How can engineers quICkly calculate PCBA costs?

PCB design engineers estimate the cost of a complete set of PCBA through the online platform, which often has a huge deviation from the quotations of different suppliers, which is easy to cause confusion and cannot judge the real manufacturing cost. In view of this, it is particularly important for electronic engineers to accurately calculate the cost of PCBA. This article explains in detail the items of PCBA cost, such as material cost, processing fee, industry gross profit margin level, etc.

(1) PCBA cost composition: material cost

Engineers can query reference prices on the public platform based on BOM materials. Recommended platforms include: Yunhan, Lichuang, Hard City, Yikuyi, Maoze and Dejie. Among them, core components can be directly contacted with agents and traders for inquiry. PCB cost is mainly determined by size, number of layers, material, copper thickness and possible special processes. Engineers can query the reference price through platforms such as Jialichuang. For batch orders, the unit price of double sided boards is 580 yuan/m2 and that of 4-layer boards is 900 yuan/m2 (based on the design requirements of common line width and line spacing).

(2) PCBA cost composition: processing fee

Count the number of package pins of BOM components. One pin is counted as one point. The unit price of SMT chip is 0.012 yuan/point, and the unit price of DIP plug-in material is 0.05 yuan/point. For proofing orders, the one-time engineering fee of 800-3000 yuan is generally levied (depending on the design and component density).

(3) PCBA cost composition: tooling and testing fixture cost

For batch orders, PCBA manufacturers will issue wave soldering jigs, test racks and other production auxiliary tooling, which is generally a one-time charge. The charging standard is about 15 wave soldering fixtures, with a unit price of 200-400 yuan; 1-5 test racks, with the unit price of 1000-10000 yuan (excluding accessories such as ampere voltmeter and load that may be added to the test rack)

(4) PCBA cost composition: gross profit

The gross profit margin of PCBA manufacturers is generally about 15% - 30%, which is mainly determined by the order batch, PCBA board production difficulty, pass through rate and other indicators. PCBA has a long production process, which is greatly affected by material performance, mounting process, testing, quality supervision and other links. The rework cost caused by defects is also high, so a certain gross profit margin must be guaranteed.

When electronic engineers have the ability to independently calculate the target cost of PCBA, they can naturally identify whether the quotations obtained from various suppliers are true. When there is a serious deviation in the quoted PCBA cost, it is necessary to carefully review it. It is better to get the OPEN BOM quotation and compare the unit price of each core component. The MARKet for electronIC components is a mixture of good and bad. It is necessary to ensure that the channels for components come from regular agents and traders, so as to avoid purchasing second-hand materials and refurbished materials "for cheap", which will cause great hidden dangers to products.