Europe is the next-choicest location for manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) after China. Consumers flock here because of a variety of reasons, including the advanced machinery, affordability and overall exceptional service they get.
If you are intent on having your circuits manufactured here, you may as well get to know the companies that will do the job for you.
The European PCB Market: An Overview
As a PCB destination, Europe has become a force to reckon with in the consumer electronics market. You get excellent service, coordinated PCB production with advanced machinery and access to lots of services, ranging from fabrication, assembly and testing.
According to Global Newswire, the PCB market in Europe is expected to “reach a value of $2,792.3 million in the next five years.” This projection spans from 2022 to 2027, during which the region’s PCB market is expected to thrive with a CAGR of 2.8% within the period under focus.
A major factor for the accelerated growth is the adoption and integration of PCBs into a wide range of automotive devices. Now, vehicles, enabled by PCBs, can work remotely with smartphones, allow for vehicle inspections (such as battery status), and allow for smartphone-enabled tracking.
While the United Kingdom (UK) is pulling the strings to some extent, a bulk of the PCB adoptions in Europe lie with Germany. The country’s governmental policies and the status as one of the major automobile makers, has helped influence the drive the growth of circuit boards.
The Major PCB Manufacturing Companies in Europe
Companies like Eurocircuits and Proto-Electronics are doing exceptionally well to drive the adoption of circuits through the wide range of services offered.
Let us go deeper and unveil some of the benefits of working with any of these PCB manufacturers in Europe.
1. Eurocircuits
This is one of the leading manufacturers of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) in Europe. Established in Germany in 1991, this 32-year-old PCB manufacturing company has helped lots of customers get value for money through what it calls the “Right First Time for Manufacture.” This expresses the company’s readiness to make the first design the only one you would work with and no need for changes or modifications.
The outstanding services cut across Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA), PCB prototyping and the processing of both high and low-volume orders.
Circuit Board Assembly
Eurocircuits makes Printed Circuit Board Assemblies (PCBAs) in good time. It promises to have the boards assembled in the shortest time possible – usually under 3 days. Furthermore, it gives feasible timelines for the boards, depending on the type of designs you need.
- Semi-Flex Pool has a delivery time of 7 working days for the bare circuits and up to 12 working days for the PCBAs.
- PCB Proto, which is the making of circuit prototypes, has a standard, 3-day delivery for bare boards and 6 working days for the assembled boards.
- RF Pool takes up to 5 working days for the bare boards and 10 working days for the assembled boards.
- Defined Impedance Pool takes 5 working days for bare boards and 10 business days for the PCBAs.
2. Proto-Electronics
This is the go-to company for PCB prototyping. Established in 2014, Proto-Electronics has been in the business of offering an all-around Research and Development (R&D) cycle for the circuit board prototyping phase.
The following are some of the capabilities:
Component Sourcing
Proto-Electronics help you source for the components for prototyping the PCBs. It has a long-standing relationship with some of the leading Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) suppliers, such as RS Components, Mouser, Farnell and Digikey.
Express Delivery
It doesn’t take a long while for your PCBs to be prototyped with this company. Proto-Electronics offer a standard delivery time between 5 and 20 business days.
The delivery timeframe covers most parts of the board production, including manufacturing, Bill of Material (BOM) validation, circuit board assembly, controls and shipping.
Quality Control
Proto-Electronics don’t ship your PCBs until they have been subjected to a wide range of quality control measures. The boards are tested with the following:
- X-rays
- Manual inspections and;
- Automated visual inspections
3. PCB Design
This PCB company specializes in the designing and developing of circuit boards. Based in Hungary, PCB Design helps in taking your ideas and turning them to reality in what it calls “from concept to manufacturing.”
Circuit Board Design Capabilities
The expertise in designing circuits extends from the designing of a circuit diagram (schematic) to making layouts of the boards.
PCB Design also specializes in other areas of circuit board designs, such as using the IBIS Simulation to optimize cut-offs, impedances, timings, reflections and crosstalks.
The company also uses a different simulating method called SPICE Simulation to control the “correct operation of the analogue stage.”
Product Development Capabilities
PCB Design also helps in finalizing the development of the circuit boards. In this regard, the company provides the basis for embedded software development, engineering and project management for the circuits.
Through the collaborations with domestic component placing firms, the company can undertake the production of circuit prototypes, as well as the production of large-volume PCBs.
It also offers embedded software development services along the lines of embedded Linux-based development and microcontroller firmware.
Before the PCBs are shipped, PCB Design subjects those to functional testing, such as integrating the testing with a database and generating both the HTML and PDF-based reports.
4. LAMIREL PCB Europe
Lamirel PCB is a Czech PCB company but located in Jicin, about 80 kilometers to the east of Prague. The company’s specialty is in offering Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS), and unassembled circuit board services.
PCB Services
The circuit board services offered cover several PCBs, including:
- Single-layer/one-sided circuit boards.
- Aluminum PCBs
- Double-sided PCBs
- Multilayered PCBs
- Laser cut stencils
- Lead soldering
- Lead-free soldering
- A combination of the Surface-Mount and Through-Hole Technology assembling processes.
- Etched stencils
- Making stencils in aluminum frame and;
- The completion and testing of electronic assembly.
Custom PCB Designs
PCB Design is also open to taking your orders for custom PCBs. The company promises to work exclusively with your design specifications, including putting those specifics to the test to be certain of the compliance with the technological standards.
Delivery Capabilities
The company offers faster deliveries, by offering two different options. The first option is to adjust the delivery timeframes, according to the increase in circuit productions. The second option is to respond to the customers’ demands by shifting and making a precise production planning to meet up with the deadline for the circuits.
5. Lab Circuits
Founded in 1972 and located in Barcelona, Spain Lab Circuits, is a specialist in manufacturing multilayered PCBs, up to 30 layers. The company also excels at using advanced process technologies, one reason why it can offer a plethora of other circuit services, such as impedance certification, HDI circuit boards, buried vias and laser-drilled microvias.
Manufacturing Capabilities
The capabilities at manufacturing PCBs include the production of HDI circuits, rigid-flex PCBs, and using complex processes like buried vias, RoHS and special materials for the boards.
Double-Sided PCBs
Lab Circuits make double-sided PCBs of which the tolerance levels of the different material and procedures are considered. This is one of the parameters it uses to classify the PCB’s difficulty. The other parameters are:
- Ring Check: this features the placement of a copper ring between the pad and the hole. The goal is to determine the alignment difficulty between the PCB and the hole.
- Class: this has to do with the dimensional properties/characteristics of the different elements that make-up the PCB.
6. eXception PCB
eXception PCB is a UK-based PCB manufacturing company. Established in 1977, the company has in the last 4 decades, being able to solidify the presence in Europe via the offering of “critical and technology-driven Printed Circuit Boards.”
Circuit Board Prototyping
eXception PCB makes prototypes of circuit boards, and with the quick-turn service, you can be sure of getting the prototypes done rightly the first time. The service also ensures that you have a faster time-to-market to help beat your competitors.
PCB Manufacturing
The company offers shorter lead times and next day carriage to help meet your circuit board deadlines. The manufacturing service also adds high-quality finishes to your boards.
Supply Chain Management
eXception PCB offers a “one-stop shop” that helps you save time and allow the company to handle most parts of the job. From component sourcing, product ideation, fabrication and production, you can rely on the company to do it all for you.
Offshore PCB Services
You can also count on eXception PCB to help expand your presence beyond Europe. The company’s network covers 10 service centers, 3 manufacturing sites and 250 design engineers, spread across Asia, USA, and Europe.
With such an extensive supply chain, you can be sure of penetrating newer markets, solidifying your presence in Europe and breaking through the barriers in the supply chain system.
Final Words
The choice of a PCB Europe manufacturer underscores how the board turns out to be at the end of the day. Hillman Curtis is an Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) provider that helps you manufacture different kinds of circuits, penetrate newer markets and manage your PCBs effectively.
