What is the cost of manufacturing and assembling a PCB?

The manufacturing and assembly costs of PCBs vary depending on design complexity, component selection, and procurement volume, with single-board costs typically ranging from 50 yuan to several thousand yuan.

Factors Affecting PCB Costs

1. Material Costs (30%–60% of total costs)

• Substrate Materials: Standard FR-4 (50–150 yuan/㎡), high-frequency materials (e.g., Rogers RO4350B, over 2,000 yuan/㎡)
• Copper foil: Thickness (e.g., 1 oz/2 oz) and type (rolled copper/electrolytic copper) affect cost
• Ink and auxiliary materials: Solder mask ink, character ink, etc.

2. Layer Count and Process

3. Special Processes (additional 20%–50% cost increase)

Surface treatment: Different processes, such as gold plating, OSP, and tin plating, affect the price

HDI (High-Density Interconnect): Blind/buried vias, laser drilling, which may double the cost

Impedance control: High-frequency signal lines require precise impedance matching

4. Volume effects

• Component procurement: Purchasing 100,000 units can reduce the price to as low as 60% of the small-batch price (1,000 units)
• PCB production: Large batches (e.g., 1,000 pieces or more) can reduce unit costs by 30%–50%

5. Other factors

Testing and certification: Examples include IPC-A-600 standard inspections and high-frequency signal testing.

Logistics and packaging: Additional costs include anti-static measures, vacuum packaging, and overseas transportation, among others.

PCBA Material Costs

PCB Substrate Costs

The substrate accounts for the largest portion of PCB costs, with material and manufacturing processes directly impacting price. Standard FR-4 (glass fiber epoxy resin) is suitable for conventional circuits, costing approximately 0.3–0.8 RMB per square centimeter; however, Rogers laminates used in high-frequency circuits, which offer stable dielectric properties, can cost up to 2–5 RMB per square centimeter. Size and layer count significantly impact cost—for example, a 10 cm × 10 cm double-layer board costs approximately 50–150 RMB, while a 12-layer board of the same size may reach 500–1,000 RMB.

Specifically, under mass production conditions, the cost of a standard FR-4 double-layer board is approximately 400 yuan per square meter, but high-frequency materials or multi-layer designs can significantly increase the price: for example, high-end PCBs with special processes such as blind and buried vias can cost several thousand yuan per square meter, accounting for 30–40% of the total raw material cost in high-end electronic products.

Component Procurement Costs

Component procurement is the core component of PCBA costs, typically accounting for 40%-60% of total costs. Prices vary significantly among different components:

Large-batch procurement (100,000 units): The unit price of the same model of MCU can be reduced to 30 yuan, a decrease of 40%.
In complex products, the cost of core chips is particularly prominent. Taking smartphones as an example, the main control chip may account for more than 70% of the total component cost.

General-purpose components: Basic components like resistors and capacitors can cost as low as 0.001 yuan per unit.

Specialized chips: High-performance chips like FPGAs and DSPs can cost hundreds of yuan per unit, while high-end processor chips can exceed 100 yuan per unit.
Batch size has a significant impact on costs:

Small-batch procurement (<1,000 units): For example, a certain model of MCU may cost approximately 50 yuan per unit;

Auxiliary material costs

Although they only account for 5%-10% of the total raw material cost, they are a key guarantee of product quality. The main auxiliary material cost components are as follows:

Hidden costs
Test fixtures: one-time investment, but significant cost allocation
Flux/adhesive: low unit price but high usage volume
Although the cost of individual auxiliary materials is not high, their cumulative costs and impact on yield rates cannot be ignored in mass production. For example, selecting high-quality three-proof coating can reduce the failure rate of circuit boards in humid environments by over 60%.

Welding materials
Lead-containing solder paste: approximately 0.8 yuan per square centimeter
Lead-free solder paste: 30% higher in price
Silver-containing high-temperature solder paste: up to 800 yuan per kilogram

Protective Materials
Three-proof coating: 50-100 yuan per square meter
Anti-static packaging: 0.1-0.5 yuan per bag (mandatory protection)

PCBA Manufacturing Costs

1. SMT Assembly (accounting for 40%-50% of total costs)

Nitrogen-protected soldering (e.g., QFN): Additional charge of 2-5 RMB per board

Base Rate: 0.008-0.015 RMB per solder joint, with BGA solder joints calculated at 3-5 times the rate

Equipment Capability: High-speed placement machines (e.g., Fujitsu NXT) achieve 30,000 CPH with ±0.02 mm precision

Steel Mesh Cost: Initial setup fee of 200–800 RMB, amortized per board during mass production

Process Upgrades:

Fine-pitch components (<0.3 mm): Cost increase of 30%-50%

2. DIP Insertion and Post-Soldering (accounting for 10%-20% of total cost)

Impact of small batches: Labor costs can account for up to 40% of total costs

Manual insertion: 0.05–0.5 RMB per point (connectors/large capacitors, etc.)

Automation replacement: Wave soldering 1–5 RMB per board (suitable for mass production to reduce costs)

3. PCB Manufacturing Costs (20%-30% of Total Cost)

4. Special Process Additional Fees

• Protection Processes:
• Conformal Coating: 50-100 RMB/m²
• Potting Compound: 0.5-2 RMB/ml (improves environmental resistance)
• Inspection Costs:
• AOI Inspection: 0.2-0.8 RMB/board
• Functional Test Fixture: 3,000-20,000 RMB (one-time investment)

Testing and Quality Control Costs

1. Basic Inspection Configuration (Essential Costs)

• AOI Optical Inspection
• Equipment Investment: 800,000-2,000,000 RMB
• Per-board Cost: 0.5-2 RMB/board
• Defect Detection Rate: ≥95% (0402 components)
• SPI Solder Paste Inspection
• Additional Cost: 0.3-1 RMB/board
• Accuracy Standard: Solder paste thickness ±15μm
• Value Return: Reduces 30% reflow defects

2. Advanced Inspection Solutions (Optional)

PCBA Indirect Costs

1. Engineering Development Costs

• DFM Analysis: 500-2,000 RMB/case (optimizes layout to reduce mass production risks)
• NPI Pilot Run Costs:
• Prototyping: 2,000-5,000 RMB (includes equipment debugging/programming)
• Small-batch verification: Additional 30% engineering time required
• Hidden Value: Every 1 RMB invested in DFM saves 5-8 RMB in mass production corrections

2. Comprehensive Equipment Costs (10%-15% of total costs)

Per-board Allocation:

• Depreciation: 1-3 RMB/board (based on 500K boards/year capacity)
• Maintenance: 0.2-0.8 RMB/board

3. Labor Cost Structure (15%-25% of total costs)

• Operators: 5,000-8,000 RMB/month (two-shift configuration)
• Key Technical Positions:
• SMT Process Engineers: 10,000-15,000 RMB/month
• Test Engineers: 8,000-12,000 RMB/month
• Efficiency Benchmarks:
• Skilled workers improve placement yield by 20% vs. trainees
• Optimal shift configuration: 1 engineer + 5 operators

4. Infrastructure & Other (5%-10% of total costs)

• Factory Rent: 0.8-1.5 RMB/㎡/day (Class 100 cleanroom)
• Energy Consumption:
• SMT line: 15-25 kWh/hour
• Wave soldering gas: 0.3 RMB/board
• Quality Testing:
• CNAS lab certification: 50,000-80,000 RMB/year
• 3rd-party testing: 500-2,000 RMB/batch

Cost Optimization Strategies

1. Design Phase:

• Prefer 0402 or larger components (reduces placement difficulty)
• Avoid mixed processes (e.g., SMT+DIP components adjacent)

2. Production Phase:

• Orders ≥5,000 pcs qualify for 15%-30% cost discounts
• Panelization design (improves material utilization by 10%-20%)

3. Process Selection:

• Wave soldering replaces manual soldering (60% cost reduction in mass production)
• Selective conformal coating (critical areas only)

4. Component Procurement:

• Generic parts: Use platforms like JLC for pooled procurement (30%-50% savings)
• Critical components: VMI agreements with TI/NXP (2x inventory turnover)
• Alternatives: LDOs replace switching power (15% BOM cost reduction, requires ripple validation)

5. Precision Cost Management:

• ABC Cost Analysis:
  • Class A (high-value): Monitor separately, optimize procurement cycles
  • Class B (standard): JIT management
  • Class C (consumables): Annual frame agreements to lock prices

6. Quality Cost Control:

• IQC rejection rate <1%
• FPY >98%

PCB Customization Cost Factors

Multiple factors affect custom PCB costs, including:

• Layer count
• Board dimensions
• Minimum trace width
• Via quantity

Premium manufacturers (e.g., Topfast) charge additional fees for:

• Higher precision processes (~2,000 RMB/case base fee)
• Special processes like gold plating (+300+ RMB, final quote requires detailed discussion)

Budget suppliers (e.g., JLC) offer panelization services:

• 10pcs 10x10cm double-layer boards: as low as 100 RMB (shared panel)
• Cost structure:
• Fixed costs (film/programming) dominate for small batches
• Unit cost reduction plateaus quickly (e.g., 1pc vs. 10pc has minimal material cost difference)