It frequently does not make sense to invest in high-priced production gear if you just want to spin a handful of prototypes and alternatively outsource your PCB assembly and prototype manufacturing to a trusted vendor. I will give some guidelines as to what to watch out for when hunting for a contract manufacturer.
Quite a few contract makers will offer you an immediate quote mechanism on their website for manufacture of circuit boards and assembly of prototypes. This will save you time when comparing diverse vendors. Make sure that the quote method allows you to enter all of the particulars, such as board material, thickness, copper thickness, milling and so forth. so that you can get an correct quote without the need of any surprises later on.
Normally the cost per board will lower as quantity increases. This is due to the fairly higher setup price of circuit board manufacturing and component assembly. Some vendors will use a method exactly where they combine boards from a number of customers. This way the setup price will be distributed amongst numerous clients. When you manufacture a product, you certainly do not want to have to manufacture a massive quantity of boards ideal away while you refine your design and style.
1 limitation with tiny-quantity prototypes even though is that the choice of materials and material thicknesses will be limited. If FC-BGA substrates are employing a specific material then chances are there won’t be any other consumers making use of the very same material. In addition, lead time plays a huge part in determining cost. A longer lead time allows the manufacturer much more freedom in slotting your production. This is typically reflected in reduce fees which you will see in the quote section. Certainly if you are in a rush and want to be moved to the best of the pile you will have to have to invest additional cash.
Make certain that your contract manufacturer will help the file format for manufacture that you offer. The most widespread format for PCB manufacture is the Gerber format but some vendors will also accept board files from widespread PCB software program products. Some suppliers also offer you in-home PCB design. Even if you design and style your board yourself, choosing a vendor with style services may well prove valuable in case there is a difficulty with your files. In this case your vendor can make fast adjustments which will stay clear of expensive delays.
When subcontracting PCB assembly, guarantee that your vendor can assemble all of the package sorts that your board utilizes. Some vendors cannot assemble specific sort of IC packages such as BGA, chip-scale packages or incredibly little element varieties. If in doubt be positive to get in touch with your vendor ahead of time.
Some contract producers will carry an inventory of common SMT and by means of-hole elements. You will save time if you can pull from your vendor’s inventory rather than acquiring every component oneself. Make positive to specify which components you want to consign yourself when you upload your bill of materials.
Most vendors will also provide manufacture of the SMT stencil which is expected for PCB assembly. Be positive to order the stencil appropriate away when ordering the circuit boards themselves to steer clear of delays.
To ensure that your circuit boards will perform, be certain that your vendor is quality certified and presents the tests and board inspection solutions that are necessary. Please note, nonetheless, that particular tests, such as ICT testing requires further time and cost to prepare appropriate test fixtures.