A Breakdown of PCB Manufacturing: Cost vs. Value

PCB Assembly is Only One Part of the Overall Value of a Good Contract Manufacturer

prototype pcb assembly cost

If you need a product built, it is in your best interest to find the perfect craftsman for the job. And when that product is a printed circuit board, adhering to this rule becomes even more important. You need a PCB contract manufacturer that has a proven history of being able to consistently build and deliver circuit boards at the highest levels of quality. But did you know that a high-quality PCB contract manufacturer can do much more besides soldering components onto boards?

At VSE, we understand this and are equipped for all the additional aspects of manufacturing that go beyond standard circuit board assembly. For instance, components must be carefully chosen to last the lifetime of the board, while each design must be reviewed for its manufacturability before assembly can start. Advanced processes like this make PCB manufacturing cost vs value very clear, because without these additional capabilities, the quality of your assembled boards may suffer. At VSE, however, we have the staff, equipment, and the processes in place to deliver the level of quality you expect in your circuit board manufacturing.

PCB Manufacturing Cost vs. Value Starts with Preparation for Production

From the moment you walk in the door at VSE, you will see the importance we put on our commitment to you as our customer. Everything from our facilities to our continual staff training is purposed for doing the best possible job for you, and that job starts with getting your design prepared for manufacturing:

Design Review

Where some manufacturers may take a design and immediately start production, we choose instead to review it first. This gives our engineering team the chance to make sure that there aren’t going to be any problems with the manufacturability of the board. If we do find any problems, we will communicate those to you along with our recommendations for a solution.

BOM Analysis

We also will have our engineers review your design’s bill of materials. This allows us to understand the component requirements of your board, and find out if there will be any problems with part prices, availability, and life-cycles. And as with the design reviews, all our findings will be submitted back to you with recommendations for changes or alternative parts.

Part Purchasing

At VSE you will have the advantage of an experienced team of part procurement specialists assigned to your project. Our component engineers and purchasing agents have a vast network of vendors, distributors, and brokers that they regularly work with for sourcing components. Where other manufacturers are content to use parts that are familiar to them, we are committed to finding the best possible parts for the lowest prices to further enhance the quality of your board.

Full Engineering and Design Services

While our engineering staff at VSE regularly conduct design reviews for incoming jobs, they are also able to provide the following additional services:

Circuit and layout recommendations:

For those customers who need additional engineering resources, or those who simply need a fresh perspective, our electrical engineering department is ready to help. From schematic capture to full PCB layout, we are ready to partner with you to get your design completed.

Design optimization:

Our engineers are experts at design for manufacturing, assembly, and test (DFM, DFA, & DFT) methodologies. As such, they regularly optimize our customers’ designs in order to trim production time from the schedule and reduce the final cost manufacturing costs.

Documentation support:

Making sure that our customers have current and complete documentation is essential in saving them time and money. Not only does the documentation need to support any future builds of their products, but it must also be able to be easily updated for any design upgrades as they become necessary.

Mechanical design:

Working with a single vendor to build your entire product can save you both time and expense. With VSE’s mechanical engineers, we can help you with your box build, wire harness, and cable assembly designs. With the design work centralized at VSE, you can also eliminate the difficulties of managing multiple vendors.

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Manufacturing Expertise

Rather than building three or four products for our customers in large volumes, VSE focuses on building thousands of different PCB assemblies in smaller volumes. This has given us an incredible amount of experience with different types of PCB technologies and helped us to refine our reputation as an industry leader in building prototypes. Here are some of the manufacturing services that our customers have come to rely on:

  • Thru-hole and surface mount technology assembly expertise.
  • Wave solder, solder reflow, selective solder, and manual soldering capabilities.
  • IPC-A-610 trained and certified rework technicians.
  • Test engineering with fixture building capabilities.
  • Full inspection & QA using a combination of manual and AOI techniques.
  • Box build, wire harness, and cable assembly capabilities.

Let the Full Services at VSE Add Value to the Manufacturing of Your Circuit Board

At VSE we are ready to build your printed circuit board assemblies, but our capabilities go far beyond that. Our goal is to make you successful by building the highest quality electronics for you, and we have a number of ways to accomplish that. Whether it is with additional engineering resources, manufacturing excellence, or any of our other design and production services, we have the expertise that you need to add value to your project.

If you are searching for precision craftsmen to not only build your circuit boards but to build them at the highest levels of quality that will translate to production savings far into the future, contact us today. We look forward to partnering with you on your next innovative electronics product.

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