Automotive and EV electronics, built under IATF 16949
Vehicle electronics live with heat, vibration, moisture and high voltage for years. The supplier also has to prove it, with records an OEM or a Tier 1 can audit. Our engineers design boards and power electronics for those conditions, and the Shenzhen factory builds them under IATF 16949. Engineered in San Francisco. Prototype builds, DFM and mass production in our own factory in Shenzhen.
What does IATF 16949 mean for my project?
It means the factory that builds your part runs the automotive quality system OEMs expect. IATF 16949 adds defect prevention, process control and supplier control to ISO 9001, and it asks for APQP planning and PPAP evidence before parts ship. The Shenzhen factory holds IATF 16949, so your launch plan follows that structure from EVT.
What we engineer for automotive and EV parts
Battery packs and BMS. Cell monitoring and balancing circuits, protection and isolation on high-voltage packs. Clean assembly matters here, because flux residue and moisture on a high-voltage board cause leakage over time.
Chargers and power electronics. On-board chargers, DC-DC converters and charging-station controllers. Large magnetics, heavy copper boards and high-voltage isolation are checked by hipot test in production.
Dense control boards. High-layer-count and rigid-flex boards for tight spaces, heavy copper for motor controllers, and thermal vias or metal-core boards for heat. BGA and QFN joints are checked by X-ray on the advanced route. See metal-core PCB and rigid-flex PCB.
Board design for the vehicle. Our engineers pick automotive-qualified parts (AEC-Q100 and AEC-Q200 grades), plan creepage and clearance on high-voltage nets, and place test points so every board can be tested in production. A second engineer checks every schematic and layout before delivery. See product design.
Firmware for vehicle boards. BMS, charger and motor control firmware: CAN communication, fault handling, bootloaders and the production test image. Firmware test results are kept per serial number, and production units ship with debug ports locked. See firmware development.
Field hardware in this industry
Automotive electronics span driver-assistance sensor modules, infotainment and digital cockpits, engine and body control units, on-board chargers and charging equipment, and LED lighting modules. Each brings its own load: high-frequency sensors and calibration, heat from processors and displays, engine vibration, high power, and LED binning for even brightness. We start every project by naming those loads and the test that proves each one.
How is an automotive part validated before volume?
Through the stage path, with automotive tests added at each step. EVT proves the design works. DVT units go through thermal cycling, vibration and humidity tests and produce a validation report. PVT runs on production fixtures and proves the process. You sign the golden sample, and production batches are compared with it.
Which tests a part needs depends on where it sits in the vehicle. These are the common DVT tests for vehicle parts:
The DFM review is repeated before DVT and before tooling. Production test fixtures are built before PVT, and the ICT and FCT stations run the production test firmware at PVT. When a production result drifts from the golden sample, an engineer reviews the drift before the next batch runs.
- Thermal cycling and thermal shock for parts near the engine, the battery or the cabin roof.
- Random and sine vibration for anything bolted to the chassis or a motor.
- Humidity and condensation for boards in doors, lamps and charge ports.
- Hipot and insulation tests for every high-voltage net.
- Coating inspection under UV light, where the board is conformal coated.
Quality records an auditor will ask for
Functional safety under ISO 26262 is a system-level case your team owns. We keep the build and test records that case needs. Read more on quality and certifications and testing and inspection.
- Risk analysis. Design and process FMEAs during planning, so the controls are in place before PVT.
- Process control. Statistical process control on the parameters that decide quality.
- Supplier control. An approved vendor list and incoming inspection on every part, with parts from a network of 350 audited suppliers.
- Traceability. Parts traced to reel and lot, and each unit's test results linked to its batch, so a field question can be traced to a batch.
What should a startup have ready before its first OEM audit?
A frozen design with a DVT validation report, process FMEAs and a control plan, test results tied to serial numbers, and a supplier list for the critical parts. An OEM or Tier 1 audits the system behind the part as well as the part itself. Building those records from EVT costs far less than rebuilding them later.
We keep those records as the project runs: a written report at each stage gate, the test results and the golden sample record. Your team then brings them to the audit instead of writing them after the fact.
First boards for a demo vehicle
Early boards for a demo vehicle or a pilot fleet can come from the portal: Advanced PCB & PCBA for dense or heavy-copper boards, and Custom mechatronic parts for brackets and housings. A free engineering review comes before you pay. Larger programs start with project initiation or a call with an engineer.
Recent work: a BMS controller for a high-voltage pack
An EV startup needed BMS controller boards for a high-voltage commercial battery pack, with automotive-grade parts and the traceability a Tier 1 customer would audit. We built the boards to IPC-A-610 Class 3 under IATF 16949, with conformal coating, thermal cycling qualification, in-circuit and functional test, and lot-level traceability. Read the case study.
Questions about automotive electronics
Do you supply PPAP documentation?
PPAP is part of the IATF 16949 system the Shenzhen factory runs. The submission level and elements depend on what your OEM or Tier 1 asks for, so we agree them in the official quote. Process flow, FMEAs, control plans and measurement studies are prepared during DVT and PVT.
Can a startup work with an IATF 16949 factory before it has an OEM contract?
Yes. Startups can begin with demo builds and pilot units while they win the contract. The design and records follow automotive rules from EVT, so the part does not need to be rebuilt for the audit later. You pay for the stage you are in.
Do high-voltage boards get a hipot test in production?
Yes, where a net carries high voltage. Hipot, insulation resistance and dielectric withstand tests run on the production line, with limits taken from your specification. The test is written into the test plan during DVT and set on the fixtures before PVT, so the first production unit is tested the same way as the last.
What workmanship class do you build automotive boards to?
IPC-A-610 Class 3 where the part needs high reliability, such as battery, charging and control boards. Class 3 sets tighter solder and assembly criteria than Class 2. We agree the class per board in the official quote, and it sets the inspection plan on the line.
Tell us what you are building
- An engineer runs a free engineering review of your files, and nothing is charged when you submit.
- You see the findings first.
- We publish the official quote with an itemized total, lead time and validity window.
- You accept the official quote, and only then does payment open.