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How to Truly Ensure High-Quality Electronic Assembly

One of the biggest challenges manufacturers face when they partner with teams to bring a product to conception is quality assurance. When a design engineer sends something off for assembly, they need to be able to rest assured that what they receive in return is going to reflect the quality they had envisioned.

Choosing the right manufacturing partner is the first step in ensuring that your product will be both the utmost in quality and compliance. Tramonto Circuits has a few ways of making sure of that, all the while consistently achieving a 99.83% quality ratio. Here are some:

Routine electronic assembly quality assurance techniques

Work with a partner who truly has a routine for this and has done it many times. We consistently conduct component testing and regular data backups and evaluate new production methods to ensure accurate products are produced with minimal waste. This also provides you with more cost-effective solutions.

Low defect rate

Look for a low defect rate with your manufacturing partner. Efficiency, timely manufacturing, and avoiding waste are all extremely important, but only if they are simultaneously producing low defect rates.

Attention to every detail

An engineer will almost always want their PCB to be ready for immediate use upon delivery. His or her manufacturing partner ensures this with a team of certified engineers and expert production staff that provides efficient electronic component builds. Tramonto Circuits has this reliable team to provide precision quality assurance at both the board and system levels.

Contact Tramonto Circuits today to get your quality product to completion with peace of mind.

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Why Implementing an ISO 9001 Quality Management System is Essential for Business Success

If you’re not familiar with ISO 9001, it’s an international quality management standard that helps businesses ensure that their products and services meet the needs of their customers. In other words, it’s a way of making sure that your company is run in a more efficient way. Here’s why becoming ISO 9001 certified is so important. 

All About Continuous Improvement

One of the big advantages of ISO 9001 is that it’s based on the idea of continual improvement. That means that once you attain your quality objectives, you don’t just sit back and relax. Instead, you continue to strive for even better results. As a result, certified organizations are better able to meet customer requirements and deliver high-quality products and services. This leads to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Enhanced Marketability

In today’s competitive marketplace, customers often seek out organizations that are ISO 9001 certified when looking for goods and services.  By becoming certified, you can enhance your marketability and competitiveness, giving you a leg up on the competition.

How ISO 9001 Is Implemented 

One of the great things about ISO 9001 is that it can be used by any type of organization, no matter what size or in what industry. That’s because the standard is flexible and doesn’t specify targets for quality or customer needs. Instead, it’s up to each individual organization to set its own objectives and improve its processes accordingly. 

The Benefits of Certification 

Once you’ve achieved certification, you’ll be able to show your customers that you’re committed to providing them with high-quality products and services. This can give you a competitive advantage and help you attract new business. Additionally, certification can help improve morale among your employees by showing them that their work is important and valued. 

Recently, Tramonto Circuits received our ISO 9001 certification.  Tramonto Circuits is a leader in electronic components manufacturing.  Our capabilities are flexible circuits, printed circuit boards (PCBs), flexible heaters and other custom-design components products for almost any circuit board needs.  We are a company that understands the importance of personal touch. Unlike other printed circuit board manufacturers, you will not be speaking to a sales representative when reaching out; instead, you will speak with engineers who talk with you directly about your specific needs and solutions.

From the very beginning, we discuss your needs, develop a solution, create a process, and keep you informed every step of the way. There’s never a surprise and with our 99.4% on-time success rate and a 99.8% quality ratio, you know from the beginning that you are working with the best.  To us, being ISO 9001 means one thing; that you, our client, are our number one priority.  Reach out today to see the Tramonto Circuits difference and how we can help shape more of your business.

Four Circuit Board Specifications to Consider

When it comes down to the specifics of designing your circuits, there are certain things to consider. Make sure your design partner knows the answer to your questions before getting too far in on your flexible circuit or printed circuit board design project. Think ahead about the following details to ensure you’re set up for success with your manufacturing partner.

 

Minimum trace width

Your manufacturing partner should know what the flexible circuit minimum trace width is in order to make your design. The flexible circuit minimum trace width is 4-5”. Tramonto Circuits can get down to 3” for traditional circuit boards.

 

Maximum layer count for your circuits

Ask your circuit design partner what they are comfortable with as far as layer count for your specific circuit. At Tramonto Circuits, we are comfortable in the six-layer range for flexible circuits and we have built up to ten layers. For circuit boards, we can go all the way up to 20 layers.

 

Limitations and/or possibilities

A common question we encounter is whether our client can attach components or heat-sinks to flexible circuits. Tramonto Circuits’ answer is yes, we do this every single day because flexible circuits are so widely used that making this possible was a must.

 

How much current do you need?

A flexible circuit can actually carry about as much current as a printed circuit board can carry. Ask your circuit design partner how many milliamps the design will hold.

 

Contact Tramonto Circuits today to help you find the answers to these questions for your circuit design. 

 

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What Makes Working with Tramonto Circuits Different

When choosing your circuit board manufacturing partner, you have a lot of options to choose from. So, how do you choose the right partner? What we can share is how we at Tramonto Circuits work with our customers and what makes us different from other circuit board experts.

Prioritizing what matters

The biggest issues design engineers face tend to be surrounding quality and late deliveries. We know that delivery delays and quality issues cause major issues that affect more than just your plans. Tramonto Circuits was started in 2008 to combat these problems and still does today.

Keeping up with the times

Tramonto Circuits started as just a flexible circuit company only. But, client demands led to the expansion of providing circuit boards and other circuit types, as well as assembly specifications as they evolved. Now, we can provide the design, assembly, and testing of multiple types of circuits

The evidence is clear

Both our on-time delivery rate and our overall quality ratio are over 99% each and every year. There are not many companies out there that release this data but we very closely track it each year to make sure we reach this and communicate it to our customers. You can be sure that working with Tramonto Circuits will bring you both quality and on-time delivery.

Our process is easy

After sending in your purchase order, we begin creating the assembly instructions, go through the design for manufacturing process, and communicate with the customer what their expectations can be for delivery. After the assembly process, the product goes through inspection and then we ship it, on time every time. Our customers know what to expect for their project when they begin working with Tramonto Circuits.

Industry knowledge

You want to find a circuit board manufacturer that has experience in your industry. Tramonto Circuits has worked with a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, medical, automotive, consumer, telecommunications, and industrial. The only industries we do not deal with are military and DOD.

Contact Tramonto Circuits today to start working with a reliable partner on your circuit manufacturing project.

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Everything you Need to Know about a DFM Analysis

The DFM analysis is an essential part of your manufacturing journey. Performing one early on in the process will ensure you hit less bumps along the road and avoid major roadblocks. Here’s what you need to know when preparing for a DFM analysis.

Yes, you do need a DFM analysis

Skipping this part of the manufacturing process could end up with costly mistakes and huge delays in getting your product to market. If you are designing a circuit board and need it fabricated, you need a DFM analysis. Designers with years of experience still don’t always know exactly what is needed for a specific process in fabrication.

What happens during a DFM analysis

Engineers will go over your design to make sure it meets all IPC standards and all manufacturing standards. The intention is to provide a robust, consistent circuit that can be duplicated with a high level of trust.

The benefits

The earlier your manufacturing partners can identify issues, the better the results will be for everyone all around. The DFM analysis is where this will happen and you can receive suggestions for changes that can significantly speed up the timing of your project.

How to find the right partner for your DFM analysis

Find a manufacturing partner who specializes in the market which you are developing. They will have the right expertise and can guide you in the best way. Tramonto Circuits specializes in flexible circuits and printed circuit boards. Contact us today to schedule your DFM analysis.

Learn more in our video:

 

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Everything you Need to Know About Flexible Circuits

Whether they know it or not, just about every human has encountered a flexible circuit and more than likely encounters them daily. They play a huge role in manufacturing and Tramonto Circuits has experience with just about every type of flexible circuit. Here is what we can share with you about flexible circuits.

What exactly is a flexible circuit?

The material that flexible circuits are printed on differs from regular circuit boards because flexible circuits are printed on a plastic polymer. They are thin and light and can be formed to any shape you want, unlike rigid circuit boards.

What everyday products do we use that contain flexible circuits?

Cell phones, laptops, microwaves, automobiles, and so many of the things you touch daily has at least one flexible circuit in it. The computer or mobile device you likely are reading this article on is full of flexible circuits.

What industries most commonly use flexible circuits?

Pretty much every industry uses flexible circuits in one way or another. The automotive and medical industries see them very frequently, but they are showing up almost everywhere now as the world continues to make technology that is smaller and lighter.

What do design engineers need to know about flexible circuit manufacturing?

Designing flexible circuit boards is actually very similar to designing the printed circuit boards that have been worked on for decades. If you’ve been designing printed circuit boards, you already know about 90% of what you need to know to build a flexible circuit. The only differences you have to keep in mind are how the signals move through the bend areas.

Learn more about the flexible circuit capabilities Tramonto Circuits can provide for you.

Watch our video about flexible circuits.

 

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What to Expect From your PCB Manufacturing Partner

When you are trusting your design to a manufacturing partner, your expectations for how you’ll be taken care of should be high. Losing time during the process means losing money on your hard-earned project and your PCB manufacturing partner needs to know that. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing the right partner to help you with your PCB design.

They go above and beyond

A good manufacturing partner will keep track of items with longer lead times for you to keep things organized and on schedule. A design engineer’s job is not to keep track of all those things himself or herself. 

They stay on or ahead of schedule

A good PCB manufacturer should be able to identify quickly whether a design is going to have a mistake on its first round of boards. Their goal should be to help you get right through to the first round of testing sooner than later.

They deliver on time

On-time delivery seems to be a lost art these days. Tramonto Circuits makes it a priority. We understand that if we don’t deliver to our customers on time, they lose money. A 70% on-time delivery rate is roughly the industry standard. Tramonto Circuits reaches between a 98.15 – 99% on-time delivery rate year after year.

They communicate with your suppliers

You should be able to get intelligent answers from your manufacturing partner. They should be able to speak the language with your suppliers. For assembly partners, they should be able to communicate with your production people and make sure they fully understand the customer experience your product is supposed to deliver.

Learn how Tramonto Circuits has continually exceeded expectations for design engineers since 2008.

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What are the Most Common Industries that Utilize Flexible Circuits?

Flexible circuits consist of thin, lightweight electrical circuits that conform to small spaces and contoured 3D shapes including cubes and cylinders. Tramonto Circuits works together with companies in a number of industries to produce high-quality, cost-effective flexible circuits and electronic components to meet their design requirements. We understand that every application is unique and not one size fits all when it comes to circuitry solutions, so we offer a diverse range of solutions for all types of industries. Here are some of the most common industries in which you will encounter flexible circuits. 

Consumer Electronics

Items like paintball gun devices, invisible fence dog collars, lighted gift cards, and the fitness trackers and smartwatches you wear include flexible circuits. Tramonto Circuits supplies manufacturers of these products with smaller, lighter, easier-to-use, functional flexible circuits. Current trends tell us that consumers are looking for products that make everyday life more efficient, fun, and flexible and that is our focus when helping design engineers with consumer electronics products.

Medical Devices

The very critical nature of medical devices is not one to leave to chance. In life or death situations, accuracy, dependability, and exceptional quality matter.

Here are just a few of the areas in which Tramonto Circuits is proud to have earned a solid reputation:

  • Blood analyzers (used to test COVID-19 virus and antibodies)
  • Electric wheelchair safety circuits
  • Diagnostic imaging for throat and esophagus
  • Medical biological diagnostic equipment
  • Medical perfusion machines (keeping organs at body temperature for transplants)
  • BioTech Devices for educational labs and classrooms
  • Field alcohol detection devices
  • Specialized devices used during elective surgeries for pain management and speedier recovery
  • Field drug detection devices

Our specialized flexible circuits play vital roles throughout the medical community. They also play a role in transportation, industrial applications, aerospace, and more.

Learn more about Tramonto Circuits’ many industry capabilities and contact us today for a quote.

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Tramonto Circuits Achieves Near Perfect On-Time Delivery Rates and Overall Quality Ratio in 2021

Tramonto Circuits has upheld an electronics manufacturing industry reputation of providing on-time delivery to its clients and maintaining a high overall quality ratio for almost 15 years. In 2021, Tramonto Circuits achieved 98.15% on-time delivery and a 99.83% overall quality ratio.

2021 was a challenging year for all industries, especially manufacturing. Supply chain issues and long delays caused headaches all around. Tramonto Circuits was still able to maintain a very good on-time delivery rate against all odds because of its unrelenting commitment to customer service.

“I’m very proud of what we were able to achieve in 2021. The Tramonto Circuits team did an incredible job sticking to our core value, which is to help our customers every step of the way for their unique business solution needs. Our consistent communication, 24-hour quotes, and love for electronics helped us all power through an unprecedented year together,” said John Talbot, President and Owner of Tramonto Circuits.

Contact Tramonto Circuits today to ensure your next manufacturing project is completed to your complete satisfaction.

3 Things to Know About Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)

One of Tramonto Circuits’ 3 core services is printed circuit board (PCB) design, manufacturing, and assembly. With that said, our team knows PCBs better than the back of their own hands. Here are a few basics to know about PCBs.

1. PCBs are all around us

PCBs make our lives easier by connecting the electronics of everyday life. They are found in computer motherboards and just about every piece of technology we use today such as microwaves, smoke detectors, and LED’s. From medical field solutions used by doctors to computer monitors for business and entertainment systems, Tramonto Circuits can manufacture and assemble reliable PCBs at scale with quick turnarounds and dependable on-time delivery.

2. There are a few types of PCBs

PCBs can be either single sided circuits, double sided circuits, or multi layered circuits. These each have unique construction qualities, temperature ranges, qualification metrics and performance specifications, and design capabilities. They vary in layer count, hole size, copper thickness, and more.

3. PCBs undergo extensive testing

All of our circuit boards meet the necessary qualifications and performance specifications. Tramonto Circuits offers value-added solutions like testing to make sure you’re always satisfied with your circuit assembly results. We do functional testing of flexible circuits, flexible heaters, and PCB assemblies. We perform strain relief techniques to provide robust transition from flexible circuits to rigid stiffeners or connectors. You can be sure your circuits will meet all IPC standards with Tramonto Circuits.

Have a project? Request a quote or contact us for a free design for manufacturing analysis.