What Are The Factors Determine The Cost Of A PCB Fabrication And Assembly?

As the perpetual innovations being a vital stuff that people eagerly yearns for, the world of electronics have shown an upward slope in growth map across the globe. Amongst all, the bedrock to all electronic devices is the printed circuit board. Every other day the design changes and the miniaturization are trending that heads the innovation into making a user friendly sleek and compact PCB with many features fitting into it. The range of circuit board inflates from simple single layer rigid layouts to complex multi layered PCB assemblies. This has made the electronic manufactures to shop for a cost effective and high quality PCB fabrication. The factors that determine the cost in PCB assembly is what this article guides. Going through this article will help the PCB fabricators as well as the electronic manufacturers to locate the exact area where they can control the cost in PCB fabrication.

‘Going complex with the compact’ is the new buzz marked in the upcoming electronic developments that has made the wearable technology to become a strong driver to upgrade the living standards of people. This has made the PCB fabricators to become a manufacturing shark in the electronic market with capabilities to proffer a well defined inventory of materials, wide range of laminate materials, a strong team of PCB experts and state-of-the-art manufacturing unit to compete and survive in the market.

On the other hand, as the competition raises the bar to come up with ceaseless innovation in electronic instruments, the electronic manufacturers and the OEM’s now focus on the cost drivers to offer a high quality reasonable product in the market. With this, the PCB procurement process circumscribes the overall cost of the final product. This makes it pretty important to first understand the cost drives involved in the PCB fabrication which can help the electronic manufacturers to control the cost and get quick turnarounds.

Let’s take a dive into the factors that determine the cost of PCB assembly and PCB fabrication:

The basic and common factors include the raw material cost, the labor cost, the facilities and equipment overhead. Furthermore, the chemical processes involved in the PCB manufacturing, waste water management and other permits to be taken that becomes the part of regular cost drivers for PCB manufacturers.

The primary cost considered in PCB assembly includes

The size of the circuit board is a major factor determining the cost of production. The bigger the size of the board will require more material to be used. This is a crucial step affecting the cost of PCB production. As sometimes, depending on the specific dimensions, the board is built in less area estate but proves to be costly. This is because in many cases, one dimension suits it better than the other.

The overall number of holes to be drilled and the size of the holes to be drilled in the circuit board is also a strong factor considered while calculating the price of the PCB. The % in price rises with the number of holes to be drilled. This involves the customization in the manufacturing process with arranging the large counts, small hole size and the total panels drilled at a time.

Quantity is at the mainstream when looking into the cost drivers in PCB assembly. Bulk orders proves efficient for the PCB manufacturers in offering great discounts as they can raise the level of production efficiency in addition to reducing the cost of the product.

Adding layers to the mix will add up to the cost. The number of layers in the circuit board is also one of the major aspect looked into while calculating the cost of PCB fabrication. Be it single layer, double layer, quadruple layers or multilayer circuit boards, the prices vary as per the need of using the amount of material melds.

Other factors that prove a strong cost driver are:

The lead time to deliver the order also plays a crucial role in calculating costs.

The smaller, the need to feature the trace and space on the circuit board, cost will have a modest rise.

The cost gets customized with the selection of different material combinations and the desired thickness needed in manufacturing the PCB.

The secondary elements affecting the cost of PCB fabrication are the copper weight, solder mask, routing, silkscreen color and impedance control. These additional manufacturing steps become a cherry on a cake in considering the cost. The corrosion resistant surface finish, filling vias, rigorous quality inspection techniques and other additional fabrication on the circuit board prove to be strong drivers to calculate the cost of PCB assembly.

Technotronix is one of the leading provider of pcb layout and PCB fabrication services to all the dominant industries. Having a well built manufacturing unit with a strong tool room and a team of experts, we are the one that provides cost effective solutions with keeping quality at the nucleus in each stage of PCB manufacturing. To get proper consultation or share your requirements to get a perfect PCB with cost effective strategy or to get a quote, drop an email to sales@technotronix.us or give a call @ 714/630-9200