.

Which printed circuit boards we supply

We work with PCB manufacturers who cover the full range of technologies available on the market today. For you this means you do not have to fit the design to the capabilities of one factory:

  • single-layer and double-layer boards for simpler devices, and multilayer boards for modules with microcontrollers, memories and radio sections,
  • FR-4 laminates in various thicknesses and temperature classes, and also aluminium-core boards (IMS) for LED lighting and power electronics,
  • lead-free HASL and ENIG pad finishes, matched to the assembly technology and the required durability,
  • solder masks and silkscreens in the colours given in the documentation, panel marking and numbering for traceability purposes,
  • panelisation prepared for our lines, with fiducial marks and the technological margin allowed for.

Boards go through incoming inspection before assembly. We catch laminate defects before the solder paste is applied, not after components worth several hundred zlotys have been assembled.

PCB or PCBA – what you order at Convel

These two abbreviations often get mixed up in documents and enquiries. A PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is a bare printed circuit board: laminate with tracks, holes and pads, without components. A PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) is an assembled board, with components, after soldering and inspection. Convel is a PCBA manufacturer: we supply the boards and assemble the electronics on them. PCB manufacturing itself is part of that service, not a separate business, and that is exactly why we make sure the board is designed for our assembly processes.

PCB storage: why it pays off

The unit cost of a printed circuit board falls as the order size grows, but not every customer wants to assemble ten thousand devices straight away. The solution is simple: you order a larger batch of PCBs at a good price, and we store it at Convel and draw on it for subsequent assembly orders. You gain on three things at once:

  • a lower board price, because you order once in a larger volume instead of several times in a small one,
  • shorter lead times for the following series, because the boards are on site and we are not waiting for the manufacturer,
  • predictability, because every series is assembled on boards from the same batch, with the same parameters.

The stock level is visible in our ERP system, so you always know how many boards are left and how many series that will cover. We work in the same way with electronic components and delivery planning.

PCB prototypes and small series

Before you order thousands of boards, you usually need a few or a few dozen to check the design. We order prototype PCB batches at short lead times, assemble them on the same lines as series production and hand them over with full inspection. Thanks to that the prototype behaves the way the series will later, and not “somehow”. We wrote more about it in the article from prototype to series production.

PCB design review before production

We check every board documentation package for series production before we place the order. We look at clearances, pad sizes for 0402 and 0201 parts, BGA pads, fiducials, the way the panel is made up, the placement of THT parts relative to SMD ones on the soldering side. A check like this takes us a moment and saves the customer another board revision after a failed first series. If the design needs deeper changes, our design support team takes it over.

What to prepare for a board quotation

To quote a PCB we need the Gerber files (all layers, mask, silkscreen, drilling), information about the laminate and copper thickness, the number of layers, the pad finish and the planned quantities. If you are ordering assembly from us as well, add the BOM and the pick&place file, and we will prepare a single quotation for the boards, the components and the assembly.

Frequently asked questions about PCB manufacturing

Do you make bare boards, without assembly?

Our core service is supplying an assembled board (PCBA). We supply boards without assembly to customers whose production we already run, for example for servicing or their own prototyping.

Which PCB technologies are available?

Single-, double- and multilayer, FR-4 and aluminium, HASL and ENIG finishes, various laminate and copper thicknesses. We match the technology to the design and to our assembly process.

How long can you store my boards?

For as long as the cooperation lasts. The boards are kept in conditions suited to the laminates and finishes, and you can see the stock level in the reports from our ERP.

Do you check the boards before assembly?

Yes. Every PCB delivery goes through incoming inspection, and assembled boards additionally go through AOI inspection.

What if my PCB design is not suitable for series production?

We will tell you about it before the boards are ordered and propose changes. Reviewing the documentation for manufacturing is part of our quotation.

Ask about this service

Send us your project documentation and we will prepare a quote together with a proposed production schedule.

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