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Pricing

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What affects the price of boards?

bulletNumber of layers: Limit the number of layers as much as possible. If higher quantities are anticipated, spend the extra time and money in engineering to minimize layer count. Layout engineering is a one time expense, manufacturing is not!
bulletQuantities ordered: Order the higher quantities whenever possible. You may be better off maintaining a higher inventory of say 3 or 5 months worth. Smaller runs mean your board house is less likely to panelize and maximize the number of images on a panel. Larger runs are simply more efficient. If your board manufacturer has to stock them until you need them, you can bet there is a hidden charge somewhere.
bulletDelivery time: Quick delivery greatly influences board prices. Allow as much time as schedule permits. Don't ask for a rush only to find out a special order chip or transformer has a 10 week delivery and you cannot proceed with assembly. Longer lead times allow your board house flexibility for other quick turn work, so yours can be at lower cost.
bulletNumber of hole sizes: Limit the number of hole sizes. Each additional size adds to the cost. Layout designers have considerable flexibility since hole sizes can be .007 - .015 larger than component lead sizes.
bulletSmall hole size: Try not to use hole sizes smaller than .028. They limit stack drilling, and drilling one board at a time greatly increases machine time. Drills also break more often and copper plating becomes more difficult. Holes .021 and smaller must be stack drilled 1 deep. Holes .022 thru .027 can be stack drilled 2 deep. Holes .028 and larger can be stack drilled 3 deep.
bulletAnnular ring: Try to provide pads that are .020 larger than hole size. Planned annular ring of .010 is good design criteria. Allowances must be made for etching, lamination, drill position, front to back layer registration and film stability. Smaller annular ring is certainly possible, but at the expense of lower yields and increased manufacturing difficulty which results in higher cost.
bulletHole tolerance: If possible, do not specify hole size tolerances any smaller than +/-.003. Boards are usually pre-drilled .003 to .004 larger than the finished holes size to allow for copper plating inside the hole. Drilling and copper plating is a very critical step in manufacturing circuit boards. Tight tolerances just increase problems and lowers yields. A lot of material and labor go into a multilayer before its drilled and plated. If it's out of tolerance, it's all scrap.
bulletCopper weight: Do not specify 2 oz. copper unless you are sure you need it. 2 oz. material cost about 40% more than 1 oz.
bulletVia and Component Pads: Keep vias and component pads a minimum of .050 away from connector gold-plated fingers. This will simplify the tape process and prevent exposed bare copper after hot air solder leveling.
bulletInternal cut-outs: Avoid these if at all possible. These and very large holes require special routing. Also, make the board as small as possible.
bulletMil-P-5511OD boards: If you require Mil boards, look into manufacturing the prototypes to best commercial standards such as IPC600. The quality will probably be the same, but at much lower cost.
bulletStandards: Adopt PCB design, artwork and manufacturing standards: By adopting standards, you will insure your product can be manufactured for the lowest cost possible. Your artwork should be of such quality that literally any board house can build it without problems. Also provide the manufacturer with a drill file, a fabrication detail drawing, and gerber data instead of film whenever possible. 

Information Needed For Design Quote

If you have a PCB design project and you would like a quote please click on the PCB Layout Quote Request form.

Bill Of Materials
Board Size
Number of Layers desired
Turnaround Time Required
Is the board SMT, Thru-Hole or Both?
Are components to be placed on top only or top and bottom of board?
Is the board to be AutoRouted or Hand Routed?
Will spec sheets be provided? (Saves Time & Money If You Do!)
Are there any special routing instructions?
Are there any special placement instructions?

Information Needed For A Design Order

Bill Of Materials
Final Netlist
Hardcopy of the Schematics
Spec Sheets for all parts (including: footprint, pin spacing, lead size, drill size, silkscreen shape and connector pin numbering assignments).
Any special instructions on layer stack-up (i.e. Signal, Ground & Power Planes).
Drawing showing board size and any mounting holes (with required placement).
Any mechanical specifications like part height restrictions.
Silkscreen text identification, including Part Numbers and Revisions.
Any signals requiring special routing
Any placement requirements or restrictions (Please include any placement ideas in the packages).

What We Deliver With All Designs!

All drawings delivered plotted (up to size C) as well as on CD in Gerber format and also in standard PDF graphical formats to enable anyone to view them without special software.
During the PCB layout process we deliver intermediate drawings as the layout progresses. You give approval on parts placement and input on any critical routing paths.
Delivered package: Assembly Drawings and mechanical board outline drawings, OrCAD MAX file database, Gerber & NC-Drill files in standard formats.

Call us now to discuss your project: 862-219-6867

 

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