Analysis of additional manufacturing cost in PCB design

Analysis of additional manufacturing cost in PCB design

When designing a project, engineers pay more attention to layout and wiring, and often ignore the additional PCB manufacturing cost in the design.

This paper discusses which factors in the design affect PCB prices to avoid increasing costs to customers.

1 Number of wiring layers. The number of layers is good for wiring, but the price rises linearly with the number of layers. The higher the number of layers, the more the price doubles.

2 Through hole. Use 0.25mm or more as much as possible, and most manufacturers will charge more if it is less than 0.25mm.

3 Hole plug hole in the plate. Usually, the manufacturer has to increase the cost. Try not to use it unless the signal, layout and package are limited.

4 Back drilling. The backplane and other high-speed signals are used, and others are not used.

5 Line width and line spacing. Generally less than 6mil, the manufacturer will charge more.

6 Plate (high tg halogen free high frequency=unconventional plate) increases the procurement cycle and production costs. Some high-frequency plates can be mixed with ordinary plates to reduce costs.

7 HDI and blind burial have a large proportion of cost increase, and it is better not to use them if the packaging allows. (0.65 and above bga packages can be fanned out through holes, and some 0.5bga packages can be fanned out through holes, mainly depending on the package pads and available pins)

8. The surface technology (gold, tin, silver, gold finger=) increases the relevant costs, which is mainly decided by the customer, and can be explained to the customer when designing. One additional point: copper thickness, PCB area, number and type of holes, thickness of gold layer for surface treatment, and even delivery date will affect PCB price, which is difficult to consider.

Because the price of some products is strictly controlled, you need to pay more attention, such as the mentioned PCB stack, via backdrill and plug hole, especially the selection of PCB materials; Some products don't particularly care about cost, so you can be capricious at this time.

In general, when controlling the cost, we must consider its reliability, because sometimes the cost of PCB is not the most expensive (except for some high-end PCBs).

PCB manufacturers, PCB designers and PCBA manufacturers will explain and analyze the additional manufacturing costs in PCB design.