ABL Circuits Ltd

The surge in sales for electronic devices during the pandemic created a huge demand for semiconductors. However, the COVID safety concerns at the time forced the semiconductor industry to operate at a less-than usual capacity causing a shortage of components. As a result, many manufacturers have been struggling with longer delivery times and supply chain disruptions. To help clients navigate this challenging landscape, ABL Circuits stepped up with its unique range of solutions. The company assists clients in modifying their existing products to avoid component shortages instead of relying on purchasing large quantities of inventory when it goes on sale. By doing so, they help ensure that their clients can maintain a steady supply of components and continue their manufacturing processes without major delays. “We offer a turnkey solution or what we call a total PCB solution,” says Will Leverett, director of ABL Circuits.

With 40 years of experience in providing state-of-the-art UK PCB Manufacturing Services, today ABL Circuits is a leading printed circuit board company. The company differentiates itself from other manufacturers in how it handles the entire production process—design work, bare board manufacture, assembly, and box build—under one roof. This comprehensive approach enables them to regulate and streamline the production process while reducing shipping costs and time. Additionally, ABL carries out numerous tests internally, developing their own test jigs or using customer-supplied jigs to deliver fully functional products that have undergone rigorous testing.

To ensure high-quality products, ABL inspects boards at every stage of production and assembly, guaranteeing that their products comply with IPC Class 3 standards when required. One of ABL's unique selling points is their ability to provide quick turnaround PCBs, ensuring fast lead times. They manufacture single-sided, plated through, multilayer, and aluminium-type PCBs. They also offer their clients the option to choose a third-party manufacturer for their PCBs for larger manufacturing. ABL uses a single off-shore PCB supplier which they know and trust and meets their manufacturing standards.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government launched a ventilator challenge to design ventilators that could save people's lives. At that time, ABL was designing and manufacturing ventilators for a UK manufacturer and approached the government with a proposal to redesign the ventilators to better suit their needs. After receiving approvalfrom the government, ABL redesigned the board and started production within just three working days. They delivered 15,000 Ventilator PCBAs to help those in need, making them one of the key manufacturers in the industry. This is in stark contrast to other companies that were still in the design phase.

ABL not only serves the community through their products but also in their involvement with construction projects for the Bill Gates Foundation. Furthermore, they have expanded their services to include manufacturing consultancy, with companies like Airbus, assisting with their product design and manufacture. Needless to say, ABL's flexibility and adaptability enable them to ensure timely product delivery, thanks to their highly experienced team. The company is proud to have employees who have been with them for more than 30 years, which speaks volumes about the business, its culture, and the working atmosphere. ABL's commitment to their customers over the decades has earned them a reputation as one of the country's most dependable and trustworthy PCB manufacturers, with a promise to deliver circuit boards "on time, every time."

One of the things we are most proud of here at ABL Circuits is, in our 30 years of business, we have some very loyal clients who have stayed with us for many, many years. As a PCB Manufacturer near London, we have developed a rather eclectic mix of companies that we provide printed circuit boards for – from medical and transport to cutting edge industry and sport. We thought it would be great to share some of our exciting clients with you each month, so here’s our first one…

The client…

Enjoyed by both children and adults alike, one of our many valued clients is the country’s leading laser games company allowing players the opportunity to fire harmless beams of infrared light at each other. Aiming at their opponents, the beams are detected by equipment worn by the players and that is where we come in – we have been providing Printed Circuit Boards to them for over 10 years.

What we do for them…

Our PCBs are used all over their laser tag arenas from the guns, backpacks and chest packs to the score boards and timers. With centres throughout the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, they keep us busy with large orders 2-3 times a year.

As a company, we are often chosen for our quick turnaround times and reliable delivery. Unlike many of our customers, their orders are usually placed in advance, but we have had times where they have required a fast turnaround and we ensure these orders are completed on time.

What are their needs?

As they have grown and become an industry leader, so has the work we have done for them. As with all the companies we deal with, we initially produce a PCB prototype before moving on to producing and assembling the main Printed Circuit Board. However, they initially came to us with their own designs, asking us to just provide them with the bare circuit boards. As their business grew, we began designing new boards, providing the layouts and now we also assemble them.

For a PCB company, they are a fantastic client as they are constantly evolving and looking for new ways to entertain their customers – keeping us on our toes in the process and ensuring we continue to deliver excellent service for each new product they wish to launch.

ABL Circuits Manufacturer Urgent PCB’s For Olympic & Paralympic ceremonies

With these two wonderful Olympic closing ceremonies, ABL Circuits Ltd were tasked with manufacturing ten different sets of PCB’s in a very short space of time, for the lighting display of the Bazilian performers. All were produced is less than eight hours from the receipt of the design data, an incredible achievement. The Brazilian performers put on a dazzling display for the whole world to enjoy, with the illuminations on the dancers courtesy of our circuit boards. Congratulations to all the competitors and the fantastic achievements of Team GB.

ABL Circuits Ltd recently received a phone call from a company in urgent need of our help. The company specialises in restoring vintage aircraft, including Spitfires, Avro Lancaster’s, Douglas DC3 Dakota’s etc. They offer a unique service, requiring highly skilled staff and techniques.

They approached ABL Circuits because we could offer the complete PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) solution, from the electronic design, to CAD layout, prototype boards and assembly. The customer needed a solution to a problem they faced with the communications between crew members and the pilot, as they were getting feedback across the system. They wanted the ability to enable different communication channels to be isolated, so they had a requirement for an audio isolator PCB, and came to ABL Circuits to achieve it.

Our electronics expert produced a circuit diagram and parts list to meet their specifications, and once approved ABL Circuits created the CAD board layout to suit the application. We manufactured the PCB’s in a couple of days and assembled them in a day to provide this impressive customer with working PCB prototypes.

They were delighted with the product as it worked perfectly solving their communication problem and ABL Circuits are very proud to have been involved with this prestigious company and assisting with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

This month, we are thrilled to tell you about an exciting client we have been working with recently– and what’s even more impressive is that you can see and use our work yourself!Her Majesty The Queen opened the permanent “Information Age Gallery” at the Science Museum in London on the 24^th October 2014 – sending her very first Tweet while she was there! Three years in the making, the Gallery celebrates over 200 years of communication and information technology.

Our role in this unique feature was to create a ‘Retro Radio’ – an interactive feature for children to “build”, plug in components and tune until they make it work.

The Science Museum was keen to work with a British company on the radio and approached a number of different companies before choosing us. They needed to make sure the product was flawless and knew we would provide the perfect device for their visitors.

We were involved in the “Retro Radio” from start to finish and we were able to see the project grow and develop – from an idea to a finished, working product. We were asked to create the electronic circuit and produce the CAD Printed Circuit Board layout. We then made the boards and assembled them before constructing the plug-in components for the visitors to use. You could say we provided the whole package!

As one of London’s major tourist attractions, the Science Museum welcomes over 3 million visitors each year so they need to ensure that their exhibitions and attractions work without fail. At ABL, we had to ensure, as we always do, that we produced impeccable PCB design, products and components for them so their visitors are not let down. Our PCB company were even invited to the pre-launch event so have been able to see just how well our product was received.

Here at ABL Circuits, we like to remember each and every one of our loyal customers and we take pride in everything we do for them. This value is one we adopted since we first began manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards many years ago.

We wanted this month’s case study to tell you a little about one of the first companies we ever produced PCBs for, a world leader in sound mixing desk manufacture.

The client…

There’s a pretty good chance you’ve been somewhere where their products are being used. They are successful in producing sound mixing consoles for large-scale concerts and theatre productions. Their products have been used in theatre productions worldwide – from Billy Elliot and Mary Poppins to Chicago and South Pacific as well as in huge concerts by artists from The Rolling Stones to Pavarotti.

What we do for them…

They contacted our PCB Company over 25 years ago to produce the printed circuit boards for their large mixing desks and we have been helping them achieve their deadlines ever since, with a huge range of circuit boards spanning years of technology changes and development, from same day urgent prototypes to large scale PCB batches. They are one of our longest standing customers.

What are their needs?

A highly successful company, they produce high-end mixing desks that are used all over the world with ABL’s highly reliable printed circuit boards inside. It’s safe to say, our PCBs are better travelled than many of us! Providing mixing desks for such prominent and well-established artists and productions means that it is vital that they produce faultless, high-quality equipment and, in turn, they need their suppliers – such as us – to produce the same level of craftsmanship. The fact that we have had such a long, successful working relationship with speaks volumes..!

We are often amazed at the huge range of applications in which our PCBs are used.
Recently, a member of our team was on a cruise ship and, while watching a presentation about the workings of the ship, discovered that ABL Circuits had manufactured and assembled the PCBs used to control all the features of the ship’s theatre automation. This includes using sophisticated electronic hardware and software to control the use of electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic power to move stage machinery, props, scenery, and ‘flying’ performers, achieving results previously unimaginable by manual stagehands.

The application of these circuit boards is a natural progression for our customer, who has supplied numerous world-renowned theatres across the globe, with shows such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and automation for the Marvel Universe Live – USA tour as well as TV shows, including the X Factor. Pop star Pink ‘flying’ at the iHeart Music Festival and Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” Tour also benefitted from sophisticated stage electronics.

With our circuit boards being used in situations critical to the performance, our customer depends on us to produce a top quality, reliable product which ABL Circuits have been supplying to this client for over 20 years. Their continued use of our printed circuit boards just goes to prove how we continually meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.

In some instances, ABL Circuits has provided this client with the complete service, from PCB CAD layout, through to the PCB manufacture and assembly. We project manage the entire process, reducing any stress for the customer.

Here at  ABL Circuits Ltd we can provide all your bespoke printed circuit board design, manufacturing and PCB assembly solutions as we offer the complete PCB service, from CAD Design, through manufacture to the complete assembled product, from our UK based factory located in Baldock, Hertfordshire. Through our contacts we can even assist with the initial electronic design stage. We have a very experienced workforce, and have been manufacturing PCB’s for 30 years, building long term relationships with our clients. We often Project Manage complete designs, so you’ll benefit by saving time, effort and money, allowing you to concentrate on your customers’ needs. Many recent projects have involved reverse engineering products whereby we computer scan artwork, photos or circuit boards with the components removed to produced CAD data for photoplotting to enable new PCB’s to be produced. This saves the costs involved in re-doing the CAD layout and ensures a perfect replica of the original, removing any risk of errors.

For your peace of mind, let us take away the risk, stress and worry and supply you the whole package.