Going for a cheap PCB assembly phase may be tempting if you are working with a tight budget or tight timeline for your next project. But it’s essential to be conscious that PCB assembly costs can differ wildly between companies. Your PCBs’ quality will have a significant impact on the way your product performs, both now and down the line. Also, anytime you are talking about PCB assembly cost, you’re talking about your PCBs’ reliability, longevity, performance, and functionality for years to come.

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Why We Need to Calculate PCB Assembly Cost?

Sometimes, PCB assembly costs and engineering costs will be included in purchasing quotation. It needs to cover about 5% of the material loss when purchasing the components, due to the reason of material loss, like resistance and capacitance disk loading material and SMT chip. For the small batch of PCBA, engineering costs are usually covered in quotation, including the costs of processing file, stencil, Changing SMT line etc.

If the last time you ordered anything was over six months ago, it’s time to talk with your supplier about pricing for new orders. You may think you know your costs, but if your costs are different from everyone else’s, that’s a sign of variability, and it doesn’t bode well for reliability and performance. It is not to say that some companies will charge more while others will charge less. It only means the cost of PCB assembly can vary hugely between companies.

What are the main factors affects PCB assembly cost?

For instance, a PCB assembled in South Asia is generally several times less expensive than one built in North America or Western Europe. However, overseas manufacturing can drive up costs due to shipping, handling, and communication delays. Therefore, cheap manufacturing can include unforeseen costs that need to be accounted for before contracting an overseas manufacturer.

Turnaround Time

When we’re asked “how much does PCB assembly cost” one of the first responses that come to mind is: what is the expected turnaround time? Turnaround time refers to the span of time that is required to complete the manufacturing process and satisfy the buyer’s request. As a rule, faster turnaround expectations come at a higher cost.

Quantity

When it comes to manufacturing, higher quantities result in lower assembly costs due to economies of scale. In other words, when products are created at a larger scale, the unit price of each PCB drops significantly. This economic phenomenon occurs because many of the factors that drive up assembly prices, like startup costs and programming, only affect the initial units produced—all proceeding units can be created without swallowing these costs.

Technology

Another key aspect of PCB assembly pricing is the type of technology used. On one hand, surface mount technology (SMT) can provide cost savings to manufacturers because setup costs are lower and automation is heavily involved. However, SMT can result in the need for through-hole drilling to fit additional surface mount devices (SMDs) which can skyrocket costs.

Parts Packaging

Some parts involve more labor to package and properly assemble. For instance, electric equipment like BGAs requires more time and effort to package because they must be connected to an electrical source. Since BGAs have electrical pins, assembly costs can shoot up dramatically since they must undergo an X-ray examination to check for short-circuiting.

How is PCB assembly cost calculated?

PCB cost

All factors we have mentioned above.

Component procurement cost

Component procurement cost is a part of pcb board cost. Components Procurement cost is the mainly cost in PCBA SMT Processing. The PCBA manufacturer purchases the components according to the BOM.

Number of solder pads

Solder pads cost is a part of pcb board cost. The number of solder pads is the decisive factor in SMT price. Now the SMT quotation is basically in accordance with the number of solder pads to calculate, the more solder pads, the price is higher. The solder pads are different, the pcb assembly cost is also different.

Engineering cost/set-up cost

Engineering cost is a part of PCB board cost. A few years ago, there were engineering cost/set-up costs, especially in the small quantity orders, factories often charged that, now these costs are included in the PCB assembly cost and SMT cost.

SMT assembly cost (SMD+DIP)

SMT assembly cost is a part of PCB board cost. Another key aspect of PCBA pricing is the type of assembly technology used. Surface mount technology (SMT) can save money due to low installation costs and high precision of automation. The DIP soldering will cost more as this process need more manual soldering, so labor cost will be added, and pcb assembly price will be high.

PCBA testing cost

PCBA testing cost is a part of PCB fabrication cost. If customers need extra PCBA function test or programming, the extra PCB testing fee will be charged.

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