If you want to manufacture a couple of prototypes which require PCB assembly, it doesn’t make sense to acquire expensive equipment. Instead, you may want to contract out the production to a reliable vendor. Numerous vendors will offer both PCB production and assembly. I will show you what to look out for when choosing a vendor. I will also give some pointers on which services modern suppliers provide.
Some manufacturers will have an immediate online quotation system on their website which will save you save time when selecting a vendor. This quote system should let you to enter all of the board information. Such data include board thickness, material and any special manufacturing requirements like milling. This will help you avoid any surprises in case of surcharges for special manufacturing requirements.
Usually the cost per board will decrease as quantity increases. This is because of the fairly high setup cost of circuit board manufacturing and component assembly. Several prototype manufacturers will combine boards from several clients to help distribute the setup expense and lower the expense per board for small volumes. When you manufacture a product, you clearly do not wish to have to produce a high volume of boards immediately while you refine your design.
If you are using a low-cost board manufacturing service then your options in regard to material and thickness will be limited. Usually you will have a choice of standard materials and board thicknesses. This is to help the supplier mix your production with the production for other customers. Furthermore, lead time plays a big role in determining cost. A longer lead time allows the manufacturer more freedom in scheduling your production. When you enter your information in the instant quote section, you will observe that the production cost 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.
Ensure that your supplier can read your production files which typically would be Gerber files for circuit boards but can also be software-specific files in some cases. If you pick a vendor which also provides circuit board design services then you can rest assured that there won’t be any extensive delays in case your board files have a problem that needs to be corrected.
Make certain that your vendor can handle the package type of each part on your board if you plan on outsourcing the PCB assembly. You should get a list of what types of components your vendor can assemble online. Some manufacturers may not be capable to mount special BGA or chip-scale packages. It is best to contact your vendor ahead of time to eliminate problems down the road.
A few manufacturers will have inventory of regularly used components which you can pull from as opposed to ordering each component yourself. If you pull inventory from your vendor, you have to include in your BOM data on which parts you are consigning yourself. Then send your BOM with that information to your vendor.
Your vendor may typically also manufacture the SMT stencil which is needed for SMT board assembly. Production of the stencil requires some time. So be sure to purchase the stencil right away when buying your boards to minimize the PCB assembly time.
To ensure quality, ensure that your supplier carries the usual quality approvals. In addition, if your board requires special testing, ensure your vendor has appropriate testing equipment. Some testing will need additional time and cost.