Maybe you have heard about Printed Circuit Boards when looking for electronics prototyping services. A PCB will be necessary to organize all electronic components that will give a shape to your device. Let’s see some PCB benefits and why you should get a customized version.
What is a Printed Circuit Board?
First, it is important to understand what a Printed Circuit Board is, it is very important for electronic product design and development, and you should care about understanding its meaning.
Imagine a Printed Circuit Board or PCB as the core of an electronic device. This board is the basis for designing and integrating all the electronic components that will allow your device to have specific functions.
Though all electronic devices use a PCB, they are not the same in every case. Depending on the device you are planning to build, you may need to use a different type of PCB:
- Single-layer
- Multi-layer
- Rigid
- Flexible
For instance, simple devices like radios, calculators, mobile phones, among others use single-layer PCBs. For more complex devices or hardware, it will be necessary to use other types of PCBs. In the case of rigid PCBs, they are used in big machinery, like medical equipment, big cars, and industrial machinery.
Components of a PCB
As you could see above, PCBs consist of several electric components, and these elements are crucial for the good performance of a hardware device. You also need to take into account the firmware updates that will be necessary for ensuring the correct functioning of your device.
Here it is also necessary to take into account the IoT sensors that will be integrated into your hardware product; this in case that you are thinking of building a device that will collect data from a specific place, area, or activity.
In a PCB you will find components like transistors, inductors, resistors, the sensors we just mentioned, transformers, and diodes.
Each component will play an important role in how the PCB works out, like protecting it against high temperatures, or to generate voltage, electric transmission among circuits, and a regulation of the current direction.
PCB benefits
There are several advantages of using a PCB, we will mention 5 that we consider are the most relevant for hardware development.
1. Time saving in device assembly
The first benefit of using a PCB has to do with the time you save for connecting different components in your device. The PCB works like a map that indicates with ease where each electronic component must be located.
So, every time you need to set or build a new device, you will have the “electronics map” that will ensure every copy of your product contains the same elements and functions. This way, the hardware development service will provide a reliable product that can be replicated without issues.
2. More confidence on your product’s performance
When you have a good PCB design, you can be sure that the electronic components of your device will integrate in such a way that will positively contribute to a good performance. No matter the many hours your product needs to function, a well designed PCB will ensure that your product delivers great results.
What happens when a hardware device has a poorly designed PCB or without the adequate materials? The product may be prone to failures in the long term (short circuits, high voltage peaks, high temperature affectation, among others). Thus, your potential customers may suffer the consequences of this, and your brand will be affected (see proof of concept vs prototype).
3. Lower manufacturing costs
Developing a reliable PCB brings a great advantage. When you need to produce hundreds or thousands of units of a device, a well designed PCB will help you reduce the costs of manufacturing them, since you already have a structure that can be replicated without any problems.
4. Adaptation to any size
One of the greatest benefits of PCBs is the capacity of designing and building them in different sizes. Thanks to the advances in technology, we can see a lot of small devices that have small PCBs integrated into them.
This means you can design complex electronic circuits in any size that can adapt to the concept of the device that you have in mind.
5. Originality of your product
If you are planning to launch a great product that will be unique and attractive, think of getting a custom PCB design.
Generic Printed Circuit Boards are not bad, since they can be used with any component that provides common features. However, if you want to stand out from your competitors, think of what components you are planning to use in your hardware device; See ESP32 explained, or what are the benefits of IoT in Raspberry Pi?
By using a customized PCB, you can guarantee that your customers will need your help for further maintenance or updates. This also opens up the possibility to generate loyalty and thus, they will keep buying from you.
This is one of the reasons why you see many smartphones in the market with different technologies, lenses, battery capacities, and performance. Every company has a special design for their PCBs, since they know which features to offer according to the niche, and that features require specific technologies (chips, microcontrollers, sensors, batteries, among others) that can differentiate from others.
Advantages of a customized PCB
A custom PCB brings great advantages to you. Your product will be different from the competition. You can use the technologies that best suit your business model. And you guarantee that it will be hard to copy your business idea.
A client came to DeepSea Developments struggling to make a hardware device perform better with the current PCB they had. Our engineering team analyzed the Printed Circuit board, and they found out it was necessary to make some adjustments to the electronic board.
So, we proposed a new design for their PCB. And after a few weeks working on PCB prototyping, they were happy with the results, because now they could integrate the new sensors and lenses they wanted to use in the beginning.
We deliver great results because we are constantly enhancing our knowledge in electronics by attending new events (See Sensors Converge), and establishing partnerships with other companies. If you need any help with PCB design and development, we invite you to contact us by clicking the button below.
