Large volume assembly fabs

[nwvlab]

Hi there!

I read in this and other forums about low volume pcb assembly fabs (<10k pcs). Indeed I used also the online quote forms on pcbway and pcbcart, but the pcb assembly price seems to saturate above a certain board quantity (typically 5k-10k). Anyone knows about pcb assembly services for larger volumes (30k-100k) ?

thank you!

[DerekG]

Hi there!

Indeed I used also the online quote forms on pcbway and pcbcart, but the pcb assembly price seems to saturate above a certain board quantity (typically 5k-10k).

With PCBWAY, you can contact them direct for better pricing on large quantities. They will be reluctant to do a large quantity until you have OK'd a sample run from them.

If there are no changes after the sample run (which might be say 1000 boards), you will be offered a better price on high volume due to the volume & the fact that no new tooling is required. They can also supply you solder paste stencils at quite good prices too if you ask them.

[nwvlab]

Thank you very much!

A little bit off topic: do you know if they can do IC programming too?

[mikeselectricstuff]

The reason the price levels out is simply that once setup/admin  costs and part-reel wastage become a small part of the overall cost, what you are paying for is machine time, which doesn't get any cheaper with higher volumes.

The level-out point will vary depending on the speed of the machine you're buying time on, so it's more a case of finding a manufacturer geared to the higher volumes than getting a better price for higher volumes from the same manufacturer.

[nwvlab]

so it's more a case of finding a manufacturer geared to the higher volumes than getting a better price for higher volumes from the same manufacturer.

That I was asking for Do you know/recommend any suitable for high volumes?