Three Reasons Why SMT Is the Preferred PCB Assembly Technique

PCB or Printed Circuit Board, on which the electronic components are mounted or assembled, forms the base foundation to an electric machine. The process of soldering or assembling the electronic components to the PCB is known as Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA), and this can be accomplished by following any of the two techniques. The first technique is the traditional Thru-Hole Technology and the second is the latest Surface Mount Technology (SMT). Though SMT is a newer concept, it has quickly become the most sought-after PCBA technique. Thus, here are the main three reasons why SMT is the preferred PCB assembly technique.

Improved Usability

Thru-Hole technology is the process of plugging the extra lead or wire into the holes in the PCB board. This, in turn, occupies a larger surface area, hence increase in size. The SMT process enables the mounting of SMT components that are smaller in size due to the absence of extra lead or wire. Nowadays, all electronic gadgets are shrinking in size with remarkable improvement in efficiency. SMT securely assembles the number of components to a small PCB board, thus promoting complexity, smaller size and high component density.

Faster Production

SMT technique can be easily carried out through automation, as it requires only surface mounting of the components. This is not the same with Thru-hole technique where problems may arise when plugging of the components is done through automation. There are chances of the lead or wire not fitting into the hole in the PCB or lose connection. It is estimated that the SMT components can be assembled at the rate of more than thousands to even ten thousand per hour while the thru-hole process can only mount less than a thousand components.

Cost Efficient

Most of the SMT components cost less when compared to its Thru-Hole counterparts. Apart from this, SMT can be carried out by automation process, cutting down the manufacturing time and labor effort. In total, SMT reduces the assembly production cost to a greater extent when compared to the traditional technique.

The above-mentioned factors are some of the reasons behind the fast growth of Surface Mount Technology in the field of PCB Assembly.