PCB Prototype Manufacturing and Assembly at Custom PCB Manufacturer

Prototype PCB Manufacturing and Assembly

PCB prototype is manufacturing PCB samples before massive fabrication. The process and quality of PCB prototype manufacturing and assembly should be the same as massive fabrication.

Prototype PCB enables you to confirm the manufacturability of your PCB design in a short lead-time at a small cost, solve possible issues, and avoid economic losses in the massive manufacturing stage.

The workflow of PCB prototype manufacturing and assembly is below:

When you send your PCB design file Gerber to PCBONLINE, the professionals review your files and requirements to make sure the manufacturability and reply a quote. If anything needs improvement, they suggest it. When you place an order, PCBONLINE starts prototype PCB manufacturing.

The prototype PCB manufacturing process varies according to different designs, but always includes laminate pre-treatment > inner circuit generation > drilling > lamination > external circuit generation > solder mask > surface finish.

In regards of prototype PCB assembly, PCBONLINE purchases the electronic components for prototype assembly from Digikey, Mouser, or LCSC within 1 day, which is synchronized with prototype PCB production. And the prototype PCB assembly process includes the SMT and THT assembly.

After prototype PCB manufacturing and assembly, the custom PCB manufacturer PCBONLINE provides value-added services for samples, such as IC programming, conformal coating, thermal aging, functional testing, and box build assembly, are available from PCBONLINE.

Prototype PCB First Article Inspection

PCB prototyping/small-quantity production is never the end of a terminal company's PCB project but only the early phase, which verifies the design's functionality and manufacturability. We look forward to solving all possible technical issues in your project and being your manufacturing partner to help your product succeed, so that you may order bulk PCB production from us.

For all prototype and small-volume orders, we offer the first article inspection (FAI). This inspection workstation is independent of the SMT line and operated by a specialised operator. After prototype PCB assembly, we randomly pick one prototype for the first article inspection.

During the first article inspection, the operator holds the board in one hand, and uses the two contacts of a probe pen in the other hand to clamp the solder joint of each SMD component. The probe pen connects to the FAI machine, and the computer displays the SMD actual value and results, while the speaker also speaks.

For PCB prototyping orders, we not only offer the first article inspection but also functional testing, conformal coating, thermal aging testing, and box-build assembly to make finished samples. For original equipment manufacturer (OEM) termianl companies and business makers, we do not suggest order pooling but single PCB prototyping for the best quality, especially if your boards are complex PCBs used for aerospace, defense, medical, automotive, communication, industrial, and research.

To original equipment manufacturer (OEM) terminal companies and business makers, we do not suggest order pooling but single PCB prototyping for the best quality, especially if your boards are used for mid- and high-end applications, like aerospace, defense, medical, automotive, communication, and industrial.

Price of PCB Prototypes

The unit price of PCB prototypes is higher than bulk PCB production. And the PCB prototype price is custom, so it must be obtained by getting a quote from the prototype PCB manufacturer.

The price of general PCBs is calculated according to the total area of the laminate to be used. The total area of rigid prototype PCBs is within 0.3㎡, including FR4 PCBs, aluminum PCBs, copper-base PCBs, and high-frequency PCBs.

But it should be noted that the ceramic PCB prototype price is calculated by PCB piece. While the prototyping price of flexible PCBs and rigid-flex PCBs are calculated according to the total weight.

If you order dual-sided flexible PCB prototypes from PCBONLINE, $200 is enough for you to have the FPCs manufactured with value-added services included.

If you order dual-sided flexible PCB prototypes from PCBONLINE, $200 is enough for you to have the FPCs manufactured with value-added services included.

If you order 4-layer PCB prototypes from PCBONLINE, it costs about $100 for FR4 PCBs, $400 for flexible PCBs, and $1000 for rigid-flex PCBs.

Nowadays, many PCB manufacturers provide online instant PCB quotes. But please note that only simpler FR4 and aluminum PCBs support that. You can go to PCBONLINE's online quote page to check your FR4 and aluminum PCB prices.