How to reduce the cost of PCBA manufacturing?

There are many aspects to the cost of PCBA manufacturing. The core parts mainly include the materials of PCB bare board, the cost of SMT processing, and the cost of components. In addition to the core parts, there are a series of links that will directly affect the cost of PCBA.
There are many links that are not paid attention to and are easily overlooked. These overlooked links include other materials, testing, labor, assembly, design and PCB process optimization, SMT patch process optimization, etc.

1.The cost of the bare board (PCB):

(1)Board cost (different board costs are different)

(2)Drilling cost (the number of holes and the size of the hole diameter affect the drilling cost)

(3)Process cost (different process requirements of the board lead to different process difficulties, and even different prices)

(4)Labor, water, electricity and management costs (this cost depends on the cost control of each factory and the overall management system of the factory)

2.The cost of the assembly (SMT) part:

(1)Steel mesh cost (different steel meshes are opened according to the size of the PCB board, so the cost is also different)

(2)Start-up cost (single batch single model pcba processing

(3)SMT processing fee (SMT patch processing is charged according to the difficulty of the board, the time to make the program, and the time to transfer to the machine)

(4)DIP processing fee (DIP processing is calculated based on the unit price of the solder joint, but the unit price of wave soldering and hand soldering will be different)

When calculating the PCBA cost, using Huaqiu DFM can help provide corresponding data for cost accounting, and can also help PCBA manufacturing reduce costs. The following is an introduction to Huaqiu DFM’s cost reduction functions and case sharing.

Function introduction

Number of board layers: Huaqiu DFM software automatically identifies the number of board layers according to the number of circuit layers. The number of PCB board layers is single-sided, double-sided, or multi-layer. The price difference is very large for different numbers of layers. For example, a 4-layer board costs twice as much as a double-sided board.

Board size: The board size affects the production area. Huaqiu DFM software accurately identifies the file size designed by the customer. The difference of 1mm in the size of batch boards may result in a difference of several square meters or tens of square meters in production area. The cost of production is thousands or tens of thousands of yuan.

Line width/line spacing: The smaller the line width and line spacing, the greater the difficulty of production, the lower the quality yield, and the higher the production cost. Huaqiu DFM accurately identifies the line width and line spacing, and prompts the production to match the corresponding process.

Gong length analysis: The price of the forming gong plate is calculated according to the length of the gong plate. If the length of the gong knife cannot be identified, the cost calculation is incorrect. Huaqiu DFM automatically calculates the length of the gong knife and gong plate, and correctly calculates the cost.

Immersion gold area: It is well known that “gold” is very expensive. If the area of ​​the board’s pad that needs to be immersed in gold is inaccurate, it will greatly affect the production cost. Huaqiu DFM can accurately calculate the immersion gold area with one click to avoid wasting the amount of “gold”.

Flying probe points: The number of flying probe points, that is, the test points, the more points, the slower the test efficiency, and the higher the cost of opening the test fixture. Inaccurate calculation of test points affects production costs. Huaqiu DFM accurately calculates the number of points that need to be tested based on all the solder joints in the board.

Utilization rate: Board utilization rate is the main factor affecting cost in the PCB production process. For example, if the utilization rate is increased by a few percentage points, a lot of production area can be reduced, and a lot more PCBs can be produced. Huaqiu DFM calculates the highest utilization rate of the finished product based on the different bulk sizes of the board.

Hole density: Hole density is the number of holes per square meter, in units of 10,000/m. The higher the density, the longer the production time. If the hole density is greater than a certain value, it will affect the price and production delivery time. Huaqiu DFM accurately calculates the number of holes per square meter.

Device solder points: The price of SMT patches and DIP plug-ins is calculated based on the number of solder points. The more solder points, the higher the cost. Huaqiu DFM’s function of calculating solder points can calculate the total number of SMT pads and the total number of DIP plug-in pads respectively.

BOM inspection: Incorrect parameters and models in the BOM bill of materials will lead to the purchase of wrong components or over-purchase or under-purchase of components. Of course, the cost loss caused by material procurement errors is quite large. Huaqiu DFM’s BOM check function helps users check BOM documents for errors and avoid losses caused by purchasing wrong materials.

Case sharing

Minimum line width and line spacing:

Small line width and line spacing affect the quality yield, and the scrap rate is very high. When the scrap rate is high, more production is required to meet the delivery quantity, so the cost is also very high. Using Huaqiu DFM to check the line width and line spacing can timely evaluate the cost of the designed product.

Solder point statistics:

The more solder points, the higher the relative manufacturing cost. At present, the unit price of solder points in the market is different. The price of leaded smt patch processing with solder paste is relatively cheap, the cost of lead-free smt patch processing with solder paste is relatively high, the cost of red glue environmentally friendly smt patch processing is relatively low, and the cost of double-process smt patch processing with solder paste and red glue is high, and the process is relatively complicated.

Gongcheng analysis:

The quotation of the gong board is generally calculated by the gongcheng. Because the main factor affecting the efficiency of the gong board is the gongcheng, the board thickness, material, etc. have little effect on the efficiency, so the gongcheng is the most important quotation factor, and the quotation is calculated in terms of how many yuan/meter.

Calculate the utilization rate:

Calculating the utilization rate of PCB cutting is a very important part of circuit board processing, and it is also a necessary skill for PCB engineering technicians. If the cutting is not mastered well, it may lead to low profits and reduced production capacity.