Engineers and technicians often wonder how to reduce the cost of assembling printed circuit boards (PCBs) or the cost of traditional assembly operations. Fair price PCB assembly includes labor, skills, turnaround time, component packaging, and the number of PCBs required. The PCB Manufacturing Cost Calculator helps you determine the exact cost of your work. However, most PCB assembly units cost between $10 and $50 depending on the number of units produced. If most of the above factors remain the same regardless of location, then labor costs vary by location. Therefore, several factors must be considered to achieve Fair price PCB assembly.
Factors that offer a fair price PCB assembly:
The above estimates are approximate and do not include all tools and installation costs. In general, the cost of assembling a PCB can vary greatly depending on the PCB manufacturer. Below we describe some of the factors that affect the cost of manufacturing PCBs and how you can reduce them. Understanding these factors allows you and your contract manufacturing partners to customize each of them during the design process to minimize the financial impact.
Labor Costs - Fair price PCB assembly
The labor involved in PCB assembly is affected by the geographic location of the PCB. Because PCB manufacturing involves skilled manpower processes and automated equipment, labor costs can be significant. As a result, companies have an incentive to produce PCBs in areas where labor is cheap.
For example, a PCB assembled in South Asia is typically several times cheaper than a PCB manufactured in North America or Western Europe. Assuming a three-day turnaround time, the average assembly cost in North America is approximately $1,100. For comparison, the same number of boards cost $545 in the People's Republic of China.
However, for overseas manufacturing, costs may increase due to delays in shipping, handling, and communication. As a result, low-cost manufacturing can include contingencies to consider before contracting with foreign manufacturers.
Turnaround Time matters in Fair price PCB assembly
When asked, "How much does it cost to assemble a PCB?", the first answer that comes to mind is: What is the estimated travel time? Lead time is the time it takes to complete the production process and satisfy the buyer's request. In general, it is more expensive to wait for a requirement to be met sooner.
Buyers needing shorter turnaround times can increase their PCB assembly cost by a third (ie 33% or more). Shorter turnaround times tend to drive up assembly prices, as companies often have to abort existing orders and prioritize orders. Similarly, expedited shipping, which reduces turnaround times, costs more than regular shipping.
Quantity of boards to be assembled include in Fair price PCB assembly:
Assembly prices can be quite deceptive for small quantities. The total cost of assembling a board prototype may seem much less compared to the total cost of a mass-produced board. But one thing people don't notice is that assembly costs drop very sharply in mass production. Assembly cost is a combination of many factors such as initial setup, stencils, and programming. So, for a prototype board, this cost is very high, but for a large batch it is a one-time cost and it is negligible because it does not need to be repeated over and over again.
Parts Packaging role in Fair price PCB assembly
Some parts require more labor to pack and assemble correctly. For example, electrical equipment such as BGAs requires more time and effort to pack because they need to be connected to a power source. Because BGAs have electrical contacts, they need to be x-rayed to check for shorts, which can spike assembly costs.
How To Save Money On PCB Assembly:
PCB Design:
Cutting costs on PCB assembly starts by knowing how to design PCB optimally. Many factors determine the final price of bare PCBs including the following:
Surface finish type:
When you need specific board properties, like a high TG, thermal rating, low dielectric constant, or fireproof components, expect to pay more for your board and component materials.
Fortunately, you can give your contractor some flexibility to reduce PCB fabrication cost here. Simply tell your electronics contract manufacturer (ECM) on your bill of materials that it has the go-ahead to use alternate brands of PCB materials with similar traits.
This inclusion of flexibility into the design should apply down to the component.
Size and shape - Fair price PCB assembly
It's probably obvious that bigger boards are more expensive. However, you need to make sure that the design fits the panel correctly. Homes with
bare boards use a variety of support material sizes from 14x18" to 24x30". Most PCB manufacturers, including Streamline, use 16x18, 18x21, and 18x24. Streamline Circuits goes beyond the standard by offering 21x24 and 24x30 for applications ranging from large circuit boards to long and flexible PCBs. The usable area of an 18x24 panel is 16x22. Using only part of the board will cost you money.
Layer count
More copper layers also increase the cost of PCB manufacturing. Complex PCB designs require numerous connections between resistors and other components, which limits the amount of savings you can make here. These types of complex designs often require layered assemblies that require updatable connection configurations.
SMT Vs Through-hole Technology:
Surface Mount Technology (SMT) is automated in most modern electronics manufacturing facilities. Naturally, this lowers the cost of custom PCBs on average, at least in terms of labor.
Thouugh-hole technology continues to be used in classic manual placement. Sometimes they are still needed for overloaded connections, such as mains, but most often they have been replaced by SMT. As the cost of custom PCB design increases, you want to reduce the end-to-end process in your manufacturing process.
Each of the elements listed above can be redesigned to reduce costs when manufacturing PCBs. For instance, “vias” are responsible for building connections on the circuit board. Whether you opt for blind via or a buried via will affect the price of the product.
Comprehensive Bill of Materials:
Create a bill of materials (BOM) that encompasses all the components and subparts required for manufacturing the PCB. We suggest using this PCB design checklist to determine whether your BOM includes all necessary items, including assemblers, part numbers, reference designators, and footprints. A good BOM should also include replacement parts for each component.
Order Time and Quantity
Order quantity and time are important factors in determining the price of a product. In general, the higher the order quantity, the lower the unit price due to economies of scale. Choose only manufacturers that can meet your company's order volume and turnaround time. Keep lead times as lenient as possible to minimize costs while respecting your product's PCB design constraints.
Inspection and Testing
If the quality of the product must be degraded, the cost savings are not worth it. Therefore, products must always be tested and validated to ensure that defective PCBs are not brought to market. If you don't, you may find that the cost of refunds and customer relationship disruptions outweighs the savings by skipping the due diligence. Use the Track Width Calculator to accurately monitor the temperature of the tracks on the inner and outer layers of the
PCB. Using the right validation protocol minimizes long-term risks to the company and ensures that the circuit responds and adapts to various temperature conditions.
The Easy Rout:
PCB assembly service is priced based on quantity and shipping requirements, the degree of design support required by the ECU, and expectations for board performance. The easiest way to optimize
electronics manufacturing costs is to work with a turnkey PCB manufacturer with proven expertise in the industry. This will not only reduce shipping costs and the number of communication failures but also ensure that you have a partner with the appropriate certificate.
What Makes Europe PCB Different?
Extremely Fast Prototyping
Europe PCB can manufacture prototype printed circuit boards for up to 24 hours! More complex prototypes up to 3 days and production in 10 days.
Unique Technology/Process
We have perfected a unique process that uses positive acting liquid photoresists. This resistance allows us to use proven technologies in a unique way to get consistent products while pushing the envelope on capabilities.
Great Service
We are always there for customers, we always try to make our process better and work with customers to improve quality with Fair price PCB assembly. We have above 99% on-time shipping delivery!
Always Investing Into R&D
Research and Development are an integral part of what makes us unique. We strive to continually improve, be faster, increase capabilities, and find new ways to make the customer happy.
All these features make Europe PCB different from other manufacturers. Our priority is to have happy customers or clients. If the clients are satisfied then it means that we have fulfilled the goal of our manufacturing and designing. Our services are clear and all of our deals are perfectly transparent. We have a large number of experience in our industry that’s why we are the top seller of fair price PCB assembly. Connect us for further details.
