Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) is a term used for companies that design, manufacture, test, distribute, and provide return/repair services for electronic components and assemblies for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The concept is also referred to as electronics contract manufacturing (ECM). [1]
Many high-volume consumer electronic products have been built in China and countries of Southeast Asia, due to the speed of manufacture of high-volume low-cost electronics in those locations, as opposed to the United States. [2] Cities such as Shenzhen, China and Penang, Malaysia have become important production centres for the industry, attracting many consumer electronics companies such as Apple Inc. [3] Some companies such as Flex and Wistron are original design manufacturers and providers of electronics manufacturing services.
The EMS industry was initially established in 1961 by SCI Systems of Huntsville Alabama. The industry realized its most significant growth in the 1980s; at the time, most electronics manufacturing for large-scale product runs was handled by the OEMs in-house assembly. These new companies offered flexibility and eased human resources issues for smaller companies doing limited runs. The business model for the EMS industry is to specialize in large economies of scale in manufacturing, raw materials procurement and pooling together resources, industrial design expertise as well as create added value services such as warranty and repairs. This frees up the customer who does not need to manufacture and keep huge inventories of products. Therefore, they can respond to sudden spikes in demand more quickly and efficiently. [4]
The development of surface mount technology (SMT) on printed circuit boards (PCB) allowed for the rapid assembly of electronics. By the mid-1990s the advantages of the EMS concept became compelling and OEMs began outsourcing PCB assembly (PCBA) on a large scale. By the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, many OEMs sold their assembly plants to EMSs, aggressively vying for market share. A wave of consolidation followed as the more cash-flush EMS firms were able to buy up quickly both existing plants as well as smaller EMS companies.
The global market for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) reached an estimated value of US$504.2 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.94% during the forecast period 2024-2030, reaching a revised size of US$707.5 billion by 2030. [5] The EMS industry is commonly divided into Tiers by their revenue: [6]
There is no hard rule on the actual revenue designation at this time. Other categories have been suggested by StepBeyond/EMSinsider and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY: Micro Tier (<$50M); Tier 4 <10m and "Tier Mega" referring to the Big 2, Foxconn and Flex.[ citation needed ]
Another distinction is drawn between EMS that specializes in High Mix Low Volume (HMLV) and High Volume Low Mix (HVLM). Mix refers generally to the complexity or different models of the PCB assembly. Volume refers to the number of units built, with products like consumer electronics on the high end and prototype, medical electronics or machinery on the low end. Typically, lower Tier EMS provide HMLV and higher Tier provide HVLM.[ citation needed ]
During technology's late-1990s heyday, EMS players routinely acquired assets in high-cost locations. EMS players largely focused on printed circuit board fabrication, leaving system assembly to the OEMs. EMS companies largely disdained industries outside the world of information processing (computers) and communications. In recent years, EMS players have shifted production to low-cost geographies; embraced non-traditional industries including consumer electronics, industrial, medical and instrumentation; and added substantial vertical capabilities, stretching from design and ODM through system assembly, test, delivery and logistics, warranty and repair, network services, software and silicon design, and customer service.[ citation needed ]
EMS has also started to provide design services used in conceptual product development advice and mechanical, electrical and software design assistance. Testing services perform in-circuit, functional, environmental, agency compliance, and analytical laboratory testing. Electronics manufacturing services are located throughout the world and provide numerous benefits. [7] They vary in terms of production capabilities and comply with various quality standards and regulatory requirements.
E2MS (Electronic Engineering Manufacturing Service) refers to the strategy of integrating product development, prototyping and industrialization services into a traditional EMS business, with the aim to harness potential synergies. A typical E2MS offering will start in the design phase, then continue to support the client in development, prototyping, tooling and production all the way to the testing phase, allowing for faster ramp-up as the product is prepared for mass-production up-front.
The term E2MS was first coined by Escatec and has since been adopted by numerous Tier 2 and Tier 3 producers. [8] Larger companies (Tier 1) have gone even further and offered full concept to mass-production and often taking a stake in the intellectual property, becoming more similar to ODM companies.
Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other electrically charged particles. It is a subfield of physics and electrical engineering which uses active devices such as transistors, diodes, and integrated circuits to control and amplify the flow of electric current and to convert it from one form to another, such as from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) or from analog signals to digital signals.
A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes and other features etched from one or more sheet layers of copper laminated onto or between sheet layers of a non-conductive substrate. PCBs are used to connect or "wire" components to one another in an electronic circuit. Electrical components may be fixed to conductive pads on the outer layers, generally by soldering, which both electrically connects and mechanically fastens the components to the board. Another manufacturing process adds vias, metal-lined drilled holes that enable electrical interconnections between conductive layers, to boards with more than a single side.
Teradyne, Inc. is an American automatic test equipment (ATE) designer and manufacturer based in North Reading, Massachusetts. Its high-profile customers include Samsung, Qualcomm, Intel, Analog Devices, Texas Instruments and IBM.
The process of circuit design can cover systems ranging from complex electronic systems down to the individual transistors within an integrated circuit. One person can often do the design process without needing a planned or structured design process for simple circuits. Still, teams of designers following a systematic approach with intelligently guided computer simulation are becoming increasingly common for more complex designs. In integrated circuit design automation, the term "circuit design" often refers to the step of the design cycle which outputs the schematics of the integrated circuit. Typically this is the step between logic design and physical design.
Flat no-leads packages such as quad-flat no-leads (QFN) and dual-flat no-leads (DFN) physically and electrically connect integrated circuits to printed circuit boards. Flat no-leads, also known as micro leadframe (MLF) and SON, is a surface-mount technology, one of several package technologies that connect ICs to the surfaces of PCBs without through-holes. Flat no-lead is a near chip scale plastic encapsulated package made with a planar copper lead frame substrate. Perimeter lands on the package bottom provide electrical connections to the PCB. Flat no-lead packages usually, but not always, include an exposed thermally conductive pad to improve heat transfer out of the IC. Heat transfer can be further facilitated by metal vias in the thermal pad. The QFN package is similar to the quad-flat package (QFP), and a ball grid array (BGA).
Iran Electronics Industries or Integrated Electronics Industries(IEI, Persian: صنایع الکترونیک ایران; also known as Persian: صاایران, Sâiran) is a state-owned subsidiary of Iran's Ministry of Defense. It is a diversified organization with operations in electronics, optics, electro-optics, medical equipment, communications, computer and semiconductors.
Electronic packaging is the design and production of enclosures for electronic devices ranging from individual semiconductor devices up to complete systems such as a mainframe computer. Packaging of an electronic system must consider protection from mechanical damage, cooling, radio frequency noise emission and electrostatic discharge. Product safety standards may dictate particular features of a consumer product, for example, external case temperature or grounding of exposed metal parts. Prototypes and industrial equipment made in small quantities may use standardized commercially available enclosures such as card cages or prefabricated boxes. Mass-market consumer devices may have highly specialized packaging to increase consumer appeal. Electronic packaging is a major discipline within the field of mechanical engineering.
Integrated Micro-electronics, Inc. provides electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and power semiconductor assembly and test services (SATS) with manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America. Its headquarters is located in Biñan, Laguna.
SMTC Corporation, founded in 1985, is a mid-size provider of end-to-end electronics manufacturing services (EMS) including PCBA production, systems integration and comprehensive testing services, enclosure fabrication, as well as product design, sustaining engineering and supply chain management services. SMTC facilities span a broad footprint in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and China, with more than 2,300 employees. SMTC services extend over the entire electronic product life cycle from the development and introduction of new products through to the growth, maturity and end-of-life phases. SMTC offers fully integrated contract manufacturing services with a distinctive approach to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and emerging technology companies primarily within industrial, computing and communication market segments. SMTC was recognized in 2012 by Frost & Sullivan with the Global EMS Award for Product Quality Leadership and 2013 with the North American Growth Leadership Award in the EMS industry, as one of the fastest growth companies in 2012.
An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. It is a type of electrical circuit. For a circuit to be referred to as electronic, rather than electrical, generally at least one active component must be present. The combination of components and wires allows various simple and complex operations to be performed: signals can be amplified, computations can be performed, and data can be moved from one place to another.
First International Computer, Inc. is a Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer and system integrator for automotive electronics and smart building controls. FIC provides design consultancy and supply chain management services for automotive electronic suppliers worldwide.
IPC is a trade association whose aim is to standardize the assembly and production requirements of electronic equipment and assemblies. IPC is headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois, United States with additional offices in Washington, D.C. Atlanta, Ga., and Miami, Fla. in the United States, and overseas offices in China, Japan, Thailand, India, Germany, and Belgium.
Package on a package (PoP) is an integrated circuit packaging method to vertically combine ball grid array (BGA) packages for discrete logic and memory. Two or more packages are installed atop each other, i.e. stacked, with a standard interface to route signals between them. PoP allows higher component density in devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), and digital cameras, at the cost of being slightly taller. Stacks with more than 2 packages are uncommon, due to heat dissipation considerations.
Orbotech Ltd. a subsidiary of KLA Corporation and a technology company used in the manufacturing of consumer and industrial products throughout the electronics and adjacent industries. The company providing electronics reading, writing, and connecting solutions used by manufacturers of printed circuit boards, flat panel displays, advanced packaging, micro-electro-mechanical systems and other electronic components. The company is headquartered in Yavne, Israel and operates in North America, Europe, Japan and Asia-Pacific.
Benchmark Electronics Inc is an EMS, ODM, and OEM company based in Tempe, Arizona in the Phoenix metropolitan area. It provides contract manufacturing services.
Printed Circuit Corporation (PCC) was founded in 1961 and was a contract printed circuit board manufacturer located in Woburn, Massachusetts.. PCC provided its products to companies in the electronics, instrumentation, medical, telecommunications, and automotive industries. The majority of the boards produced were multilayer.
Falco Electronics is a multinational Mexican electronics corporation founded in 1991, in Mérida, Yucatán, México. The company sells products under its own name and also acts as an ODM, OEM and ECM/EMS.
In 2022, Enics merged with Denmark’s largest electronics manufacturer GPV, becoming one of the leading EMS manufacturers with European headquarters.
Onanon is a design, engineering and manufacturing company specializing in the automating panel array manufacturing process, which can produce multiple units in a single session. The company utilizes engineered plastics for manufacturing, using high-speed machinery and automation to produce connectors in large batches. The process removes the need for human handling, thus reducing the probability of error. Onanon utilizes printed circuit boards as a base to add other components. Headquartered in Milpitas, California, Onanon is the first company to introduce a PC board as a connector pin substrate, a technique which is considered standard today but was seen as revolutionary at the time.
In electronics, prototyping means building an actual circuit to a theoretical design to verify that it works, and to provide a physical platform for debugging it if it does not. The prototype is often constructed using techniques such as wire wrapping or using a breadboard, stripboard or perfboard, with the result being a circuit that is electrically identical to the design but not physically identical to the final product.