PCBA
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Electronics & Electrical
| Stands for | Printed circuit board assembly |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
PCBA stands for Printed circuit board assembly, an electronics & electrical abbreviation.
Printed circuit board with all its electronic components mounted and soldered, ready for testing and installation in a product. Contract manufacturers offer PCBA services from prototype runs to millions of units.
Example: The quote covers PCBA for 5,000 units, including automated optical inspection and functional testing.
Usage notes
The distinction matters in manufacturing and purchasing: a bare PCB is just the board, while a PCBA is populated. Assembly usually combines surface-mount reflow soldering with selective or wave soldering for through-hole parts. Defects are found by automated optical inspection (AOI), X-ray inspection and in-circuit testing.
Related abbreviations
More electronics & electrical abbreviations
- NEC – National Electrical Code
- NO – Normally open
- NTC – Negative temperature coefficient (thermistor)
- OLED – Organic light-emitting diode
- op-amp – Operational amplifier
- PCB – Printed circuit board
- PLL – Phase-locked loop
- PTC – Positive temperature coefficient (thermistor)
- PWM – Pulse-width modulation
- RCD – Residual-current device
- RFI – Radio-frequency interference
- RMS – Root mean square