Managing PCB costs is a crucial aspect of product development and pricing for technology companies. While it’s tempting to simply choose the cheapest PCB manufacturing options, that often leads to quality issues that negatively impact performance and reliability down the line. The key is finding ways to lower costs without sacrificing quality and functionality.
When setting pricing for a new product, the bill of materials (BOM) cost for the PCB assembly is a major factor. Any savings in PCB expenses can directly translate to a more competitive and attractive price point. However, quality issues that arise from overly cost-driven PCB sourcing can result in increased warranty costs, reworks, and other expenses over the product life cycle. The goal should be optimizing cost savings while maintaining quality standards.
This article will provide practical strategies for technology product managers, engineers, and procurement teams to reduce PCB costs without compromising quality. Key areas covered include optimizing PCB design, selecting the right supplier, strategic purchasing techniques, and more. The guidance provided focuses on balancing cost control and quality assurance when bringing new products to market.
There are several design considerations that can help reduce PCB manufacturing costs without negatively impacting quality:
By focusing on simplicity and standardization in the design process, PCB costs can be decreased without compromising quality or product performance. Work closely with your manufacturer to identify areas of cost optimization in the design.
Selecting the right PCB manufacturer for an optimal balance of cost and quality is key. Here are some tips for evaluating and choosing manufacturing partners:
By selecting PCB manufacturing partners with balanced pricing, capabilities, quality, and service, overall costs can be minimized without sacrificing board quality or deliverability.
There are some best practices when it comes to purchasing strategies that can help reduce PCB costs:
With strategic purchasing techniques, sourcing teams can reduce PCB procurement costs substantially without impacting the quality or delivery of boards.
In summary, there are a variety of techniques product teams can leverage to reduce PCB costs without sacrificing quality:
The key is taking a holistic approach and collaborating closely with your PCB manufacturers. By implementing the strategies covered in this guide, companies can effectively manage PCB expenses while ensuring excellent product quality.
For more information or help on reducing your PCB costs, contact the manufacturing experts at JHYPCB. We provide high-quality, low-cost PCB fabrication and assembly services. Feel free to reach out to us at to discuss your specific PCB sourcing needs.
With competitive price and timely delivery, Qingjian Electronics sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
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JHYPCB is a China leading printed circuit board manufacturer, offering high-quality, cost-effective, and quick-turn PCB manufacturing and Assembly services from prototype to high-volume production. We understand that our customers must have on-time manufacturing and delivery of their boards. Let us help you launch products faster and more efficiently.
To say that the electronics industry is moving quickly would be the understatement of the century. With everything from medical kiosks in the health and safety industry to interactive display lighting for LED and lighting solutions, and just about any other analog, digital, or microprocessor-based product you can imagine, the cost of printed circuit board assembly and custom cable manufacturing cannot be overlooked when considering your overall product’s budget and success.
Whatever your industry, Southrock Engineering can help. We have the experience, expertise, and track record to keep your electronics project on budget and schedule without sacrificing quality. Let’s talk about how our team of engineers, conveniently located in Mesa, AZ, can help save you time and money on PCBA through smart design, efficient sourcing, and our decade’s worth of experience.
We covered keeping PCB assembly costs down while delivering quality in our last blog, but it bears repeating, that one of the biggest ways any PCBA company can save you money is by getting involved early and often. Here at Southrock, we work closely with our clients from the very beginning of every project. This helps to prevent costly reworks and last-minute changes. It helps us to keep your projects on track and within budget.
Another cost-cutter we’re proud to have refined over the years is volume production and supply chain management. We’ve worked hard to build strong supplier relationships that allow us to secure favorable pricing through bulk purchasing agreements.
For example, by placing blanket orders, customers who commit to purchase orders (POs) over a year can benefit from lower costs. We can buy tens of thousands of bulk color LEDs, wires, terminals, and connectors, ensuring availability when needed and stabilizing prices against market fluctuations, all the while passing those savings on to the customer.
When assembling printed circuit boards, component shortages can bring production to a halt. It’s a lot like baking a cake without all the ingredients. With a single PCBA, you can have everything from microcontrollers (MCUs), microprocessors (MPUs), integrated circuits (ICs), diodes, transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, connectors, relays, Ferrite beads, and the list goes on and on. Miss a capacitor here or a relay there and the whole design stops until you get the part you need or find a workaround. Thankfully, Southrock’s expertise in supply chain navigation and printed circuit board assembly keeps projects moving. Our direct connections with vendors—both domestically and overseas—allow us to source hard-to-find components even during global disruptions.
With shifting tariffs affecting global manufacturing, Southrock provides an advantage by offering flexible, small minimum order quantities (MOQs). Unlike offshore suppliers that demand large orders, we can fulfill custom projects with as few as ten units. As a bonus, our strong vendor relationships have enabled some vendors to agree to share tariff costs, ensuring more competitive pricing for our customers.
We take pride in building things right the first time. While many manufacturers rely heavily on post-assembly testing, our meticulous approach minimizes the need for rework. When asked about our QA process, we joke that if someone wants to see our return log, we’ll have to blow the dust off it first. Every project that leaves our shop meets and exceeds IPC industry standards. When we say we care, we mean it and it shows in our work. We’ve developed custom test equipment to validate go/no-go functionality before products leave the facility. Our track record speaks for itself. Our eye for detail pays off with fewer failures, lower costs, and higher customer confidence.
Many of the PCBAs Southrock builds have been in production for over 40 years—evolving in components but maintaining consistent form and function. Unlike firms that simply “build stuff,” our team engineers products for long-term success, considering future troubleshooting and repairability from the outset.
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