PCB Sourcing - Cost Optimization
Every electronic equipment manufacturing company tries to bring down their PCB
manufacturing costs. Most of them limit their efforts to just sourcing the lowest quotes for
their requirements. Of course comparing the prices before placing the order will help you
spot the best deals. However, this method will take you only so far and limit your savings.
There are other more effective ways to enjoy huge savings when sourcing your PCBs.
Have you considered optimising your printed circuit board design to reduce cost? Most of us
do not consider such an option and if you too have not considered this then you are not alone.
Let us explore how you could optimize the PCB design to reduce your PCB manufacturing
costs.
First hire a PCB design engineer to professionally design the PCBs. The board space should
be utilized to the best so that the board size is just right. If the board size increases
unnecessarily then the total PCB cost will increase too because of the additional material
cost. If the PCB is designed by an expert they will know how to put the best use of the board
space and keep the board size to the minimal level possible. So hire the best experts for this
job.
The board shape will also have an impact on the total production cost. If the PCB is of
standard shapes such as square or rectangle then unnecessary material wastage could be
avoided. In case you come with an irregular shape then there will be lot of material wastage
and this will add on to your cost. This could be easily avoided by just being conscious of this
factor. Make no mistakes in this regard because you will end up losing a lot of money on the
long run because of your carelessness in the production of your design stage.
Another area where you could work on cost savings is the component sourcing. During the
PCB assembly you will need all the components to be soldered to the board. The cost of these
components will vary from time to time and from one source to the other. If you are sourcing
the components yourself, start getting the quotes as early as possible and further to that you
should also make sure that your supplier has adequate stock of all the required components.
Delays in the sourcing of PCB components will result in cost increase. The production costs
could increase or decrease depending on the manufacturing season. During the peak seasons,
the costs are likely to be higher. So try to schedule your sourcing calendar in such a way that
you are able to get the best prices.
Comparing the quotes is not the only way to reduce your PCB manufacturing costs. As you
have noted above there are other aspects too to be taken into consideration when sourcing
your PCBs. Try to take advantage of all these factors and bring down your PCB costs
significantly.
ChinaPCBOne Technology LTD. is the author of this article on PCB manufacturing. Find
more information, about PCB assembly.