Printed Circuit Board Assembly & PCB Design SMT Electronics Assembly Manufacturing Forum

Printed Circuit Board Assembly & PCB Design Forum

SMT electronics assembly manufacturing forum.


Serial Numbering of PCB's (?)

Chris May

#7621

Serial Numbering of PCB's (?) | 3 February, 2000

I would like to hear from people concerning the fors & againsts of serial numbering PCB's.

Regards,

Chris May

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JAX

#7622

Re: Serial Numbering of PCB's (?) | 3 February, 2000

Once you have the capabilities to track a board from the initial stages in kitting all the way out the door in box build the possibilities are endless. You will now have: 1. An exact count of your companies WIP. 2. The exact location of every board in-house. 3. How long each board has been at the current and past locations. Once the boards are logged into your system it's your choice on how to handle it. You can include the routing requirements to keep boards from circumventing steps in the process. You probably realize I am a fan of this but for nothing more than to know where all the Boards are. Nothing makes you look stupid faster than not completing a job because you lost a board. Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong,___

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John O'Brien

#7623

Re: Serial Numbering of PCB's (?) | 3 February, 2000

This is getting to be a more common practice, especially with the application of a 2-D bar code directly to the board (via laser, ink jet,etc.) Some really major companies are jumping on the bandwagon because it also allows treating each board as a lot of one. It allows process analysis and control. It can allow for mixed lots running through the same lines (for example, a scanner mounted on the chip shooter reads a data matrix symbol to verify the right program and components are loaded on the machine prior to starting its cycle. In situations where there is limited real estate and a desire for a permanent mark (no lost labels), such as medical devices,cell phones, hand-helds, PDAs, etc. you'll find many companies embracing this technology with extremely short pay backs. As more companies, especially contract manufacturers, accept life-cycle responsibilities for the products they produce for their customers (to include warranties, recalls, repairs, replacement under fixed cost contracts) either the customer or the manufacturer is causing the implementation of the tracking to manage accounting data, histories, and document their performance over time. Not something easy to do with a simple part number or a bar code label that can (and does) fall off. For more information about Data matrix, see the link below.

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