PCB Prices of Europe PC

What Factors Have an Impact on PCB Prices

1. Substrate used for PCB

Taking ordinary double-sided panels as an example, the sheets generally include FR-4, FR-1, CEM-1, CEM-3, etc. The board thickness varies from 0.2mm to 3.0mm, and the copper thickness varies from 0.5 ounces to 6 ounces. All of these have caused a huge price difference in the sheet. The difference of the sheet metal suppliers makes the sheet of uniform specifications also have a price difference of tens of yuan per square meter. Even the same board supplier has several specifications. In addition, inks, character inks, etc., so the difference in materials causes the price variety.

2. PCB surface treatments vary greatly in production costs

Different surface treatments will cause different costs. Such as gold-plated PCB and tin-sprayed PCB, making shape gongs and die punches. The use of silkscreen lines and dry film lines will result in different costs, leading to price diversity.

3. Different PCB difficulty causes different prices

The difficulty of PCB itself will also cause different costs. If you want to look at the circuit on the PCB, if the wire density is less than 4/4mm, the price will be calculated separately, whether there is a BGA bit, etc. There are 1000 holes on the two kinds of circuit boards, and the hole diameter of one board is greater than 0.6mm and the hole diameter of the other board is less than 0.6mm, which will result in different drilling costs. For example, the two circuit boards are the same, but the line width and line spacing are different, one is greater than 0.2mm, and the other is less than 0.2mm, which will also cause different production costs. Because of the higher scrap rate of difficult boards, the cost will inevitably increase, which will result in price diversity.

4. Different customer requirements

The level of customer requirements will directly affect the yield of the board factory. For example, a board according to IPC-A-600E, class1 requires a 98% pass rate. However, according to the requirements of class3, there may be only a 90% pass rate, which results in different costs for the board factory, and finally leads to volatile product prices.

5. PCB manufacturers are different

Even for the same product, because different manufacturers have different process equipment and technical levels, different costs will result. Nowadays, many manufacturers like to produce gold-plated panels because of the simple process and low cost. However, some manufacturers produce gold-plated panels, and the scrap will increase, resulting in higher costs. Therefore, they prefer to produce tin-sprayed panels, so their quotation for tin-sprayed panels is instead of gold-plated panels low.

6. Different payment methods

At present, PCB manufacturers generally adjust PCB prices according to different payment methods, ranging from 5% to 10%. As a result, price differences are also caused.

7. Different regions cause price diversity

There are certain differences in prices in different places, so different regions also cause price diversity.

• PCB board cost (different board, cost is different).
• Drilling costs (the number of holes and the size of the aperture affect the drilling costs).
• Process cost (different process requirements of the board lead to different process difficulties, and even prices will vary).
• Manual water and electricity plus management costs.

How to reduce PCB assembly costs?

Spend enough time to present a complete list of classified materials. A valid BOM should include all basic elements such as reference mark, part number, description, quality, SMT method, manufacturer name, footprint, packaging, and BOM level. The most important thing is to add component replacement elements in the BOM. Because technology is evolving faster, and it is necessary to immediately replace old elements with new ones to match competitive market trends.

Avoid extra cutting on the circuit board, which may increase the cost of PCB assembly. This will not have a significant impact on brand identity or functionality.

Continue to perform rigorous DFM inspections to detect specific circuits that are normally implemented. The cost of PCB assembly can be gradually reduced.

Consciously choose professional experts and reliable PCB manufacturers/PCB assemblers. Most PCB assemblers claim to provide cost-effective PCB assembly services. But many customers are not satisfied because they have not received what they claim. In order to avoid these important problems, choosing a reliable and creditable manufacturer will save you a lot of trouble in the future.

europepcb is a professional expert who can meet the requirements of PCB assembly, PCB manufacturing, PCB layout, PCB prototyping and PCB rework. And establish good relationships with a wide range of customers from different industries. Our PCB expert team is ready to provide you with support to reduce PCB costs without affecting the quality. Welcome to contact us!