PCB assembly services
Board assembly from first prototype to repeat production, supported by engineering review, component sourcing and inspection agreed with you up front.
SMT assembly
Surface-mount technology is how most modern boards are built: components placed directly onto pads and soldered in a controlled reflow process.
We assemble single- and double-sided surface-mount boards to your bill of materials, centroid data and assembly drawing. The process is planned around your board, not a generic recipe: stencil, placement program and reflow profile are set up for your layout and components.
- Solder paste printing through a stencil made for your paste layer
- Component placement driven by your pick-and-place data and checked against the BOM
- Reflow soldering with a profile suited to your board and component mix
- Lead-free or tin-lead solder, as your product and market require
Package types, minimum component sizes and maximum board dimensions vary by project. We confirm them during engineering review, before you place an order.
Through-hole & mixed-technology assembly
Some parts need leads through the board: connectors that take repeated mating cycles, heavy capacitors, transformers and power devices.
Most production boards combine surface-mount and through-hole parts. We plan the build sequence so both are assembled and soldered correctly, and choose the through-hole soldering method based on your board, component mix and quantity.
- Connectors, headers, terminal blocks and other mechanically loaded parts
- Mixed-technology boards with surface-mount and through-hole parts together
- Lead forming and trimming to your assembly drawing
- Hardware, standoffs and heat sinks fitted where your drawing calls for them
Prototype & NPI builds
A prototype run tests more than the circuit. It tests whether the board can be built reliably, and that is the point of new product introduction (NPI).
We build small quantities so you can validate your design, then share what we learned during assembly: footprints that caused problems, parts that were hard to source, and changes that would make volume production smoother.
- Small-quantity builds for design validation
- Build feedback you can feed into the next revision
- Revision control between prototype iterations
- Process documentation carried forward into production
Production assembly
Once a design is released, what matters is that every order matches the one before it.
Production builds are run against a released revision of your files, with the setup, inspection criteria and packaging requirements recorded so repeat orders are built the same way. Engineering changes are handled through you, never assumed.
- Builds tied to a specific, released revision
- Recorded setup and inspection requirements for repeat orders
- Engineering changes implemented only with your approval
- ESD-safe packaging, or packaging to your specification
Component sourcing
Choose how much of the supply chain you want to hand over. Each model is quoted clearly, so you can compare.
- Turnkey. We source every component on your BOM and manage the purchasing.
- Partial turnkey. You supply key or controlled parts; we source the rest.
- Consigned. You supply all components; we receive, check and kit them for the build.
Whichever model you choose, your BOM is reviewed for availability and lifecycle status before you commit. If a part is hard to find or approaching end of life, you hear about it at quote stage, with alternates proposed for your decision. Nothing is substituted without your written approval.
Approved-vendor lists and sourcing requirements, such as buying only through authorized distribution, are agreed with you and recorded on the order.
DFM review
Design for manufacturability (DFM) review finds the issues that are cheap to fix in a file and expensive to fix on a finished board.
Before your build is scheduled, we review your design data and send back clear findings, separating what must change from what we simply recommend.
- Footprints that don’t match the specified parts
- Polarity and pin-1 markings
- Mismatches between BOM, centroid and Gerbers
- Fiducials, panelization and tooling edges
- Component spacing for soldering, inspection and rework
- Paste layer and thermal pad design
Inspection & testing
How a board will be checked should be decided before it is built, not after.
At quote stage we agree the workmanship standard your boards are built and inspected to, which inspection steps apply, and whether functional testing is needed. Those requirements go on the order and the results go back to you with your boards.
- Acceptance criteria agreed per order, for example IPC-A-610 Class 2 or Class 3
- Inspection methods selected for your board, such as visual, automated optical or X-ray inspection of hidden joints
- Functional testing to your procedure, with your test fixture where applicable
- Inspection records supplied with the order on request
For NovaArk’s current certification status, see Certifications.
Not sure which service fits?
Tell us about your board, your quantities and where you are in development. We’ll recommend a sensible approach.