Introduction

Prototyping occurs at the earliest stages of design and the ultimate goal of prototyping is to obtain an accurate, efficient and successful product that meets specifications.

If you have a PCB project and are looking for a circuit board prototyping service, you may have some questions.

“How soon can a prototype take”

“Do I need a prototype”

“How much does a PCB prototype cost? ” Or other questions.

This article will answer each of these questions.

What is included in the cost of a PCB prototype?

With regard to PCB prototypes, there are several important factors that determine the total cost

• Board size: relatively speaking, the larger the board size, the higher the cost
• Materials: Some substrates and PCB lamination materials will cost more. If you need to manufacture high performance multilayer PCBs or HDI PCBs, then the materials will be more expensive.
• Complexity: If there are a large number of components involved, the total cost will also be much higher for complex and dense wiring designs.
• Lead time: If your PCB project is urgent, lead time is also in the cost range.

What is the cost range for a PCB prototype?

The cost of a PCB prototype depends heavily on the above factors: size, design, materials, PCB complexity, etc. It is difficult to give an absolute price. Before working with your PCB supplier, you should carefully understand each factor that may add to the cost.

But you can remember the rule of thumb: the smaller the production batch, the higher the cost of prototyping!

The cost difference between producing 1,000 PCBs and producing 10 PCBs is also relatively large, and for 10 boards the assembly costs will be a little higher.

How much time does it take to make a PCB prototype?

As with the cost of a PCB prototype, the time taken to manufacture a PCB prototype is also dependent on the design of the board. The complexity of the board, simple boards can be delivered in a few weeks, while other complex boards can take several months. Of course, there can also be delays in delivery if the supplier is disrupted.

Why PCB prototyping?

Gather more accurate requirements

Developing a PCB prototype can help to consolidate the functionality of the final design requirements.

Understand the problem from a technical point of view

Solve technical challenges that may be encountered in device design.

Identify problems and at low cost

True innovation always involves the risk of failure. By building prototypes, you can quickly weed out ineffective approaches and focus on the ones that work.

Assemble financial support

By developing a prototype to make an idea feasible, you reduce the risk of investment and thus increase the likelihood of securing funding.

Easier patenting

Key components of a patent application, such as patent drawings and inventor’s logs, can be developed through the prototyping process.

To summarise

PCB prototyping is still proving to be the best and safest way to ‘reduce practice’. Sometimes the simplest boards can cause the most trouble, so it is always worth investing in a prototype.

Determining the final manufacturing cost of a PCB prototype requires a lot of work and KingPCB, as a leading PCB manufacturer, can provide in-depth and comprehensive costing to make your design goals a breeze

To find out more about our PCB prototype manufacturing, contact us now or by sales@kingpcb.com.