PCB assembly options: Turnkey, partial, or user supply. Discussion  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: VEGETA
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2021, 05:15:33 pm
content: Hello,I've sent a board (50x50mm) to PCBWay for manufacturing and assembly of only 5 of it to test and see if it works. They gave me very expensive price in terms of components.I gave them components fromTI, digikey\mouser, and LCSC for passives. They gave me expensive prices for all components which made the entire project more expensive than I thought. Sure, the TI part is very expensive due to being pre-production and so on but still instead of 2.67$ which is TI price on their site, they offered about 3.5$ which is 35.5$ for 10 total parts, most expensive item. Here are some examples:47u elec. cap: I need a total of 10, price is 0.44$ but they offered 1.313$.4.7u inductor: I need 15 total, price of 15 is 9.45$, they offered 17.325$.output connector: I need 5 which are 7.15$, they offered 9.45$.Bottom of the line is: I noticed a noticeable\effective price increase which I guess shouldn't exist to that degree. Especially that I tried a previous version of the project which I manufactured 125 boards and had the similar price increase when compared to JLCPCB assembly service despite using the exact same components.Thus, I am asking about your experience in doing this. Will buying the components and shipping them directly to the PCB manufacturer\assembler makes a real difference? how much? and most importantly how is it done? I mean do I ask them for their address and then put it in my order from mouser, then give them the order number\tracking number?I am looking forward to your feedback.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2021, 06:24:27 pm
content: What are the startup costs? If they don't specify startup costs, then these are smeared out over the component prices.Besides that, prices on manufactur's websites are always ridicilously low (based on 1k and 5k units). Better look at Digikey or Mouser but don't expect reasonable prices until you hit series of >100 units.I recommend against buying the components yourself. You'll need to ship them correctly (in moisture controlled packages) and you'll likely need to deal with extra custom's processing as well. Probably your time is better spend on doing engineering work instead of logistics.The best option is to find a (smaller) local assembler with competitive pricing. Chances are they are actually cheaper compared to PCBway / JLCPCB.

author: VEGETA
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2021, 06:50:23 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on March 22, 2021, 06:24:27 pmThanks for your feedback.I got the prices from Mouser\Digikey\LCSC based on the required quantity. If I need 5 I got the price of 5 and so on. the only thing from manufacturer is just the TI part since it is not available yet.Set-up cost is about 58$ for PCBs + 30$ for assembly.I asked here to see what others are saying, since they previously provided their own parts instead of mine for generic components such as lm358 and resistors...etc. I insisted back then to have my LCSC part numbers since they were cheaper, and they adjusted accordingly but still pricing was more than LCSC store. this is the problem.We in Jordan don't have any local suppliers or PCB manufacturers, China is the best way. Plus, we have deadly customs so shipping boards + components here is gonna be deadly!

author: VEGETA
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2021, 01:50:23 pm
content: I tried PCBway for now, their quotation is pricey and they won't reduce it anymore as it seems.Still waiting for AllPCB quotation, it seems to be cheaper from the parts they quoted for now. Still waiting to get quotation for all parts. Anyone tried them? how do they perform?what if I want to produce 100-200 boards as a production run... which option is better? what is your experience and cost?

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2021, 01:45:22 pm
content: You need to remember that the CM's required quantity is always more than what you need for your delivered quantity. CM is always going to buy an extra few parts of through hole, and a bunch of extra SMD parts for machine setup. Depending on the CM they may also charge you markup on the BOM cost because they are basically giving you a short term loan. They don't get paid usually until they ship.And don't forget, they need to pay for shipping just like you would need to pay for shipping. So that cost is likely also included.