Developing technical skills in PCB manufacturing

Before graduating with a Diploma in Electrical Engineering (Electronics), UiTM, all students are required to undergo industrial training at any company, whether government or private sector. I had the opportunity to undergo industrial training at AMC Cincaria Sdn. Bhd. Through this company, I gained a lot of experience and skills, especially skills in real­world electronics manufacturing. My participation in the PCB manufacturing process, from offline component preparation to final packaging, is the main topic of this reflective article. In my reflection, I address the technical difficulties faced, approaches to problem-solving, safety procedures, and the evolution of psychomotor abilities that have greatly aided in my professional development.
The production of PCB models was the focus of my everyday work. Begin with offline component preparation, electronic components such as capacitors, resistors and transistors were sorted. Following preparation, the PCBs moved to the Manual Insertion (MI) process. During this process, I reflected on how automation increases consistency and output, but it also requires occasional maintenance and calibration. The next stage was visual inspection and touch-up where all the PCBs from the wave soldering process are checked for solder shorts, insufficient solder, component misalignment and solder overflow. When defects were found, I learned to perform manual soldering using a soldering to remove excess solder. We cleaned the PCBs using isopropyl alcohol (IPA), followed by brushing and high-pressure air blowing to remove debris. Once the boards were cleaned and touched up, they proceeded to IC (Integrated Circuit) programming, where a programme was uploaded into the microcontroller as intended.