China's PCB assembly industry has matured dramatically over the past decade. The image of the low-cost, low-quality offshore assembler is increasingly outdated—at least for the tier-one factories that serve industrial, automotive, and medical OEMs....

If you have never worked with a contract manufacturer in China before, the first article inspection process can feel opaque. You submitted your design files, your BOM, and your assembly drawings. The boards came back and look fine on the surface. B...