10 Tips to Reduce PCB Manufacturing Costs

Many PCB engineers or buyers constantly think that the price is high when they search for PCB manufacturers to create boards, but they are unsure of where the cost is excessive or how to minimize it without sacrificing circuit board quality. They can only compare prices from three manufacturers and give it to the one with the lowest price. Today, Pcbandassembly will share a super practical PCB purchasing guide -10 tips to reduce PCB Manufacturing costs! Highly recommend saving!

1. PCB Materials

The prices of boards made of different materials are different.

FR-4 is a heat-resistant substance that is typically composed of glass fiber and epoxy resin. It is one of the most widely used PCB materials and has good mechanical and electrical qualities.

One important metric for assessing PCB boards’ heat resistance is the TG value. It affects the electrical performance, moisture resistance, and mechanical stability of the circuit board. The board’s temperature resistance improves with a larger TG value, which also naturally raises the cost.

If TG >150, the multi-layer board and the PP sheet dielectric thickness exceed 0.2 mm, the material price will be relatively high. There are some unknown brands of boards, that are cheaper and can be used, but the performance is relatively poor, and the probability of quality problems will be higher. If you make a PCB with more than 8 layers, you need to choose a board with better performance. Since TG170 is more economical, it is advised to utilize it.

2. PCB Ink

There are two main considerations for ink: color and brand.

1) Color: The most widely used color ink is green, however using special color ink, such as blue, white, yellow, black, etc., will usually add to the cost.

2) Brand: The best one at present is Sun ink, which is mainly characterized by high viscosity, stable dielectric constant, good insulation, and anti-oxidation, but relatively expensive. Although the quality of other ink brands is not as consistent, they are comparatively less expensive. If it is used in batches, we recommend using Sun ink, which has stable quality and the product is relatively stable in operation.

3. Film

If it is a simple data, batch board with a line width and spacing of 5/5mil or more, the manufacturer will choose to use film to increase production capacity. The larger the board, the more expensive the film. Small batch sample production usually uses an LDI exposure machine without film; while batch production will use film first and then LED traditional exposure to pursue production capacity.

4. PCB Line Width and Line Spacing

The price increases as the line gets thinner. Line width and line spacing below 5/5mil will generally be increased in price. Since the yield will be relatively low and the equipment precision and chemical solution quality will increase with a narrower line, the prices will also increase. However, the thinner the line, the higher the price, which is not absolute. For example, some board manufacturers may hold activities and do not charge extra fees for thin lines.

5. Drilling Information

The cost increases with the size of the hole. The price will grow with the number of holes; the diameter below 0.3 mm will be raised. Additional unique holes, like half holes or PTH holes bigger than 6.0 mm, will raise the price. Drilling holes in PCB materials is inefficient since only one board can be drilled at a time due to the small holes. Additionally, there is a larger chance of drilling a bit breaking, which raises costs.

6. PCB Copper Thickness

Boards with surface copper > 2oz and hole copper greater than 25μm will increase the cost. The price of copper increases with thickness since copper is a costly material. Adding the cost of additional electrolytic copper, the overall price rises.

7. PCB Board Thickness

Prices for PCBs with board thicknesses of 1.2 mm and 1.6 mm are very similar, however, the price will go up if the board is 2.0 mm or thicker. Because thicker boards require more sheets of fiberglass cloth, the cost will increase proportionately with board thickness.

8. PCB Appearance Data

If there are many grooves and the groove size is less than 1.0 mm, the cost will increase. This is because the boards with many grooves are mostly irregular, which leads to longer processing time. A tiny groove width also makes it impossible to process too quickly and makes the milling cutter brittle, which lowers processing efficiency and inevitably raises manufacturing costs.

9. PCB Surface Treatment

Surface treatment methods that we use usually include OSP (anti-oxidation), lead-tin spraying, lead-free tin spraying (environmental protection), gold plating, immersion gold, and a few combination procedures. OSP (anti-oxidation) < lead-tin spraying < lead-free tin spraying (environmental protection) < gold plating < immersion gold are the more costly methods mentioned above. It is worth mentioning that most people do lead/lead-free tin spraying because it is cost-effective.

However, some manufacturers’ OSP process is even more expensive than lead-tin spraying! This is because, for cost considerations, the sample factory will ship the boards of the same process of multiple customers together, but because the OSP is difficult to tin, fewer customers need it, which makes it difficult to assemble the boards of the OSP process, and they can only be shipped separately, so the price will increase.

10. PCB Mold Fee and Test Fee

1) Mold fee: The general board manufacturer employs drilling and milling for samples and small batches; no extra milling cost is needed. However, opening a mold to punch the board is required if the quantity is large, and this will result in a set of mold expenses.

2) Test fee: If it is a sample or a small batch, flying probe testing is generally used, and the fee depends on the number of test points in the file. If it is a large batch, a test stand must be used for testing, which is efficient and has a lower overall cost!

Summary

In a word, before manufacturing the board, the cost must be fully considered. It is necessary for PCB engineers or buyers to consider the ten previously listed elements. Otherwise, once the entire product project is made in large quantities, it is possible to calculate the entire cost and find that it is a loss! Loss! Loss! As one of the leading experts in the electronics manufacturing industry, Pcbandassembly has a 12-year history in the production and assembly of PCB boards. We have built a strong reputation for offering excellent, reasonably priced one-stop PCB assembly services. Therefore, we can provide ample guidance for designers who are trying to control costs within the project budget. Welcome to contact us for a quote that meets your requirements.