The Complete Guide on understanding the PCB Prototype Quote Process

By | Date posted: | Last updated: April 19, 2023
pcb-prototype-quote-process

Quoting is a very crucial part at the time of dealing with the client and manufacturer. But a typical PCB Prototype Quoting process is not as easy as pie.

Many factors have to be considered from both the manufacturer and client’s side before the quoting, which is both hazardous and time-consuming. But don’t be worry; because we will highlight a complete guide for the Typical PCB Prototype Quote Process to help you get the accurate quote. This article offers tips to help you enable your CM to process your PCB prototype quote efficiently.

Phases of the PCB Prototype Quote Process:

A typical PCB Prototype Quote Process is more or less the combination of three phases. Those are-

Design Generation:

After getting data from the client, the manufacturer will start the design of the prototype first. It’s not like they directly start the fabrication; first, they draw a draft of the design they have in their head. And after the draft design gets approved by the client, the main design process is started.

For getting the best design from your manufacturer, you need to give detailed data about your desired project. Always communicate directly with the partner CM (Contract Manufacturer) to discuss your problem and suggestion with them.

Design Evaluation:

When the circuit board design is complete, the next step is testing the design. Checking is very vital to know the quality of the design. The various methods, including the X-rays method, AVI, etc. are used for testing purposes.

If anything gets wrong in the newly created circuit boards against your desired project, you can tell the manufacturer to replace it at this stage. Tracing the error and replacing them is the main aim of this phase.

Quote Generation:

The cost majorly depends on the created design, the number of testing and editing. After all the discussion and negotiations about the expense, the final Quote is successfully generated. It is not a straight-forward process; after lots of back and forth, the final quote has been addressed. In the final quote, all types of errors in the prototype are also corrected.

The Criteria for the Selection of High-Quality PCB Prototype Service:

A good quoting process varies from client to client and manufacturer to manufacturer, but some criteria must be there, in a high-quality printed circuit board prototyping and quoting process, like-

Background of Manufacturer:

Not every manufacturer is eligible for every project. Every specific project needs a different type of printed circuit board prototypes designed by a distinct type of PCB prototype manufacturer company. That’s why a complete background check of the company is very crucial before dealing with them.

While checking, focus on the points like the type of prototype circuit boards they produce, their quality, customer support, reviews from the previous customers, authenticity, etc. A background check also saves you from fraud.

Communication:

Communication is something that is the key part of every successful quote. From the starting point of the deal to getting the finalized product, open communication is very important in every step of producing a good.

The information you give in each statement of the message is the data you give for the design. Communication gap leads to errors in getting your desired project.

Besides that, when you communicate with the manufacturer more often, your knowledge about your project becomes clearer.

Documentation:

Documents from both parties are very necessary for the small or big deals that include proof you have for each action you take with the manufacturer.

In the documentation, you can add everything from dealing date to delivery date, the terms & conditions of the projects, the expenses, the materials used, etc.

Components Selection:

Components which are used in the design have to be good in quality. Based on the excellence of the material, the circuit board’s success will be depended. Take information from the manufacturer about the components used, and check their quality and characteristics in detail.

Also, grab the information of the inventory of the design. You can compare the market value and the project value by knowing the inventory.

Cost Details:

Like every type of dealing process, you can negotiate the cost to get the best quote in minimum value. You can request the quote according to the quality of the product.

Mark in detail about the Bill of Material, every expenditure, calculate expected expanse to be easy to manage cost.

Also checkout: PCB Prototype Cost

Evaluation:

Evaluation and reviewing of the final circuit board have to be done for testing purposes. By evaluation, you can be aware of the circuit board meets your expectation or not.

Conclusion:
Quoting is a back-and-forth process that goes through a series of discussions and negotiations. When only your opinion aligns with the circuit board manufacturer’s opinion, then the perfect quoting happens.

If you follow the above-discussed process thoroughly during the PCB prototype quotation, we believe you can get the deal. So, try to apply those points and make your desired circuit board prototypes.

TechnoTronix facilitates the best PCB Prototyping with no fuss, simple and fast prototyping with a unique way of using advanced techniques like automated layout analysis, algorithms & custom technical specimens depending on the Gerber file and BOM (Bill of Materials) required for a particular prototype. We assure you to deliver high-quality circuit boards by providing custom prototyping services with the multilayered quick-turn prototype, chips, testing, and others. Our focus is to fulfill every requirement of multichannel industries like defense, IT, Aerospace, Electronics, Medical, Telecommunication & many more.

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How is circuit board prototyping best option for innovative PCB design?

By | Date posted: | Last updated: September 5, 2024
Circuit Board Prototyping

With miniaturization and other trends transforming products, innovation and experimentation drive PCB evolution. PCB prototype service is crucial in this process. Prototyping enables companies to save millions by refining PCBs before committing to large production runs. Rapid PCB Prototyping is revolutionizing the PCB manufacturing process.

The process of prototyping, in turn, goes a long way in testing the functionality of the product. In fact, prototyping isn’t a one- stage process and involves several stages over which the prototype is improved and a final design is ready for mass production. The different stages before the final design include:

Creating Visual Models

This is where the process of PCB prototyping begins. Essentially, it involves creating a physical product that shows the board and the structure of the components. This helps engineers to look at two aspects:

  • Find design flaws, if any
  • Make visual improvements in the model

With a visual model in place, it is much easier to check aspects such as whether the components fit together, if the design is correct, and if there are any issues with the size, and so on. In fact, the process of printed circuit board prototyping is iterative. You may, therefore, have several versions of the visual models before you finalize the one that meets all the requirements.

Proof-of-Concept

The second stage, and a fairly important one, is the proof-of-concept. At this stage, the concept is fully tested. You need to be sure that the idea is workable before you proceed any further. What you get to check, therefore, is the viability of the project. It is fairly easy to make any changes in the working model, at this stage. It isn’t prudent to skip this stage as it could lead to costly errors at a later stage.

Working Prototypes

Once the proof-of concept is successfully vetted, the next stage is to create a working prototype. This involves the circuit board having all the final functions, even though the working prototype need not be a fair representation of the physical design of the final product. This is the stage where any tweaks can be made and you may therefore land up with several versions of the working prototype till you are fully satisfied.

Functional Prototypes

This is the stage where you not only have a fully ready-to-implement prototype, it is also as close to the final product design as possible. This is the ultimate step before mass production and therefore very crucial. At this stage you are checking to see many things:

  • Everything is in working order
  • Things look good visually

With this stage satisfactorily crossed, you are ready for mass production.

It is, therefore, easy to see the immense importance PCB Circuit prototyping holds in the success of the final product. Skipping of any of these meticulous processes means you could have to deal with costly mistakes once you order a full production run. Not only can it lead to loss of money and time, importantly it could cost your company its reputation.

The Technotronix Advantage

At Technotronix, we undertake the PCB prototyping process with extreme care. The different stages of circuit board prototyping are meticulously followed to ensure we deliver nothing but the best. Importantly, the quantity of PCB prototyping boards does not affect our quality checks. By dedicating time and effort to each PCB prototype project, we ensure your final product is very close to perfection.

Regardless of the phase of the project, you can rely on our experienced engineers, who are equipped with industry-best practices to avoid costly mistakes. Our state-of-the-art equipment and robust testing protocols streamline the entire printed circuit board prototyping process. Additionally, our focus on quick turnaround times guarantees that your deadlines are met and you benefit from rapid time-to-market.

When you choose Technotronix as your partner, you can be assured of effective PCB prototyping services and seamless deliveries for large production runs once you are ready to launch your product. We provide high-quality, defect-free circuit board prototyping services according to customer specifications. Visit us to learn more about our PCB prototyping services, or contact us at [email protected].

How to choose the PCB Prototype Manufacturer for critical electronic device design?

By | Date posted: | Last updated: September 5, 2024
PCB Prototype Manufacturer

PCB designing comes with a host of challenges. After all the PCB is the most critical component of an electronic device and its success or failure determines the efficacy of the device. When you are designing for a critical electronic device, the stakes are even higher. Failure in such devices can even lead to fatalities. Think aerospace, military, medical devices and more. In such scenarios it is absolutely imperative that your prototype PCB board manufacturer builds boards to precise metrics. You need to be extra careful to select a Printed Circuit Board Prototype Manufacturer that is fully equipped and experienced to handle board fabrication as well as assembly for critical systems.

How then do you choose the prototype PCB board manufacturer for critical system design? You want to make sure that the contract manufacturer adheres to the strict rules that regulate the quality and reliability of components. Here are some handy steps:

#1 Check for the PCB contract manufacturer’s experience

Now this is a non-negotiable aspect. You want to make sure that the PCB prototype manufacturer has the requisite experience when it comes to critical electronic device design. Such manufacturers are equipped with the right equipment as well as industry best practices that are required for critical devices. In addition, it is imperative to check if there is enough commitment to data security, as you cannot afford any lapses.

#2 Adherence to standards and regulations

Another critical aspect is to ensure that the PCB prototypes adhere to the quality standards and regulations that are mandated for certain industries. For example, if you are manufacturing general electronics products, the boards would fall under Class 1 of IPC 6011. In this class some imperfections in the board are acceptable. If, however, you fall into Class 2 of dedicated service electronic products, the boards need to be highly reliable, even though some amount of imperfections will not lead to any fatality. In Class 3, however, with high-reliability electronic products, no downtime is acceptable. With critical systems falling into this category, the boards cannot come with any imperfections.

Additionally, there are other standards for different PCBs, namely:

  • IPC 6012 for rigid PCBs
  • IPC 6013 for Flex PCBS
  • IPC 6014 for PCMCIA
  • IPC 6015 for MCM-L
  • IPC-HF-315 for High Frequency

#3 Quality Control Measures

The one other aspect that you need to make sure is the PCB Prototype manufacturer’s Quality Control standards. IT is imperative, therefore, that you check to see the QC compliance standard that they follow. For example, with ISO 9001, you know that your contract manufacturer is certified for all industries. Additionally, there are other certifications for specific industries that you may want to check for, depending upon the industry you operate in.

#4 Component Traceability Procedures

Any PCB is as good as the components that are used in it. Critical systems, particularly cannot afford to have any counterfeit components. What this means is that it should be possible to trace your components from the OEM Manufacturer right up to the Contract Manufacturer. Selecting a reliable contract manufacturer means that you do not have to worry about receiving inferior components or worse still, counterfeits, that can severely impair the reliability of your critical devices.

#5 Address all concerns

At the end of the day, you need a contract manufacturer who will address all your concerns regarding device reliability. In fact, partnering with the contract manufacturer at the design stage itself can go a long way in ensuring reliability. With his vast experience, the device manufacturer can bring some valuable outputs to the design process itself, which will aid PCB manufacturing capabilities and not lead to loss of precious time at a later stage.

A due diligence of the above aspects can go a long way in ensuring that you partner with a manufacturer of PCB prototype who is technically sound, has the requisite experience and is absolutely committed to the cause of excellence.

As a leading PCB Prototype Manufacturer, we are fully committed to bringing to the table high quality boards that adhere to stringent quality standards. With our emphasis on ensuring a Design for Manufacturability test, we ensure you do not lose out on precious time. Besides our sourcing of quality components and robust quality control procedures ensure that you get nothing but the best. The fact that we are also committed to quick turnaround times, gives you a significant competitive advantage. You can rely on us on just to create successful prototypes but also to offer large production runs, as smoothly. You can drop an email to [email protected] or give us a call at 714/630-9200 to solve your queries.

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Things to consider while you look for fast PCB prototype in the USA!

By | Date posted: | Last updated: April 8, 2022
fast-pcb-prototype

Time-to-market is a big source of competitive advantage in today’s crowded marketplace. Fast PCB prototype, therefore, isn’t just good-to-have, but a must have.

However, in ensuring that prototyping is indeed quick turn, there are two aspects that need to be kept in mind. The first of course is to do with the choice of the contract manufacturer. There are a number of factors that you need to take into account in making the right choice. The second aspect is to do with the information that you provide and to be aware of aspects that slow down PCB prototyping. Let us look at both these areas in some detail. It will be good to begin with some aspects that impact the speed of fast PCB prototyping:

Areas that slow down PCB Prototyping:

Multiple Lamination

With multiple lamination, the time taken to fabricate the board increases. As a thumb rule it is worthwhile to remember that each lamination cycle adds about 2 days to the fabrication process. A tradeoff is therefore required between the number of lamination required and the speed at which you require the PCB prototype.

Via-in-Pad

While via-in-pad is extremely popular, the fact remains that it is seen to increase the cycle time by a day. It is important once again, therefore, to evaluate its requirement versus the speed at which you need the PCB prototype.

Surface Finish

Another aspect to evaluate in the context of time, is the surface finish required. If, for example, you need two kinds of finishes- one for the surface mount and another for the edge connectors, you will need to contend with additional time.

Criteria that you need to keep in mind while selecting your fast turnaround PCB prototype partner

Manufacturing Location for Circuit Board Prototype

First things first- it stands to reason that when you want quick deliveries the location of the partner makes a significant difference. The choice of an offshore partner for circuit board Prototype can come in the way of your delivery schedules. Choosing a USA based partner, on the other hand, can ensure that deliveries and hence your time-to-market isn’t impacted.

Prototype PCB Manufacturing Time

It is prudent to go with a manufacturing partner that is proactive when it comes to the PCB development time. Speeding up PCB Production time should be first choice for any PCB manufacturers. Some amount of due diligence in the partner’s past experience with clients will come in handy. It is also prudent to mention here, however, that due emphasis should be paid to getting the design right as that can cause delays. In fact, it will be best to take the manufacturer’s inputs ta the design stage itself. With their vast experience and industry best practices, they will be able to add value to your design from the manufacturability, stand point.

Quality of PCB

It is a given that you cannot sacrifice quality at the altar of speed. Hence you need to choose a partner who is committed to industry benchmarks and stringent quality checks. That way, you will be able to avoid not just delays but other costly mistakes includes loss of reputation to your company.

Ability to produce at scale

In choosing your quick turn PCB prototype prototype partner, what you also need to judge is whether the partner has the wherewithal to handle large production runs. While delivering high quality prototypes is critical, if it cannot be followed up with equally high-quality full volume runs, you will not be able to meet your production targets or that the large production runs could have flaws and deficiencies that you cannot afford to have. Evaluating the partner’s holistic competence and capabilities, is therefore mandatory. What you need is a partner that can assure both quality and timelines, irrespective of the volumes involved. This means that the partner needs to have the right equipment, the requisite manpower and the overall ability to offer production runs at scale.

Clearly, therefore, the secret to quick turn PCB prototype is to first understand how your requirements are likely to impact the production cycle and secondly to ensure that you go with the right partner who can make deliveries as per your requirement. A thorough analysis of both these aspects will ensure that you do not feel stuck at any point with aspects that are beyond your control, but which impact your brand and its reputation.

At Technotronix, we combine state-of-the-art technology with our advanced engineering to deliver unparalleled quality and service. With fast PCB prototyping and consistent delivery of high-quality PCBs, we offer a robust source of competitive advantage to our clients. With our four decades of experience, you can rest assured that we are cognizant of the industry best practices and will keep you ahead of the curve. Visit to know more about fast PCB prototyping service and feel free to contact us. Also, you can drop an email to us at [email protected].

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