Electronic parts manufacturing market reports a CAGR of around 7% for the next five years, and CNC electronic parts deserve due credit for this growth. These parts contribute significantly to the manufacture and assembling of a wide variety of electronics goods.
From small consumer goods to large industrial equipment, CNC electronic parts find application everywhere. Moreover, with the electronic industry continuously evolving, the demand for complex electronic parts increases, consequently increasing the need for CNC machining for manufacturing electronic parts.
In this article, we will discuss how CNC machining supports the electronic industry with its unmatched features. But before we get to that, let's look into how CNC electronic parts link with the electronics industry.
Electronics is a massive industry. With me typing this article on a laptop containing innumerable electronic parts to you reading it on a similar electronic device, this industry influences our lives one way or another.
The electronic industry caters to a vast consumer base. From manufacturing consumer electronics to industrial goods, it encompasses everything. However, this industry has not grown without the support from smart tooling and machining process like CNC machining.
CNC machines are capable of producing small and precise CNC electronic parts. Therefore, these machines have accommodated the electronic industry's innovatively evolving demands and have contributed significantly to its growth.
Today, CNC machines can produce tiny equipment like diodes and circuit boards to huge components like a robotic arm's exterior.
Plastics, hard and soft metals are common raw materials in the electronics industry. A CNC machine's ability to produce CNC electronic parts out of hard and soft metals and plastics, without compromising precision makes this process so popular in the electronics industry.
But that's not the only reason electronics industry machinists prefer CNC. Here are some more reasons why CNC machining is the star of the electronics industry:
No industry has tolerances tighter than the electronics industry. Electronic parts are small and must be able to accommodate even smaller fixtures. Therefore, these parts cannot tolerate even slight variations from the design dimensions.
CNC electronic parts feature unmatched precision. CNC electronic parts manufacturers make them to accommodate the tight tolerances of the other electric devices.
The excellent precision of the process is one reason why electronic parts manufacturers prefer it over other processes.
The CNC machining process is fully automized. The only role that humans play in this process is to feed instructions to the machines and take care of the rest. Minimal human interaction reduces the chances of errors and thus, save cost by minimizing the material wasted.
Moreover, robots manage this fully automized process, and robots haven't started asking for salary (yet). So it minimizes labor cost. Furthermore, robots don't get tired as often as humans do, and they don't need to go home and rest. So, automized CNC process enhances turnaround time. No offence, fellow humans!
CNC machining manufactures CNC electronic parts with the subtractive machining process. Which means, it produces parts with sharp surface finish and eliminates the need for post-process treatments in most cases. Therefore, it enhances the production capacity of the CNC machine shop.
If the product does not come out as expected with CNC machining, you don't have to make changes to the entire process and all the process variables to adjust the product dimensions, like in injection moulding.
CNC machines offer quick iteration. All you have to do is make changes to the CAD file, and the machine will manufacture an optimized product.
The quick iteration opportunity is another factor that makes CNC machines lucrative for CNC electronic parts manufacturers.
We have been going on about how CNC electronic parts make up a significant portion of the electronic industries. We will now prove our claims with some examples of CNC electronic parts that you can find in most trivial objects and massive industrial robots.
Consumer electronics are goods that people buy for personnel use not for commercial or industrial use.
CNC machining was a massive part of consumer goods manufacturing. But it saw an increase in its population when the world leader in consumer electronics, Apple reportedly invested in 10,000 CNC machines to manufacture its Unibody Aluminium MacBook Pro.
Apple took this leap because, one, they had the budget for it. And two, they wanted to make a laptop that was sturdy and lightweight. Thus, they chose aluminium as the base material and CNC machined the laptop's body out of one concrete aluminium block.
Other companies that don't have the money to buy thousands of CNC machines still use CNC electronic parts such as a CNC machined keyboard frame, circuit boards, heat sinks etc.
Semiconductors are tiny, but they enjoy great popularity in the electronics industry. These devices feature conductivity not as much as that of a conductor. But is also not zero like a non-conductor, hence semiconductor.
Crystalline materials like silicon are the most common materials of construction for semiconductors. CNC machining is widespread in semiconductors' manufacture because the CNC machine can produce semiconductors from materials like Silicon, Alumina, Sapphire, etc.
These CNC electronic parts are made with very tight tolerances and precise dimensions because they are often used in tiny devices like sensors and transistors.
It is not wrong to regard Printed circuit boards as the building blocks of most modern electronic accessories. From simple consumer goods like keyboards to more complex and critical medical devices like CT scanners, PCBs are everywhere.
PCBs have two standard manufacturing procedures. These include the typical chemical etching procedure and the modern CNC machining where CNC machining is the efficient alternative to chemical etching.
Most CNC electronic parts manufacturers produce CNC electronic parts with CNC machining because they are highly automated and allow for precise drilling. This process is quicker, courtesy of automation and gives greater flexibility to modify PCB easily.
Moreover, CNC machining eliminates the hazards associated with chemical etching and is safer to do at home machining shops.
Heat sinks are an essential component of all electronic products. A Heat sink drives the electronic devices' heat away from them and ensures that they keep working optimally.
CNC machining can contribute to the manufacture of tiny heat sinks out of Aluminum and or copper, for smaller electronic devices. These CNC electronic parts are said to have better thermal conductivity than heat sinks made by other processes.
CNC machined heat sinks are preferred for short-run production and are an excellent option for quick prototyping because CNC machines promise a high production rate and can be easily programmed to make new products.
An electronic connector is a device that holds the electronics world together, figuratively not literally. These nifty little devices enable connecting two different electronic devices, like a laptop and a keyboard. Therefore, electronic connectors are found in abundance in all consumer and commercial electronic products.
CNC electronic parts manufacturers prefer the CNC machining process for producing electronic connectors because they have very tight tolerances. Only a CNC machine can manufacture them according to the right tolerance requirements.
CNC electronic parts provide unprecedented support to the electronics industry. CNC machines, by manufacturing highly precise electronic parts with tight tolerances have enabled electronic products manufacturers to venture into more complex electronic parts that enhance the product's functionality.
Some of the most common CNC electronic parts prevalent in consumer and commercial goods alike are heat sinks, PCBs, electronic connectors, semiconductors, laptop components, and in the case of Apple, entire laptop body.
If we ever take out the time and research, we will find many CNC electronic parts in the computerized goods that we use every day
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