Aerospace PCB Assembly

The application of PCBA in the aerospace field requires different processes and procedures in the design, manufacture, and assembly of conventional PCBs. This is because aerospace PCBAs, a special breed of PCBs, require top-notch quality, reliability, and product consistency to meet highly stringent and harsh environmental requirements.

Space is arguably the most dangerous environment for aerospace PCBA and electronic systems. This includes launching and deploying orbital vehicles such as scalesats and cubesats. For interplanetary spacecraft, atmospheric exit and reentry only exacerbates the environmental challenges these systems must withstand. Vibration, shock, and radiation are among the threats that can affect spacecraft aerospace PCBA circuit boards.

Another critical issue for aerospace PCBAs is thermal management. Although heat distribution is important for all circuit board construction, it is difficult to conduct heat from a circuit board in space due to the near-vacuum outside of the spacecraft. And there's no way to repair a circuit board that suffered a thermal accident in space. Therefore, the risk of thermal management is higher, as circuit board failure due to overheating could render the spacecraft unable to perform its mission. Your board design must include a way to ensure efficient thermal conductivity of the PCB.

Experienced PCBA EMS manufacturers know to apply some additional special steps and techniques in circuit layout, fabrication and assembly to ensure product reliability and consistency to ensure product quality and reliability.