Generally, increasing automation requires some design changes, but you can start with the same basic design and end up with one focused on automation and another optimized for human asembly.  So, it&#x27;s a little more nuanced than you are suggesting.<p>PS: There are also at least demos of pick and place for through-hole components. But, I don&#x27;t know how production ready they are. (Manufacturing PCBs is not my area.)