Balancing environmental exposure, component type, shelf life, production volume and regulatory compliance – and cost.

While printed circuit board designers often focus on the circuit layout and picking the right components, one key detail short on attention is the surface finish on the PCB. This thin coating significantly impacts a board’s performance, durability and reliability.

Surface finishes come in many styles, each designed for different conditions, budgets and compatibility needs. Here we explore those finishes, their types and how to select an appropriate one for a PCB.

Panelize to optimize: faster builds, better boards.

In the printed circuit board manufacturing stage, panelization – physically linking many smaller, identical PCB substrates together on a common sheet – is an elegant way to produce many boards simultaneously.

Through this, manufacturers can streamline fab, assembly and testing to process multiple PCBs concurrently, leading to cost savings through reduced material waste and time required for setups and teardowns. Herein we explain panelization, its types, when it is useful, the different panel sizes in use and the important features of a typical panel.

Initiating complex workflows with simple text commands.

The 21st century has stress-tested the global supply chain. Climate shocks and geopolitical flare-ups have fractured the way we do business. Everything from tsunamis to Trump-era tariffs has exposed the fragility of just-in-time logistics. But what’s the fix to this uncertainty?