PCBA questions for medium amounts  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Sniper1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2023, 05:03:19 am
content: So I made a board with JLC assembly in mind BUT if i want to make with PCBway or something else in the future can i make it in a way that allows for PCBA at multiple fabs? I know that for JLC you need to add a column with the LCSC name and LCSC code for the part. but for PCBway you need to put a part number but i dont know how to add the site where the part is in stock.Also when it comes to PCBA in larger amounts like 40-50 (what would be over 100 from multiple chips , not to mention passives, so i expect some large discounts) how would you deal with the ICs ? asking since there are not that many in JLC stock but many on other sites. Should i prepurchase them and store them in JLC? What about PCBway ? How does one deal with that? (it is like 200 from IC A B C and 150 of D and by looking at mouser i know i can get some discount at this amount of chips )BTW i am useing KiCad 7NOTE: I never ordered PCBA for more then 5 units, and if things turn out well i will need to order more so doing it by hand is not an option for the SMDs (with the THT connectors i am not sure about the costs)NOTE2: PCB tolerances are so that both JLC and PCBway can manufacture the board , i know how to include data for JLC PCBA but not sure how do do it for PCBway but i have some examples and i think i figured out but i am not sure......

author: Jackster
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2023, 01:54:51 pm
content: You can send the same PCB to multiple PCB assembly companies.PCBway only require the MPN (Manufacturer Part Number) in the BOM. You do not need to specify the purchase location.You can add it by all means but they will probably have some stock already that they will use or buy it from their own suppliers.To edit the BOM, open it in Excell or whatever spreadsheet software you have, add a column and then for each line paste in the URL.They will probably ignore it.JLC does not accept customer-sourced parts so you won't be able to send them parts to place on your assembly job.There is also very little price difference between 50 and 100 or even 500 when it comes to passives.Sourcing yourself won't be any cheap at 50-100 quantities. Trade companies get at least 10% off at some suppliers and 20% off at others even at smaller quantities. You have to factor in shipping the goods to China as well which is a pain to do with customs being tight.PCBway can accept parts from customers, or source themselves, or a hybrid of both. I recommend letting the PCBA company source parts for you as they have buying power and know what format they want them in to run on their assembly line.Both PCBway and JLC only need the Gerbers, BOM and Pick and Place files.There is no difference between them other than JLC having a much more low-cost setup where they pool many boards together and run them at the same time through many machines.This is why they are so cheap but you give up being able to have any sort of component that they don't stock from LCSC or are willing to buy in for you.

author: Sniper1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2023, 05:41:04 pm
content: THXBTW the ICs i was referring are like proper chips like INA219 an at 100+ it was 30% off and yea probably a company that does PCBA can get a few more % offAlso i think now that i can make a BOM work for both (problem is that extended parts can make JLC expensive fast but then again i also use a ton of passives so there is a change PCBway may end up even worse ) well i will need to ask for a amount from both but that is fine