The different forms of assembly explained

Assembly of electromechanical products and components

The assembly of electromechanical products and components has several facets: the mechanical parts, the circuit boards and the wiring. These three facets are crucial and must be well connected if the device is to function properly. 

For each facet, we explain exactly what needs to be done for the device to work most effectively.

The mechanical parts

Inside a device you will find several parts that need to be assembled. These are the mechanical parts that together with the circuit boards and wiring harnesses bring about the function of the device.

Part of this includes the housing. This can be a plastic, aluminum, metal or other type of material housing. The enclosure is like a shell of the device, containing within it circuit boards, wiring, motors and other components.

The circuit boards

A circuit board is a sheet of insulating material that serves as a support for electronic components. On it are copper wires, called traces, to connect these components. On a printed circuit board, all these components come together and can function as a result.

A printed circuit board is also called printed wiring, printed circuit board, PME (Print Assembly Unit) PWBA (Printed Wire Board) or PCB (Printed Circuit Board).

The cabling

Cables in a device are needed to establish connections between components or to connect the device. For providing signals, power or other supply, cabling in a device is crucial. There are different types of cables. Each cable has a different function. 

Confed has years of knowledge and experience in the field of cabling. We produce the perfect cables for every prototype or device. 

This is because it depends on each device which cabling you need. It also happens frequently that you need multiple cables in a device. Multiple cables together form wiring harnesses.

Cable harnesses

A wiring harness (or also called a wire harness) is a collection of electrical wires with connectors that electrically connect different components in a device to conduct current and/or signals. 

Cable harnesses are found in household appliances or computers, for example. Electrical wires are often secured with cable ties, clamps and sleeves.

Wire harnesses must also be assembled and tested with precision. 

After the wiring harnesses are assembled, a 100% check for connection and shorting of the wiring harnesses takes place. 

When setting up a production run, a tensile force test is performed. In this way we check whether the specifications of the terminal and applicator used are achieved. During production, the shrinkage height is also randomly checked several times. In addition, we can also perform customer-specific tests in consultation, such as resistance measurements.

We ensure that the wiring harnesses function flawlessly in your devices.

PCB assembly

For some electronics (assembly) you need PCBs. These also need to be assembled.

PCB assembly refers to the placement and fixing of components on PCBs (also known as printed circuit boards). PCB assembly is specific work and requires a great deal of knowledge and experience. Many companies that produce finished products have the PCBs assembled at specific assembly companies, such as Confed.

In this way, speed, but above all quality, is guaranteed.

PCB assembly in the Netherlands

Confed assembles PCBs in the Netherlands. Here we ensure that your PCBs are assembled quickly and qualitatively. 

At the Amersfoort facility, our production lines are ready to supply a wide range of high quality printed circuit boards. We can ensure quality by applying various PCBA techniques, such as Surface Mounting (SMT) and Through-hole (THT).

Our employees in this department have extensive experience and knowledge of PCB assembly. They enjoy thinking about optimizations and work flexibly and quickly.

Cable assembly companies

The cabling of an electronic device is also crucial, as we described above. This cabling, of course, must also be assembled. This too should be of high quality.

For the assembly of your cables and wire harnesses, the same applies as for having printed circuit boards assembled. Often the assembly is done outside the Netherlands and has many advantages for your company.

Mechanical assembly

Another form of assembly we discuss is mechanical assembly. 

By mechanical assembly, we refer to the process of assembling components within an assembly line. 

The term can also be applied to an assembled product or part made in this way. 

At our facility in Amersfoort we assemble customer-specific electrotechnical modules with a wide variety of variants. We have knowledge and experience of various disciplines. We like to think along and develop quickly and qualitatively.

Module Construction

When a company does module construction, some parts of the final product are assembled by the company itself and other parts are assembled elsewhere. This is often done when other companies specialize in a specific part of the final product. For example, consider a cooling element in a refrigerator or heating part in an appliance that needs to be heated. 

Through good arrangements with companies in different disciplines, a module can be produced and developed more cheaply at Confed.

Assembly at Confed

At Confed, we assemble different parts, in different locations, for different disciplines. From PCBs to modules, we have experience, knowledge and the right resources to deliver quickly, qualitatively and at the right price. 

Do you have questions or want to know the possibilities of doing your assembly at Confed? Feel free to contact us without obligation. We are happy to answer your questions and always think with you.