How to Get the Best Value PCB Manufacturing in China

The aim of every business is to maximize on profit generation while offering quality products that foster customer loyalty. Hence, it is hard for electronics industry players to ignore the low cost PCB manufacturing in China. Regardless of how great your PCB design may be, price is a core factor that determines whether you remain competitive and generate substantial profits. For this reasons, top international electronics brands have embraced PCB manufacturing in China in a bid to reduce production costs. However, there are numerous PCB manufacturers in China offering low cost production but not all offer quality products. Hence, you must conduct due diligence before ordering PCBs in China. Here are a few things you should consider;

A Manufacturer’s Track Record:

You may choose to order PCBs from China due to the low costs but it is important to understand that the cheapest PCB manufacturer may not always be the best. Therefore, do not choose a PCB manufacturer based on pricing only. Go for a PCB manufacturer with a proven track record of producing qualify PCBs. Go through the manufacturer’s website to read customer reviews and determine whether their services are worth your attention.

Order In Bulk:

You get the real value of ordering PCB manufacturing in China when you order in bulk. Therefore, it is advisable to plan your PCB production order based on your projected sales rate in order to maximize on profits. The higher the ordered PCB quantity, the lower the cost and subsequently, the higher the profit margins for you.

Give Accurate Information:

With the current digital evolution, people are doing business online while miles apart. This applies to ordering PCBs in China. You place your order from the comfort of your office and wait for the products to be delivered to you once they are ready. Hence, it is crucial to give accurate information and double check your order details before placing your order. A simple mistake can cost you huge financial resources because you end up with large quantities of PCBs that you cannot use.

Seek Information on Online Forums:

Before placing your PCB manufacturing order in China, it is advisable to join online forums that talk about PCBs or that are made up of like-minded business people who order goods from China. Such forums give neutral and unbiased information about manufacturers that they have dealt with in the past. Their views are helpful at deciding the best PCB manufacturer to work with in China.

Summary

Though opting for PCB manufacturing in China increases your profit margins, the process and idea should well through of and researched. As aforementioned, a small mistake like ordering from the wrong PCB manufacturer can lead to huge business losses. Talk to a company representative to determine whether they understand what you need and enquire about the clients they have manufactured for before. That is how you determine whether they are reputable and capable of delivering quality products.

Factors determine the price of a PCB board

PCB cost sometimes is confused for many customers, buyers and someone new in printed circuit board industry due to its diversity in specification and production process. This article is to inform some key factors that determine the price of a board, which help you to better plan your design and clear the cost details.

PCB price is composed of many elements, each element many bring to difference in final PCB offer. The first is every PCB factory will have expense in house, equipment, labor and other operation cost as all other companies. This part cost may differ a lot for PCB manufacturers from different area. Take this part of basic cost aside, today we mainly discuss the factors of a printed circuit board specification and process.

a. PCB material and thickness

There are many types base material types used for PCB production. Take the most common used FR-4, there are many manufactures (such as SY, KB, GJ, ITEQ, Rogers…) provide different grade CCL with different thickness from 0.2mm to 3.0mm or more... It will have significant impact on price to choose different material types and thicknesses.

b. Copper thickness

Common copper thickness used is 18um (1/2 oz), 35um (1oz), 70um (2 oz), 105um (3 oz), 140um (4 oz) etc.. Usually the heavier of copper, the expensive of PCB cost. Heavy copper require bigger line width and space in design too.

b. Surface finishing / treatment

For most of PCB manufacturers, there are OSP, HASL, Lead-free HASL, Immersion gold /tin/silver, Plating gold and other treatment could chose to customers, but different requirement in treatment will also cause the cost difference. Take the most used HASL and Immersion Gold (ENIG) for example, the cost of ENIG is much higher than HASL, and the bigger area need to deal with, the higher cost need to pay.

c. Drilling/ Line/Production process

For drilling, quantity, types and size will have impact on production cost. Usually for normal PCB factory, when the hole size is smaller than 0.3mm, there will be around 5% cost increased. And big quantity of hole will also some cost increased due to production efficiency reduced (time increased).
And another factor is line width and space, the production cost will different for conductor width /space 4mil/4mil, considering production difficulty, reject rate and so on.
Other factors require special process like half plated hole, blind & buried via, tented via, press fit holes, microvias, carbon oil and so on will also take part of cost.

d. Quantity / Lead time

Quantity is an important factor for PCB cost, as many PCB manufacturers will have a minimum cost for an order because of many of work included is similar for 1pcs and 1Kpcs. So usually the quantity increase the unit cost will decrease
Lead time will also have some impact on PCB offer, especially for some quick turnaround board. Usually faster delivery means more will cost. To achieve a fact delivery, it will also require buyer provide complete PCB file include Gerber, specification, quantity, stack up and so on.

e. Fly test / E-tester/ Mould

Generally for sample and prototype (usually smaller than 3 square meters depends on boards), PCB supplier will suggest to using flying probe test to save cost. And mass production PCB manufacturer will require building e-tester. E-tester is non-recurring cost with no version updated, which is economical for repeat order.
Mould is usually used for mass production, and small usually use milling.

f. Quality required / Payment

For PCB quality standard, there is IPC2, IPC3, Military standard and so on. Simply speaking, the higher standard requires, the higher cost need.
Payment sometimes will also considered in the PCB offer for many PCB manufacturers.

Brief Introduction for Production Cost of PCB Board

  Many PCB new purchasers may don’t know clear about the PCB price components. This article will introduce briefly about the basic component of PCB cost. Also the cost may be different for the same specification and material from different manufacturers. Many factors will influence the final cost of PCB board. Here we will discuss some basic part.  

　　1. Base material

1) Base material type.FR-4 is our most commonly used for single sided board, double sided PCB and multi-layer PCB. The cost depends on the thickness of board and copper foil. While the CEM-3, FR1, CEM-1, FR2…are frequently used in single layer board. The cost usually will be cheaper than FR4.

2) Base material thickness. Common thickness 0.4mm,0.6mm,0.8mm,1.0mm,1.2mm,1.5mm,1.6mm,2.0mm,2.4mm,3.0mm,3.4mm. Too thin or too thick is not applied frequently, the cost will be higher than standard.

3) Copper foil thickness. Frequent requirement is18um (0.5oz), 35um (1oz), 70 (2 oz), 105um (3oz), 140um (4oz) and so on. Usually, the thicker copper, the higher circuit boards cost.

4) Base material supplier. Widely used manufacturers are Shengyi\KB\Gouji\ITEQ and so on. The cost differs from manufacturers. Sometimes the cost difference should be not big for the same frequently used brand.

5) Special requirement such as high Tg, halogen free,  Aluminum Base, High frequency

　　2. Manufacture procedure

1) PCB line width and space smaller than such as 4/4mm, the price will be counted extra.

2) The board with BGA, the cost will rise. Some PCB manufacturers add the cost by quantity of BGA.

3) Surface finishing. The most frequently used is Hot Air Level (HASL), OSP (RoHs green board), Immersion tin, Immersion silver, Immersion gold etc. Different surface finishing will with different cost.

4) Technology/inspection standards. IPC 2 standard, IPC 3 standard, enterprise standard, military standard, the higher standard, the higher cost.　

　3. Another is the shape of the PCB. Usually use CNC in milling the PCB profile. But if the shape is complex, need to make by mould. There will be mould cost.

To summarize the above, the basic factors to affect the price of Circuit board as follows:
1.PCB size
2.PCB layers
3.Surface treatment (Immersion gold,Lead free HAL, OSP ...)
4.Quantity
5.PCB material (normal FR4, Rogers, PTFE ...)

Also there are other factors will cause cost arise:

1. Small conductor line width and space
2.Too many holes/vias quantity
3 .Small apertures

4. Mould needed
5. Tight tolerances
6. Small circuit board thickness aperture ratio
7.Special requirements (board thickness too thin or too thick, copper plating, package...)