If you need to produce several prototypes which need PCB assembly, it doesn't make sense to acquire expensive equipment. As an alternative, you might want to outsource the production to a dependable vendor. Numerous vendors will offer both PCB production and assembly. I am going to assist you find a suitable vendor and give some tips as to what to look out for when choosing a vendor.
Frequently you will find a quote system on contract manufacturer websites. Using this system, you can obtain an instantaneous quotation for your board or assembly. This will help you save time when comparing different manufacturers. You should be able to enter all of the board data like board thickness, material etc. and special requirements such as milling, surface treatments into the quote system. This will ensure an accurate quote without the risk of surcharges afterward.
If you produce a low volume of boards, the cost typically will be higher per board than the cost when producing a larger volume. This is a result of the board production and assembly setup cost which is usually fixed. A number of vendors which specialize in smaller-quantity prototype manufacture will employ a system where boards from numerous customers are combined. This allows the setup process to be done once for a number of orders which will help lower the cost per board. For medium volume, employing a regular fabrication process is more cost effective though. When you produce a product, you obviously do not wish to have to produce a large quantity of boards straight away as you refine your design.
One limiting factor with small-quantity prototypes still is that the choice of materials and material thicknesses will be restricted. If you are using a particular material then chances are there won’t be any other clients using the same material. Most manufacturers will charge differently based on how quick you want them to complete the manufacture. A longer lead time will afford the vendor more flexibility to schedule the assembly. Also, they can more easily mix your order with other customer's orders. When you enter your information in the instant quote section, you will observe that the production expense will vary depending on the lead time. If you can wait then cost will be lowest. If you are in a hurry then you will have to pay extra to be moved ahead of the line.
Be sure that your contract manufacturer will support the file format for manufacture that you offer. The most common format for PCB manufacture is the Gerber format but a number of vendors will also accept board files from widespread PCB software tools. If you select a vendor which also offers circuit board design services then you can rest assured that there won't be any long delays in case your board files have a problem that needs to be corrected.
When subcontracting PCB assembly, make sure that your supplier can assemble all of the package types that your board uses. Some vendors can't assemble particular type of IC packages such as BGA, chip-scale packages or extremely small component types. If in doubt be sure to contact your vendor ahead of time.
Some contract manufacturers will have in stock an inventory of standard SMT and through-hole parts. You will save time if you can pull from your vendor’s inventory rather than purchasing each component yourself. If you pull stock from your supplier, you have to include in your BOM data on which parts you are consigning yourself. Then send your BOM with that data to your supplier.
If you intend to buy the SMT stencil from the same supplier, you should order it right away when purchasing the circuit boards to eliminate any PCB assembly delays.
To ensure quality, be sure that your vendor has the usual quality approvals. Also, if your board requires special testing, make sure your supplier has appropriate testing equipment. Some testing will require additional time and cost.
Author Resource:
Brian Fuller has been involved with circuit board assembly and electronic devices for over a decade. You can get additional information regarding pcb design by clicking at this link.
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