[Weiwenxin PCB]
Part 1: Various Factors Affecting the Price of a PCB Board
The price of PCBs has always puzzled many purchasers. Many people also wonder how these prices are calculated when placing orders online. Let’s discuss the components of PCB pricing.
For example, for ordinary double-sided boards, the materials typically include FR4 (from Shengyi, Jiante, Guoji, with prices from high to low). The board thickness varies from 0.2mm to 3.0mm, and the copper thickness varies from 0.5oz to 3oz. All of these factors contribute to significant price differences in the material category; in terms of solder mask ink, there are also price differences between ordinary thermosetting oil and photosensitive green oil.
Common treatments include: OSP (anti-oxidation), leaded tin spraying, lead-free tin spraying (environmentally friendly), gold plating, immersion gold, and various combination processes, with prices increasing for later processes.
If two circuit boards each have 1000 holes, a board with a hole diameter greater than 0.2mm will incur different drilling costs compared to another board with a hole diameter less than 0.2mm. If the other parameters are the same but the line width and spacing differ (one being greater than 4mil and the other being less than 4mil), production costs will also vary. Additionally, designs that do not follow the standard PCB production process incur extra costs, such as half holes, buried blind holes, internal holes, and carbon printing on keypads.
Common copper foil thicknesses include: 18um (1/2OZ), 35um (1OZ), 70um (2OZ), 105um (3OZ), 140um (4OZ), etc. The prices increase with thicker copper foil.
Common standards include: IPC2, IPC3, enterprise standards, military standards, etc. The higher the standard, the higher the price.
(1) Mold costs: For samples and small batches, PCB manufacturers generally use drilling and milling for shaping, without additional milling fees. For large batches, mold opening is required, which incurs a mold fee, generally starting from 1000 RMB.
(2) Testing fees: Samples usually undergo flying probe testing, with manufacturers charging between 100-400 RMB for testing; for bulk orders, testing fixtures are required, which typically cost between 1000-1500 RMB.
Payment methods that result in shorter receipt times, such as cash payments, generally have lower prices.
(1) The lower the quantity, the relatively higher the price, as even for 1 PCS, the manufacturer must prepare engineering documentation and produce film, which is unavoidable.
(2) Delivery time: The data provided to the PCB factory must be complete (GERBER data, number of layers, material, thickness, surface treatment, ink color, character color, and any special requirements must be clearly stated).
Part 2: Pricing for Various Factors
For PCBs, we have a pricing formula (i.e., based on material utilization), as follows:
Using 1 square meter of material as the baseline, with dimensions of 1020mm*1020mm
Assuming the PCB length is L and width is H, then 1 square meter of material can produce this board
The quantity is (1020/L+5)*(1020/H+5)=Z (this is the layout quantity)
Unit price =X/Z
X is the following price:
1L FR-1 price per square meter (including processing fee): 130 RMB
2L FR-4 price per square meter (including processing fee): 430 RMB
4L FR-4 price per square meter (including processing fee): 720 RMB
6L FR-4 price per square meter (including processing fee): 1200 RMB
8L FR-4 price per square meter (including processing fee): 1800 RMB
10L FR-4 price per square meter (including processing fee): 3500 RMB
12L FR-4 price per square meter (including processing fee): 5500 RMB
2-layer board first unit price = (length*width*0.12*quantity + length*width*0.12*4 + 80) / quantity
2-layer board second unit price = (length*width*0.12*quantity + 80) / quantity
4-layer board first unit price = (length*width*0.6*quantity + length*width*0.12*6 + 1500 + 300) / quantity
4-layer board second unit price = (length*width*0.6*quantity + 300) / quantity
6-layer board first unit price = (length*width*0.8*quantity + length*width*0.12*8 + 1800 + 300) / quantity
6-layer board second unit price = (length*width*0.8*quantity + 300) / quantity
That’s it, for more, consult the manufacturer!
PCB Price Estimation
PCB prices are calculated by multiplying the area of the board by the unit prices below for reference:
General single-sided tin spraying: 0.035/square meter
Double-sided tin spraying: thickness over 1.2 is 0.45/square meter
Under 1.2 is 0.41/square meter
Double-sided gold plating thickness over 1.6 is 0.48/square meter
Under 1.6 is 0.45/square meter
PCB quotes include both sample and bulk pricing
Sample quotes are divided into ordinary samples and fast samples
Ordinary sample delivery times depend on the number of layers; single-sided generally takes one day, double-sided generally takes three days, and multi-layer boards may take several days to ten days.
Pricing is
Single-sided engineering fee 150 RMB + board-making fee 0.04 RMB/square cm + film fee + 0.05 RMB/square cm
Double-sided board engineering fee 250 RMB + board-making fee 0.05 RMB/square cm + film fee + 0.05 RMB/square cm.
Four-layer board engineering fee 600 RMB + board-making fee 0.01 RMB/square cm + film fee + 0.05 RMB/square cm.
Based on the difficulty of the board, some manufacturers may also add testing fees. Testing fees are generally 0.002 RMB/point.
Fast samples have shorter delivery times but will include an additional express fee. Double-sided express in Shenzhen generally charges 200-400 RMB per item, four-layer express in three days is 600-1000 RMB per item, and six-layer express in three days is 800-1000 RMB per item.
The unit price for small quantities is much higher than for large batches. For example, a double-sided 1.6MM board can be done for 450 RMB/square meter in large quantities, but for small quantities, it may not be feasible to accept orders below 500 RMB/square meter.
—— Weiwenxin “Printed Circuit World”
Note: Articles published by this public account are provided by the author, some sourced from the internet, and media are requested to indicate the source!
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