Turnkey assembly costs - price check? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: jmw
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 08:11:22 pm
content: This is my first time trying to get a traditional assembly quote (I've used the JLCPCB service but it has its limitations). I have a board that needs 200+ 0603 LEDs placed so it's beyond my abilities as a human pick & place machine - it's for the display this project:https://jmw.name/projects/linear-clock/Basic job specs are this:50 pcs.7 unique parts271 SMT parts, no through hole, no BGA/QFN2 sided assemblyI decided to get a quote from PCBWay for turnkey assembly. They quoted $490 for the assembly fee.For the BOM, they are asking anywhere from 20 - 300% over the LCSC or Digikey price. The biggest costs are the TI LED driver chip and the LEDs themselves. I pressed them for a better price on the LEDs since they'll need full reel quantities anyway, and they were able to quote a little better for one of the LED colors but not the other, probably because LCSC doesn't have much stock in that color right now. So the total BOM cost is $1480, and if I were to order for myself from LCSC/Digikey/Mouser it would probably be around $1060 with a little padding for overage.50 pcs is not a lot I know, but are these fees reasonable or should I be shopping around elsewhere (recommendations welcome)?Also how do you get clear with your CM about part orientation? Do they send a preview assembly drawing showing polarity like JLCPCB?

author: alanambrose
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 08:28:50 pm
content: Hi,Well I think your options are limited a bit for fairly small orders / the current component sourcing & trade problems / your overall annual order volume. It's going to be a smallish order for them in any case.As you've figured, suppliers sometimes play a little bit with sourcing costs vs. assembly fees to make the assembly fee look good. I think a lot of clients don't check BoM costs carefully especially for smallish orders and fall for this ruse.However, it is what it is, you either find alternative quotes until you find one you like (including local suppliers to you just to check) or accept a quote that you have already.Yes, there are other distance/communication factors at play - so you're right to check over part orientation etc. For bigger orders you might supply a test fixture and protocol so the boards can be tested. If you're megacorp doing small volumes, you'll just ante up the 10x local price. If you're big volume you'll have test fixtures, test protocols and someone you employ actually on-site overseeing QC. If you're small volume and cheap, you either assemble yourself, or you're left trying your best to communicate in as fail safe manner as you can and taking the risk.In this case, it might be cost effective to get say 5 made, and test those, and then call off the rest of the order.Alan

author: penfold
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 08:44:56 pm
content: Is there any reason you can purchase the components yourself and free-issue to the assembler?

author: jmw
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 08:49:15 pm
content: I could, but I've read here that shipping components to a Chinese CM is costly and a headache. If it were domestic I would definitely do the sourcing. Anyone have experience with doing kitted assembly to PCBWay or other place in China want to weigh in?

author: JMG
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 09:05:09 pm
content: I specialize in small qty assembly orders. Shoot me a private message and I can at least give you an idea where your target cost should be so you know you're not getting over charged.

author: SMTech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 09:31:30 pm
content: Interesting, like JMG this kind of work is basically what we do, we would quote a UK client about £250-300 for the assembly of a job like this. Half of that money gets spent on a VectorGuard stencil but with sufficient leadtime and a cost motivated client you could shave some off by getting a chinesium one; especially if we were also sourcing the PCB (e.g PCBWay). Typically we put a small margin on parts, this covers losses, price fluctuation between quote and purchase & of course profit. However we also shop around, get the best price we can, use our supplier discounts and can suggest alternatives if needed. On a job of 50 we wouldn't normally be sharing a BOM cost breakdown with you, you'd get a price for the job, otherwise we'd up up where you are with PCBWay, arguing over small savings on specific lines while costing both if us time and money doing so.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 10:12:24 pm
content: Have you tried Macrofab?

author: fourfathom
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 10:26:11 pm
content: I'm looking at some low-volume assembly runs, and considering local (to me) shops. Many of them have on-line assy quoting, where you send them your BOM and some details and you get an instant quote. Here's one shop I'm considering:https://www.protoexpress.com/pcb/pcb-assembly-capabilities/I compared their BOM costs vs buying the components myself from DigiKey, and they were pretty close. The assembly cost wasn't terrible, either, but nowhere close to what a Chinese assy house will quote. The local guys will also take a mix of customer-provided components and their own procurements.

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2021, 03:02:19 am
content: Another possibility is JLCPCB. While they don't do double sided, I am guessing that your LEDs (200) go on one side and the rest go on the other. Maybe have JLCPCB for the 200 side and mount the other side yourself? I'm thinking the LEDs plus PCB plus assembly won't be that expensive. I did a recent order with them - 200ish parts, one side assembly, mostly jelly bean parts. 2L 100mm x 100mm, 50 pieces, everything cost $200 USD including DHL delivery. 9 days. You have to live with their library but it's petty big. Sometimes their parts cost less than LCSC, go figure.Another thing on the BOM, can you order parts from LCSC and have them delivered to PCBWay? No import required.

author: rcbuck
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2021, 12:39:23 am
content: I've used ALLPCB for a couple of assembly jobs. You have to send them a spreadsheet with either DK or Mouser part numbers. They charged the same price for parts that Mouser shows on their site. For the resistors, caps, and LEDs I didn't give them part numbers. I just put the word "generic" in the part number column.The labor costs aren't too bad and they do place components on both sides of the board. Components on both sides does increase the cost a bit. They require Gebers (including pick & place) to quote a job. They also made my boards. If they are doing the assembly you order the boards through the assembly portion of the company and they deal with the board fab side of the company.

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2021, 02:41:14 pm
content: Quote from: rcbuck on May 23, 2021, 12:39:23 amWill they take LCSC part numbers?

author: MarkR42
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2021, 03:06:11 pm
content: I have used "Ocean Smile" Shenzhen-based assembly house to do turnkey. They have assembled everything exactly as I have asked and not charged too much for assembly or parts.They weren't the fastest, it seems that they usually take a week or more to source the parts even though I've been using pretty standard stuff. It seems their assembly quote was generally much better than the others for small batches.I would recommend them.On the BOM - I originally found the manufacturer and MPN for everything, but now it seems it's easier for passives - just specify all the important parameters (e.g. resistance, voltage, power) and let them find it, or they might have some on a shelf. I do that now for resistors, capacitors and led.

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2021, 03:42:53 pm
content: Quote from: MarkR42 on May 23, 2021, 03:06:11 pmAlways looking for a better assembly house - thanks. (JLCPCB doesn't always carry what I want) I took a look and they seem promising. Their costs are reasonable. Looks good, except for their up to 10 board limit on assembly. Do you know if that is a hard-n-fast limit?

author: rcbuck
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2021, 05:22:40 pm
content: QuoteI don't think so. They specifically asked for Mouser or DK part numbers. I'm sure they would take well known manufacturers part numbers.It does take a while for them to process everything. Both times I have used them it was ~1 month from submission of parts list and gerbers to assembled boards in hand.

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2021, 06:07:58 pm
content: Quote from: rcbuck on May 23, 2021, 05:22:40 pm[this is about allpcb]Hmmm, want to bet they use LCSC and charge DK/Mouser prices? Typically LCSC is 1/2-1/3 DK/Mouser cost.