If you’re looking for the absolute, cheapest possible assembly service, you’ll need to look outside of North America. If you really need a decent price with good quality and good service, you can keep your gaze West of the Atlantic and East of the Pacific.
Like everything else in the modern world, design decisions can have a pretty big impact on your cost. So, lets take a look at some design decisions that can make your manufacturing more affordable.
- Accept longer lead times
Lead times are one of the biggest factors in electronics manufacturing. Screaming Circuits can turn a kitted assembly job overnight, but it costs a lot of money to do that. Screaming Circuits also has a 20 day turn-around that is much, much more affordable. Accepting longer lead times on PCB fab will drop your cost as well.
- Avoid leadless packages like QFNs and BGAs
We build tons of QFN and BGA boards – even down to 0.3mm pitch micro-BGAs. That’s great if you need those packages. However, since all of the leads are underneath, we have to x-ray every part. That adds a bit of cost to the process. If you can, stick with TSSOPs and other parts with visible leads.
- Use reels, or 12″ or longer continuous strips
We will gladly assemble parts on strips of almost any size. But, to save costs, use full or partial reels or continuous strips of at least 12″ long. It costs us less time to work with reels and continuous strips, and we pass those saving on.
- Stick with surface mount
These days, through-hole components tend to be hand-soldered. That costs more than machine assembly, so use surface mount wherever possible. Surface mount components tend to be less expensive than through-hole too. If you do need a few through-hole parts, this is an opportunity to put in a little sweat equity by soldering the through-hole yourself and save a bit of money.
- Panelize small boards
We can work with really tiny boards individually, but sticking with a larger size makes the job easier, and, again, we’ll pass those saving on. If your PCB is smaller than 16 square inches, panelize it. We put in less labor and you get a price break.
By following these guidelines, you get a decent price and really good quality and service.
Duane Benson
That would be telling