PCB (4-layer) with 0201 components - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: erwining
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 21, 2025, 09:33:28 am
content: Hello,For a project I need a small 4-layer PCB with 0201 components, what manufacturer and assembler can you recommend, that you've had a good experience with on tiny boards?Aisler requires manual quotation and communication with them was awful and very slow. Price doesn't matter too much as long as it's quick, willing to pay up to up to 100€ per board, components included. JLC is not an option due to long shipping times.best,erwin

author: loki42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2025, 12:42:19 pm
content: 20 year old machines can do imperial 0201 fine and i assume you're not talking about metric 0201. Any professional CM should be fine. The size of the PCBs will be fine as long as there's enough edge rail on the panel. You can ask them if there's a panel size they'd prefer.

author: SMTech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2025, 01:10:55 pm
content: Quote from: loki42 on July 21, 2025, 12:42:19 pmMost & most, not all SMT equipment targets leading edge. Our Essemtec is 13 years old, and claims to be capable of 01005imp - I doubt it can without using the modern generation of feeders and extremely good attention to board support and PCB warpage. The Essemtec machine before this model (FLX20xx) claimed 0201, but did a pretty shitty job of 0402 (you could expect to need to do some tweezering and flipping of upside down parts). It is possible the 0402 weakness was highlighted more by the fact the factory I visited that mentioned it was building larger denser boards than you average user, but it remains a fact that that class of machine often performs poorly at the edge of its specification. The trouble is, that kind of machine was and remains quite popular with smaller OEM/CEM that will look at smaller jobs more readily than larger ones. These are now joined by the Chinese placers, that are even worse at attaining reliable placement at 0201.Its important also to remember that 0201 descibes your simple 2pin passive chip package - thats your easy target. If you have 0201 passives there's a good chance you also have similar size 3/4/5 pin ESD diodes, transistors and fine pitch BGA. You narrow your field with each of those you check off, these start to imply complex stencils with tiny apertures and multi-level stepping and those are not cheap.My advice for smaller builders/designers who won't be hiting volume would be to stick to 0402 and above unless you REALLY NEED to go tiny.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2025, 01:19:02 pm
content: Quote from: erwining on July 21, 2025, 09:33:28 amWhat do you consider long? when I have ordered boards and assembly from JLC, it's usually been little over a week from order till I have it in hand

author: erwining
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 21, 2025, 01:42:03 pm
content: Quote from: langwadt on July 21, 2025, 01:19:02 pmI consider long to be, not only shipping, but recently a good friend of mine had an order coming from China, and it was held at customs for 20 days. That's a bummer I try to avoid.Quote from: SMTech on July 21, 2025, 01:10:55 pmI'll try to design it again with 0402 components, but I am really constrained by the mechanical form factor.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2025, 01:59:48 pm
content: Quote from: erwining on July 21, 2025, 01:42:03 pmSo don't choose the dirt cheap shipping option

author: loki42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2025, 10:55:02 pm
content: I'm not sure if it's just my machines (UIC) but 0402 is much easier for me than larger as you don't need to change reels as often and the paper tape seems easier to deal with. Annoying thing is that you don't get printing on smaller parts.

author: erwining
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 22, 2025, 02:57:42 pm
content: Quote from: langwadt on July 21, 2025, 01:59:48 pmIt's not about shipping, it's about clearing customs.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 22, 2025, 03:20:18 pm
content: Quote from: erwining on July 22, 2025, 02:57:42 pmand with DHL Express DDP that is much less likely to become an issue