Estimated cost of high volume PCB assembly

Thread Starter

question_asker

Joined Aug 7, 2019
4
I am looking for a rough estimate (rule of thumb) for the cost per pin or cost per board of high volume PCB assembly. I can only find the costs for small prototype productions when searching the internet. By high volume I mean >10k boards. The boards are very small and portable, because they are going to be wearable. It would also be of interest to me wether assembly would take place in China or anywhere else.

Board specs:
  • quantity: 10k+
  • method: SMD only
  • pins per board: ~105
  • board size: 30mm²
  • double sided soldering
Furthermore, it would be helpful if you could provide an estimate for testing costs per hour for such boards. I don't take into consideration that there are costs upfront for software and fixtures etc, I just want to know a rough estimate of what testing will cost per hour.
 

Lo_volt

Joined Apr 3, 2014
316
There are many bare PC board manufacturers that will gladly work with you to estimate your cost. Do you have a final circuit that you intend to use for production? That will help to determine parts cost. 10k pieces is not a particularly large order unless you want it very quickly. You might have to dig a little but there are plenty of assembly houses in the US (I'm assuming you're from the US, correct me if I'm wrong). I'm sure you can find one near your location.
Most assembly houses prefer to use their own sources for bare boards as they can palletize them as they need to. I wouldn't worry about pricing the bare board separately from the assembly.
30 mm² is mighty small. Did you mean 30mm x 30 mm (i.e.900 mm²)?
 

Thread Starter

question_asker

Joined Aug 7, 2019
4
10k pieces is not a particularly large order unless you want it very quickly. You might have to dig a little but there are plenty of assembly houses in the US (I'm assuming you're from the US, correct me if I'm wrong). I'm sure you can find one near your location.
Most assembly houses prefer to use their own sources for bare boards as they can palletize them as they need to. I wouldn't worry about pricing the bare board separately from the assembly.
30 mm² is mighty small. Did you mean 30mm x 30 mm (i.e.900 mm²)?
I'm from Europe, but that doesn't matter since I'm looking for costs globally. I really mean 5mm x 6mm - at least in that ballpark - and I would go up to a few 100k boards.
I am not even looking for specific numbers, I'm mostly looking for a rule of thumb for estimating costs.
 

Lo_volt

Joined Apr 3, 2014
316
What are you planning on putting on a board that small? There's not really enough room to put any parts on a board that small.

5 x 6 mm is roughly the size of the C in the All About Circuits logo above.

For a "rule of thumb cost" I'd look at some of the kit vendors and manufacturers. Seedstudio, Sparkfun, Grove and the like. Find a circuit board that's about the size of what you want. Knock off 10% off of the price and that will give you an idea of you should be able to source it for in the 10k to 100k quantity range. It will vary depending on the cost of the parts on the board. The more complex parts such as processors, FPGA's, etc. will increase the cost. If it's an Atmega, PIC or other small processor it will likely cost less.
 
Last edited:

Lo_volt

Joined Apr 3, 2014
316
Looking at Sparkfun's website, I found two extremes. A GPS board at 219 USD and an Atmega board at less than 10 USD. The difference is the cost of the GPS module vs the cost of the Atmega. The bare board in both cases is likely around 1-2 USD, the rest of the cost is parts and assembly labor.

GPS board.PNG Atmega board.PNG
 

Thread Starter

question_asker

Joined Aug 7, 2019
4
Looking at Sparkfun's website, I found two extremes. A GPS board at 219 USD and an Atmega board at less than 10 USD. The difference is the cost of the GPS module vs the cost of the Atmega. The bare board in both cases is likely around 1-2 USD, the rest of the cost is parts and assembly labor.
Alright, I am going to try and calculate based on your info.
 

panic mode

Joined Oct 10, 2011
2,715
why not go to the source and ask for quote companies that do such thing? for small quantity you can see estimate online but for anything else - send them an email. they will be happy to respond.
 

Wolframore

Joined Jan 21, 2019
2,609
5x6mm lots of issues with that size. Maybe a few components at best. It would only be possible panelized then fed to a pick and place. The edges won’t be very nice as they need to be broken apart. I’m guessing double sided for a button cell. Yeah ask around.
 
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