The global PCB assembly industry, a key sector in electronics production, has advanced at a fast pace in the past decade. In China, the largest PCBA base, manufacturers have achieved fully automatic, high-precision and large-scale operations that meet diverse domestic and overseas requirements.
In recent years, Chinese PCBA companies have also embarked on green, high-efficiency and smart manufacturing to align with the global agenda on protecting the environment and attaining sustainability. This is by minimizing the use of lead in welding materials and adopting biodegradable inputs, in addition to recycling waste and reducing energy consumption.
To realize smart manufacturing and its benefits that include enhanced productivity, improved quality and well-maintained equipment, these makers are tapping into cloud computing, AI and IoT technologies.
In the case of Qingdao Dingxin, this switch delivered 30 percent energy savings, 25 percent cost reduction and 32 percent shorter order cycle time in the past five years. The company has been using MES, WMS, APS, PLM, SAP and OA production management systems. It
has six fully automatic production lines for PCB assemblies used in electronics, household appliances and automotive applications.
Equipment upgrades in China's PCBA industry
Chinese manufacturers continue to improve their techniques further as well, to keep up with the miniaturization and integration trends in electronics. Most invest in advanced R&D and production equipment.
It is expected that industrial robotics will be increasingly used by these makers in components assembly, welding, testing, labeling and other processes in the years to come. This is to guarantee higher production efficiency, lower production costs and better product quality.
Helping to advance the adoption of this technology is the availability of domestically made equipment. Shenzhen Iorange, for instance, has presented fully automatic production equipment and industrial robots for PCBA makers. One of them is its PCBA main board test line, which can reduce the workforce from 15 to one while improving efficiency to 180 units per hour from 60 and raising the yield rate to 99.5 percent from 95. In addition, the company has developed its own MD Cloud platform, which can collect, process and analyze data during production to realize high efficiency and minimum error in operation.
Healthy PCBA market
The market for mobile electronics, wearable devices, computers and peripherals, communications, automotive electronics, medical devices and industrial equipment continues to increase demand for PCB assemblies.
The PCBA sector reached over $90 billion in 2023 and is projected to hit $145 billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of about 5 percent from 2024, according to Global Market Insights.
China’s PCBA segment was valued at $56.4 billion in 2023 based on a report by Chinese market research company Gongyan Industry Research Institute. This is expected to rise further, with Chinese manufacturers attributing growth to 5G, IoT, cloud computing and AI developments.
This positive industry outlook has been encouraging production expansion. Wuhu Yabosion, for instance, invested $21.38 million in a high-end PCBA project in 2022. The facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024 and will start operating on a mass scale in the following year. It will have more than 300 state-of-the-art manufacturing and test equipment that will boost the company’s total production capacity to 1.25 billion units annually.
Key PCBA players in China
China will continue to strengthen its hub status for PCB assemblies, gathering global industry players such as Foxconn, Ibiden, Nan Ya and New Kinpo. Etron, DBG, Shennan Circuits and Kingbrother are also among the notable companies in this manufacturing sector.
Many domestic and foreign suppliers are found in the country’s key electronics hubs, including Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Suzhou, Kunshan and Ningbo. There are makers as well in the Bohai Bay Rim Economic Region, mainly in Dalian and Qingdao.
Chinese manufacturers leverage their flexibility to meet various requirements, including on the source of chips, passive components, connectors, PCBs and welding materials to be used. Typically, though, they obtain chips and passives from foreign companies for high-end PCBAs.
The cost of these inputs accounts for over 70 percent of total outlay for PCBA production, so any significant changes can impact suppliers’ pricing. Thankfully, there were only slight fluctuations in chip and MLCC costs in the past months. Many manufacturers are hopeful that component quotes will stabilize in the months ahead.
The products in this gallery have been handpicked by our market analyst for representing current trends in PCB assemblies from verified suppliers in China.
PCBA on FR-4 board
Company: Nova Technology (HK) Co. Ltd
This PCB assembly from Nova uses an up to 6-layer board with an FR-4 base, 1oz copper thickness, 4mil minimum line width and spacing, ±0.075mm plated and ±0.05mm nonplated through-hole tolerance and OSP surface finish. The board thickness is 1.2mm. This product meets RoHS, REACH and POPS requirements.
MOQ: Negotiable
Lead time: 7 days
PCBA on up to 64-layer board
Company: Shenzhen BenQiang Circuit Co. Ltd
Shenzhen BenQiang offers the PCBA-0277-1, which is on an up to 64-layer board. The PCB used has an FR-4, Rogers, aluminum or high-Tg base, 1 to 5oz copper thickness, HASL, OSP or immersion gold surface finish and white, black, green, blue or red solder mask. It undergoes 100 percent AOI, ICT and FCT.
MOQ: Negotiable
Lead time: 7 days
PCBA with 01005, 0201, BGA components
Company: Shenzhen CMY Optimal Precision Electronics Co. Ltd
Shenzhen CMY can complete PCB assemblies such as the CMY-0949-0827 using SMT, press-fit and conformal coating processes. This PCBA has components as small as 01005 and 0201, parts with 0.25mm fine pitch, and 0.14mm-diameter BGAs with 0.2mm pitch. The board size is 50x50mm to 400x1,200mm and the mounting accuracy ±0.035mm (±0.025mm).
MOQ: 10 units
Lead time: 25 days
PCBA for 10W sound bars
Company: Shenzhen King Well Technology Co. Ltd
Designed for use in 10W sound bars, the KL-L21 PCB assembly from Shenzhen King Well uses an FR-4 board with green oil coating. Dimensions are 58.5x36.3mm.
MOQ: 1,000 units
Lead time: 7 days
