EMAC Inc. embedded system manufacturing stands out from the typical electronics contract manufacturer. Here’s how:

We’re US-based: Our entire operation, from engineering and manufacturing to testing and integration, is located right here in Carbondale, Illinois. This means your valuable designs and information never leave the country.

We’re engineers at heart: We don’t just assemble boards; we design and optimize them. Our unique “closed-loop” manufacturing process ensures constant communication between our engineers and production team. If an issue pops up, we don’t just work around it. We get to the root cause and make design improvements through Engineering Change Requests (ECRs). And if it’s an EMAC design, you’ll always have the final say on any changes. This collaborative approach leads to higher quality, faster production, and ultimately, lower costs for you.

We track our performance: We’ve even developed custom software to track our first-pass yield, giving us concrete data on how design improvements impact production efficiency.

We handle complexity with ease: Our closed-loop system allows us to confidently tackle complex board designs that might intimidate other manufacturers. Many rely on an “open-loop” process, simply building what they’re given without feedback or design analysis. This can lead to production headaches and increased costs. Our proactive approach ensures a smoother, more efficient manufacturing process.

Types of testing EMAC Manufacturing utilizes to improve board manufacturing provide-

• Automated Optical Inspection (AOI)
• In Circuit Testing (ICT)
• Automated X-Ray Testing (AXT)
• Boundary Scan Testing (BCT)
• Functional Circuit Testing (FCT)

Since EMAC is primarily an Engineering company, we can work with you to design and produce custom Test-Sets for each project. Using some or portions of the above automated tests EMAC can offer the best testing for each Product. Additionally, we have written custom test software known as Test/Programming Application(TPA) that can be adapted to program and test virtually any Product. The TPA automates programming, testing, and logging of test output logs to our Board Tracker Database. The Board Tracker Database stores the First Pass Yield, any failures, and the history of each board by serial number on the server or locally on the Test-Set database logs stored within the Test-Set. These testing logs can be utilized during board reviews or design changes, to identify problem areas that need attention or updates to reduce these failures. The use of TPA Test Software reduces the Test-Set development cost and provides a better user experience. Doing customer reviews and designing custom Test-Sets allows us to be intimately familiar with a customer’s board assuring that we can exceed customer expectations with the production of their boards.

For more information on EMAC’s testing and how to incorporate these into your designs see our whitepaper:  PCB Assembly Testing and Best Practices (Download PDF)

EMAC Manufacturing can build to the specifications needed by the project, defining any required standards during the design process of the project, goes beyond just quality soldering standard levels:

IPC-A-610, Class 2 is our default build standard and inspection for all Screening Circuits assemblies. Class II inspection ensures a consistent level of quality in manufacturing, Repeatability in testing, and long life for any embedded or industrial-grade products.

IPC-A-610, Class 3 is the highest standard for electronic assemblies with very low tolerances and utmost consistency–used for extremely demanding applications and harsh climates. When specifications are tight, failures in the field need to be reduced, and higher resistance to outside forces(shock, vibration, moisture, or other chemicals). While generally specified in medical, military or anywhere highly reliability or harsh environment where electronics require zero downtime.

Not only does EMAC design and build your devices, we specialize in protecting them to ensure a long service life when client requirements demand this service. This includes ruggedizing and testing for the most extreme applications and environments. The EMAC engineering team provides recommendations on testing and additional steps necessary to protect the final product.

Increasingly, EMAC simplifies manufacturing and the supply chain for our customers. EMAC’s facility is dedicated to engineering, manufacturing, system testing, assembly and box build services all at our single location. EMAC can even provide order fulfillment services including direct order processing, pick and pack and final product configuration on a variety of products.  We support fully tested and assembled box build services with an experienced team who ensures that every product shipped from EMAC’s facility meets our customer’s stringent order fulfillment and logistics demands.

• End-to-end process management
• Quality processes documentation
• System tracking, including asset tagging and serial number traceability
• Systems Ruggedization

All products produced, from the simplest adapter board from the most complex Industrial ARM Single Board Computer to the NVIDIA AGX Orin Artificial intelligence carrier boards, manufactured by EMAC’s manufacturing, go through the testing process at EMAC before they are ready to be delivered. From automated inspection and adjustment of the production line; this monitoring and feedback provides adjustments to the automated manufacturing section, as well as EMAC’s Engineering. Allowing EMAC’s manufacturing to make boards with fewer failures and higher reliability on their first pass. Products then pass through Automated and full hands-on visual inspections during through-hole component installation and board assembly finalization. To a final processing in our manufacturing testing section, where functional testing is performed, along with any software programming and a final quality check. This is all done prior to any product being packaged for shipment or sent to the Integration department for any further testing and assembly into more complete systems.

The quality management system of EMAC for our Manufacturing Department’s processes meets the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001 and we maintain a ISO 9001:2015 certification.