Category Archives: Manufacture


May13
MRB Decision-Making and Cosmetic Quality Evaluation for Plastic Parts

When Workingbear first joined an electronics final assembly factory as a product/process engineer, I often had to attend MRB (Material Review Board) meetings. From time to time, people would come to me asking me to evaluate rejected parts and decide … Continue reading

Mar26
How to Design FPC-to-PCB Connections for Better Assembly (DFx)

As electronic devices keep getting thinner and more compact, FPCs (flexible printed circuits) are used more and more. In some designs, FPCs even replace traditional PCBs. But no matter how advanced FPC technology becomes, it still needs to connect to … Continue reading

Dec03
PCB Edge Removal and De-paneling Methods: A Complete Overview

When making printed circuit boards (PCBs), individual boards are first combined into a big panel board. After components mounting or soldering, they are separated into individual boards using de-paneling tools. This article summarizes the three most common PCB de-paneling methods … Continue reading

Nov13
PCB Edge Removal and De-paneling: Stamp Hole Design

In most PCB (Printed Circuit Board) designs, panels are usually connected using V-cuts or tabs/ribs, and then separated with a V-cut scoring machine or a router de-panel machine. However, besides these two common connection methods, there’s another approach called the … Continue reading

Nov06
PCB Edge Removal and De-paneling: Precautions for Manual Breaking

There are many ways to de-panel or remove the edge rails of a PCB, but the simplest and cheapest method is manual V-cut breaking. However, this method can easily lead to uncontrolled quality issues. Before using manual breaking, it’s important … Continue reading