Much like a bespoke suit, PCBs require individual tailoring to meet a customer’s needs.

A printed circuit board is not a commodity and many in the electronics supply chain do not understand that. Buyers wanting “champagne at beer prices” leads them to press fabricators to devalue their efforts and work. Additionally, I have spoken with designers who have no idea how boards are made, but then turn around and speak with an air of authority that the fabricator should just “dial in the fabrication process” to etch a narrower trace on their board.

I am not sure what most buyers and designers have in mind of how printed circuit boards are manufactured, but a good analogy helps many to understand that boards are custom tailored, like a fine bespoke suit, and not a garment off the rack.

Read more: Custom Tailored or Off the Rack?

PCEA chapter meetings can be a great source of education and collaboration.

I am excited that my local PCEA chapter has gotten some traction and we are having regular meetings! After a couple years of false starts and hiccups, the Oregon/Pacific Northwest chapter got the spark and the ball rolling with members coming to connect and learn from each other. Which is exciting! I was able to reconnect with someone with whom I worked almost 20 years ago. He was attending from another country, but still views Portland as his "home area."

As our meeting progressed, we had a good educational segment and then an active discussion about topics to discuss next time. A question came up about a mechanical exchange format, and we just happened to have someone in the meeting who works for the company that manages that format! And if we didn't, I am sure we could have reached out to our separate networks of contacts to find an expert to talk with us about it. Meanwhile, additional topics of interest were shared, along with requests for recommendations on specific types of quality fabricators and assemblers. So add that to our list of people to invite and reach out to.

Read more: Getting Local with PCEA