We are thrilled to announce a new fabrication partnership with PCBWay, one of the world's leading PCB manufacturers and rapid prototyping services providers. This collaboration will support UBC Rocket's avionics and electronics development across all three of our active projects: our COTS Competition Rocket, our Liquid Rocket Engine (LRE), and our Thrust Vectoring Rocket (TVR).

About PCBWay

PCBWay is a professional PCB prototype and manufacturing company serving engineers, student teams, startups, and organizations around the world. Founded with a commitment to quality and fast turnaround, PCBWay has grown into a comprehensive one-stop platform for hardware development.

Their services include:

• PCB Manufacturing — Supports 1 to 14+ layer boards, including high-speed communication buses, impedance-controlled traces, and fine-pitch designs.
• PCB Assembly (PCBA) — Full SMT and through-hole assembly with complete BOM and component sourcing support.
• 3D Printing — A wide range of technologies including SLA, FDM, SLS, and more for rapid structural prototyping.
• CNC Machining — Precision machined parts in metals and plastics for custom mechanical components.

With competitive pricing, reliable quality control, and dedicated support for student teams and engineering projects, PCBWay is a trusted partner for hardware developers at every stage.

Why PCBWay for UBC Rocket?

UBC Rocket designs and manufactures custom electronics for each of our active projects. This year, our boards include a flight controller revision for the Thrust Vectoring Rocket, a full avionics suite featuring a system-on-module carrier board and high-rate control electronics, and dedicated engine control boards for the Liquid Rocket Engine. We also maintain a custom ground station to support launch operations.

As a student team operating on a limited budget, access to reliable and affordable PCB fabrication is critical to turning our designs into reality. PCBWay's combination of multi-layer PCB capability, quick turnaround, and proven support for academic and student engineering teams made them a natural fit for our needs.

Looking Ahead

With PCBWay's support, UBC Rocket will be able to fabricate and iterate on our avionics hardware faster and with greater confidence heading into the competition season. We're incredibly grateful for this partnership and look forward to featuring PCBWay's contributions throughout the 2025–2026 year as all three of our projects compete at the 2026 Launch Canada Challenge in Timmins, Ontario.

Stay tuned for more technical updates, board revision write-ups, and competition coverage on the UBC Rocket blog.