We’re excited to share some news from the production floor: we’re installing a new Ersa ECOSELECT 1 selective soldering machine here at Electrica, our electronic design and manufacturing facility in Manchester.

It’s a step that’s all about flexibility, not headcount. As our project pipeline grows more varied, we want production to be able to handle everything from small, special series work through to our bigger runs.

Why we’re investing now

If you’ve worked with us before, you’ll know our circuit board design team is consistently busy. Projects come in, ideas take shape, and the pace rarely lets up. Production is a different story. It ebbs and flows, largely driven by component availability and by the mix of standard and special-series projects. A delivery delay here, a batch arriving early there, and suddenly you’ve got a week where everything lands at once. As an electronics manufacturing service (EMS) provider, that’s a rhythm we know well, and one we’re always looking to plan ahead for.

That’s exactly the kind of flexibility the ECOSELECT 1 is built for.

It’s a compact, batch-type selective soldering system, and its standout feature is flexibility. Using proven Ersa selective soldering technology, it fits into less than 3m² of floor space, and its dual solder pot lets us switch between two solder alloys, or nozzle diameters, without the downtime of a full pot change.

What this means for you

Whatever the shape of the week, from a single special-series board to a batch of standard runs — which happens more often than any of us would like — this machine means we can move straight from one customer’s project to the next without yours slipping down the queue.

In practice, that’s:

• Consistent quality, whatever the project. From small, special-series boards to demanding multi-layer or heavy-mass assemblies, full-area preheating and precise control of the solder wave keep quality consistent.
• Faster changeovers between projects. Our CAD Assistant software builds new solder programs directly from CAD files or scanned PCB images, so we can move from one customer’s project to the next with minimal set-up time.
• Full traceability. An integrated process recorder and solder protocol document every solder wave height, temperature and level to ZVEI standards, giving you the paperwork to back up the quality.

Investing in the team, not instead of it

We’ve always believed that our people are what set us apart: their expertise, their judgement, and their commitment to getting things right. The ECOSELECT 1 doesn’t change that. It takes the repetitive, precision soldering work off their plate on our more complex and special-series projects, freeing them up to focus on the parts of the job that need real skill and attention: quality checks, problem-solving, and the finer detail work that machines simply can’t do.

It’s an investment in keeping pace with our own circuit board design capability, and in making sure that whatever the size or complexity of your project, you can still rely on us to deliver your printed circuit boards on time.

If you’d like to know more about how this fits into your project, or want to see the new machine in action, get in touch, we’d love to show you around.

Counterfeit electronic components are a bigger problem than most people realise. In 2024, reports of suspect and non-conforming parts reached their highest level since 2015, up 25% on the year before. And it’s no longer just obscure, hard-to-source parts being targeted. Active components, available through mainstream channels, are increasingly in the crosshairs.

For businesses that design and manufacture products dependent on electronics, that’s a risk worth taking seriously. Because once a fake part makes it into your product, the consequences can be significant.

The real cost of a counterfeit component

Counterfeit parts don’t announce themselves. They look right, they pass visual checks, and they make it through assembly. The problems come later.

Product failures in the field. Safety incidents. Expensive recalls. Regulatory non-compliance. In sectors like defence, medical, aerospace and industrial automation, the stakes are higher still, with potential legal and contractual exposure on top of the commercial damage.

Industry research puts the average cost of a single counterfeit component incident at upwards of £40,000 — and that’s before you factor in the reputational damage and the knock-on impact on your customers. For a product you’ve invested years developing, that’s a risk no one can afford to take lightly.

Why the risk is increasing

The global electronics market is growing fast, driven by demand from AI infrastructure, electric vehicles, smart manufacturing and more. Where demand grows, so does the incentive for counterfeit parts to enter the supply chain.

The most common route in is through grey market sellers and unauthorised brokers. When components are scarce or lead times stretch, the temptation to source outside authorised channels increases, and that’s exactly the moment when counterfeits thrive.

No sector is immune. Newer component types are being targeted for the first time. And the consequences of getting it wrong are becoming harder and harder to absorb.

How Electrica protects your product

We design, develop and manufacture electronics in-house, from initial concept through to finished product. That end-to-end control matters when it comes to counterfeit risk, because we own the supply chain from start to finish. You’re not dependent on a chain of third parties, each with their own sourcing practices and varying standards.

We source components directly from Original Component Manufacturers (OCMs) or their authorised franchised distributors as a matter of course. Everything that comes through our doors goes through rigorous incoming inspection, including X-ray analysis and functional testing, not just a visual check. And we maintain complete traceability on every part, so we can account for the origin and history of every component in your product.

When a component is obsolete and we need to source it from outside standard channels, we use AS6081 certified distributors only. AS6081 is an internationally recognised standard for independent distributors, specifically designed to prevent counterfeit parts from entering the supply chain. It means the same level of rigour applies, regardless of where the component comes from.

Our team also keeps a close eye on developments across the electronics landscape, including emerging supply chain risks. If something looks like it could become a problem for your project, we’ll tell you early, clearly and without fuss. That’s always been our approach.

What this means in practice

We work with customers across some of the world’s most demanding sectors. Defence. Medical. Aerospace. Industrial automation. The quality and compliance standards those industries require don’t leave room for shortcuts, and our processes reflect that.

For you, it means you can trust that the product leaving our facility is built from genuine, traceable components, inspected to a high standard, and backed by documentation that stands up to scrutiny. You don’t need to chase us for assurance. It’s built into how we work.

Let’s talk

If counterfeit component risk is something you’re thinking about — whether you’re mid-project, evaluating a new manufacturing partner, or planning ahead — we’re happy to have an honest conversation about your project and how we can help.

Call us on 0161 343 7575 or email sales@electrica.co.uk to get started.

In performance-critical electronics, quality failures aren’t just inconvenient. They’re costly, damaging and, in some sectors, dangerous. That’s why, at Electrica, quality isn’t something we talk about. It’s something we’ve built into every stage of what we do.

It starts with the right foundations

Our Quality Management System is certified to ISO 9001:2015, the internationally recognised standard for quality management. But for us, that’s a baseline, not a destination.

Since Electrica was founded in 2003, we’ve worked across some of the most highly regulated and performance-driven sectors around the world, from automotive and security to food and beverage and scientific instruments. The standards those industries demand have shaped how we work. They’ve made us better.

IPC certification

Most electronics manufacturers have one or two people with IPC certification. We’ve certified our entire manufacturing team.

Every member of our production team is trained and certified to:

• IPC-A-610 – Acceptability of electronic assemblies

• IPC J-STD-001 – Requirements for soldered electrical and electronic assemblies

• IPC-7711/7721 – Rework, modification and repair of electronic assemblies

We also have our own internal IPC trainers, which means our standards don’t depend on external schedules. We train on our terms, to keep our team sharp and your products right.

The equipment to back it up

Good process and good people need good tools. That’s why we run a continual programme of investment in state-of-the-art equipment. Not because it looks impressive. Because it makes a measurable difference to the quality of your product.

Our inspection capability includes:

• Unicomp AX8200max X-ray machine – identifies component and solder issues invisible to the naked eye, validating our process with precision

• Mirtec MV-3 OMNI 3D AOI machine – inspects every assembly for missing components, incorrect orientations, lifted parts and poorly formed solder joints

We’ve also installed a dry cabinet to protect boards from humidity-related issues, and ESD flooring throughout all manufacturing areas to eliminate static risks.

The result? A yield of over 99.6% and a return rate of just 0.2%.

Design and manufacture under one roof

One of the most common causes of quality issues in electronics isn’t poor manufacturing. It’s the handover between design and production. When these happen at different companies, things get lost in translation.

Because we handle everything in-house, from concept design through to manufacture, our engineers design with our own production processes in mind. No miscommunication. No compromises. Just a clean, efficient path from your idea to a product that performs exactly as intended.

What this means for you

When you work with Electrica, quality means:

• Fewer surprises. Our inspection technology catches problems before they reach you.
• Full compliance. Your product will meet the standards your sector demands, without you having to chase us for evidence.
• Competitive products. First-class quality strengthens your brand reputation and gives you an edge in your market.
• Real peace of mind. You can trust that your product will do exactly what you need it to.

Quality isn’t a department at Electrica. After more than twenty years, it’s simply how we work. It runs through every decision, every process, every person on the team. Because your reputation depends on it. And so does ours.

Want to see how we’d approach your project? Get in touch with the team at sales@electrica.co.uk or call us on 0161 343 7575 to discuss your requirements.

We’ve recently invested £1.2m in new equipment. Here’s what we bought, what it solves, and what it means for the electronics we build for you.

Consistent placement — every board, every run Hanwha SM482PLUS Surface Mount Machine

The challenge with high-volume or complex assemblies isn’t hitting the right placement accuracy once. It’s maintaining it across an entire run, across different component types, across boards that mix fine-pitch passives with large ICs.

The Hanwha SM482PLUS addresses this through on-the-fly vision recognition — identifying and calibrating each component in motion, compensating for pickup variation in real time. A polygon recognition algorithm handles irregular component shapes without manual reprogramming between jobs.

The first board off the line and the last one are built to the same standard. That’s what consistent placement actually looks like.

Solder joints that hold up in service Heller 1810 MK7 10-Zone Reflow Oven

Uneven heat is the hidden risk in reflow. A high temperature delta across a board means some areas run hotter than others — introducing stress, increasing voids, and damaging heat-sensitive components in ways that often don’t surface immediately.

The Heller 1810 MK7 gives us ten independently controlled zones, so we can build a thermal profile specific to your assembly. Temperature rise, soak time, cooling slope all controlled precisely. Cooling rates above 6°C per second when the design demands it, with strong thermal separation between zones to keep heat where it should be.

The result is higher first-pass yields and solder joints that perform reliably in service, not just at inspection.

Inspection that sees through the board Unicomp AX8200max X-Ray Machine

BGA packages, QFNs and other bottom-terminated components are soldered on the underside. You cannot verify joint quality with optical inspection alone, you need to look through the board.

The Unicomp AX8200max does exactly that, with a 5µm focus spot and oblique angle inspection up to ±60°, giving us a clear view of joint shape and void formation that a top-down approach would miss entirely.

It also gives us a robust check against counterfeit components, verifying internal geometry, die size and bond wire routing, all of which deviate from spec in fakes. It’s a real and growing supply chain risk. This is how we address it.

3D measurement, not just 2D inspection Mirtec MV-3 OMNI 3D AOI

Co-planarity errors, lifted leads and insufficient solder are three-dimensional problems. A 2D AOI system gives you a projection; a 3D system actually measures them.

The Mirtec MV-3 OMNI uses Moiré technology to build a full height map of every assembly, with a 15-megapixel camera and angled side-viewer capturing what a top-down view misses. Eight-phase coaxial lighting reduces false calls on reflective surfaces saving time that would otherwise be spent investigating defects that don’t exist.

We run every board through the AOI system. Every board, not just a sample.

The team behind the technology

Equipment is only part of the picture. Last year we invested £35k in staff development, putting our entire manufacturing team through IPC certification — A-610, J-STD-001 and 7711/7721. These are the industry benchmarks for assembly quality, soldering standards and rework.

Most manufacturers certify one or two key people. We certify everyone who touches your product, trained and examined by our own internal IPC trainer. The standard doesn’t drop depending on who’s on shift.

Built to remove the variables that cause failures

Across new equipment and a fully certified team, what we’ve built is a manufacturing environment where the variables that cause failures — placement drift, thermal inconsistency, hidden solder defects — are systematically removed.

If you’d like to see the facility or talk through what this means for your next project, we’d be glad to show you around.

Electrica Ltd designs, develops and manufactures performance-critical and complex electronics in-house at our UK facility. Get in touch to discuss your project.