To install components onto a circuit board. A board can be fully populated, meaning every footprint has a component, or partially populated, where certain sections are left empty to save costs on features not required for a specific product tier.
Heard on the job
Don't populate R12 and R13 on the Rev B boards, as we're dropping support for the legacy sensor.
Also heard as
- stuff
Related terms
Depopulate
To intentionally leave specific component footprints empty during assembly.
Stuff
To load components onto a bare board, by hand or machine; a stuffed board is an assembled one.
Pick-and-place
Automated machine that picks surface mount parts from reels and trays and sets them on a pasted board.
BOM
Bill of materials: list of every part on an assembly with designators, values and part numbers.