If you are a designing a product and need to make a printed enterprise board (PCB) prototype, you can manufacture the prototype yourself or outsource it to a vendor who focuses on PCB prototype assembly. But desigining a PCB prototype yourself would require an in-house PCB manufacturing and assembly facility, which will not be cost-effective if you only want it for PCB prototypes, which are really small production runs. It makes better business sense to subcontract with a vendor who focuses on manufacturing prototype PCBs. Here are the primary guidelines for selecting a vendor to outsource prototype PCB production work:
Online Quote Convenience
Vendors who possess an online quote system can save you time. The online quote system should be easy to use. The machine should allow you to enter the pcb manufacturer. salient details of the PCB’s design requirements such as thickness, type of material and production specifications. The ultimate function of the online quote system should be cost control. You do not want to learn about surcharges once the prototype PCB production begins.
Lessen your Costs
It is generally less expensive to manufacture a large quantity of PCBs than the usual small quantity. Yet, prototype PCBs are usually manufactured in small quantities because the enterprise design is still being refined. A vendor that focuses on PCB assembly knows how to keep your costs low since it has the ease of reducing the costs of assembly set up and distributing the cost of production by spreading the production job between several clients in order to take care of the total cost for manufacturing small run PCBs very low.
Lead Times
When choosing a vendor to outsource your PCB assembly to ensure you understand the factors that influence lead time. If your PCB design consists of materials or dimensions (i. e., thicknesses) that are not common, the seller will need a longer lead time because their will be fewer other customers who have these same requirements therefore it should take longer for the vendor to schedule your production run. An online quote system will change the price of the quote relative to the lead time you desire.
File Formats and Design Services
The file formats you use for your electronic enterprise designs are relevant when selecting a PCB assembly vendor. Most vendors use the Gerber format so, if you use other file formats, ensure the seller can work with one of these other styles of formats. This is why a PCB assembly company that provides design services in addition to contract manufacturing services is a great choice because the company has the technical capabilities and in-house expertise to deal with any conditions that may occur in the pre-assembly process.
Package Types
Take a close look at the course of package types that the PCB assembly manufacturer can accept for production. The quality vendors will list this vital information on their websites. Not all companies can accept special ball grid array (BGA) or chip-scale packages. By contacting the PCB manufacturer’s technical support team to verify their capabilities for putting together your prototype PCBs, you can avoid problems prior to the start of production.