What are you doing this Cyber Monday?
Chances are you are spending some time online looking for the latest holiday bargains.
On the day that is known for having some of the best online deals of the year, consumers across the country are on their computers and their mobile devices ordering as fast as websites will allow. On a day when technology is connecting consumers to the deals that they most want it should come as no surprise that the technology industry itself is also in full swing. From the printed circuit board assembly services that enable our handheld devices to run to the larger electronic components that we use to watch football games on the weekend, the PCB fabrication process is essential.
All of Today’s Electronics Rely on PCB Fabrication Processes
Printed circuit boards are a part of every gadget in our homes and in out lives. From the small remotes that turn the ceiling fan on and off to the larger custom designed PCB assemblies that allow online shoppers to access the best Cyber Monday deals, prototype assembly services allow companies to device exactly what they need in the size that they desire.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the PCB industry and the impact that it has on the nation’s economy:
- Through-hole technology and surface mount technology are the two methods used on double-sided circuit boards to connect the circuits on each side.
- A little more than 50 years after the introduction of PCBs in the year 1995, these components became a $7.1 billion industry for the first time. A mere five years later in 2000, the industry grew to become more than a $10 billion industry, and since 2012 the PCB industry has reached over $60 billion worldwide.
- Printed circuit boards were designed using clear Mylar sheets, up to four times bigger than the circuit board itself, before PCB design software was introduced. In this older process, designers would create a transparent photomask of the proposed design. The PCB fabrication process has made this process much simpler and faster.
- The revenue of circuit board and electronic component manufacturing in America reached $44 billion in the year 2014.
- With spaces between electrical conducting paths are often 0.04 inches (1.0 mm) or smaller, today’s board designers use computer-aided design systems with special software to layout the circuit pattern on the board.
- With better and more consistent quality, single automatic line can place and solder more components than 50 hand solder operators are able to achieve.
If you are scouring the internet this morning looking for the best Cyber Monday deals, then you were using electronics that depend on PCB fabrication. The connections that we all make when we are shopping online or using any electronic gadgets are only possible because of the printed circuit boards that are buried inside.