Author Topic: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed  (Read 8514 times)

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Offline piperpilotTopic starter

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Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« on: December 06, 2016, 02:33:59 pm »
Hey guys...I've been a lurker for a long time, first post.  I have a small electronics business, we make and sell designs for Ham Radio.  For the past several years, I have done PCB sourcing and assembly overseas.  I'm now looking to see if I can find someone domestically to work with.  A Google search turns up a lot of big names and I know they have high quality, probably due to working with the Military, etc.  I'm looking for a fully capable smaller PCB Assembly house that would be willing to work with me.  Most of the time I run 100-200pcs of a board, right now I have the need for a 400pcs run.  I was hoping to find someone that could "fit me in" between their larger customer orders, maybe utilize their machines when they wouldn't normally be running. 

I have tried to find a domestic source in the past and generally it has been 4-5X the cost...obviously at that price point its worth it to continue working overseas...I'm willing to pay more for domestic work and quality, but not that multiplier.

Anyways, if you represent a company, or know of one, please shoot me an email or post here.  

Thanks,
Curtis
cpope (at) hobbypcb (dot) com
 

Offline rea5245

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2016, 02:39:36 pm »
Check out PCBShopper.com. It's best known as a price comparison site for PCB manufacturing, but there's a tab at the top of the page where you can select PCB assembly. There are only 6 companies in the assembly price calculator (fewer companies offer on-line quote forms for assembly than for manufacturing) but 4 are in the US.

Disclosure: I run PCBShopper.

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Offline KL27x

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2016, 09:09:39 pm »
Quote
A Google search turns up a lot of big names and I know they have high quality, probably due to working with the Military, etc. 
Good luck. In my limited experience trying to source, domestically, the companies working in medical and military have no interest in working for competitive rates, at all, let alone in small quantities, lol. Some of the smaller companies that will even get close are buying the pcb's from China and only assembling them domestically. Most of them "work with partners oversea" have "shared facilities" blah blah.

Quote
4-5X the cost
about par for the course.
« Last Edit: December 06, 2016, 09:15:41 pm by KL27x »
 

Offline Kean

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2016, 01:38:40 am »
I have heard good things about these two.  Being in Australia, I don't have personal experience with them though.
https://macrofab.com/
http://pcb.ng/
 

Offline piperpilotTopic starter

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2016, 03:32:17 am »
Thanks Kean...I took a look at macrofab...really neat software, but CRAZY expensive...not sure where their numbers came from, but they are way out of control.  Pcb.ng seems to be more of a small run service for prototypes...I might try them at some point.

Still looking...I'll post back here if I find anyone willing to play!
 

Offline Ice-Tea

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2016, 08:05:43 am »
Have you conisered just doing it yourself?
 

Offline ar__systems

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2016, 04:03:56 am »

A decent SMT PnP may cost you ~$1500, then some feeders and other accessories, another $1000, a stencil printer, $200, and finally a good reflow oven for $500.
These numbers are unreal.
 

Offline coppice

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2016, 08:40:36 am »
The cheapest automatic pnp with optical AFAIK is only around 1300 euro, I don't see why it is unreal.
That's a bit less than anything I have seen. Which machine are you thinking of?
 

Offline Ice-Tea

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2016, 09:47:05 am »
That's a hobby machine. It requires assembly. Add the labor just to get the kit assembles will probably double the price already. Unless you're in a Shenzen garage setup...
 

Offline coppice

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2016, 10:46:09 am »
That's a hobby machine. It requires assembly. Add the labor just to get the kit assembles will probably double the price already. Unless you're in a Shenzen garage setup...
As well as assembly time, a lot of bits aren't in the kit. You'll probably pay a few hundred dollars more by the time you've got all the bits, and you'll spend ages sources them.
 

Offline coppice

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #10 on: December 08, 2016, 01:20:08 pm »
The cheapest automatic pnp with optical AFAIK is only around 1300 euro, I don't see why it is unreal.
That's a bit less than anything I have seen. Which machine are you thinking of?

A bit corrupted memory. The correct number is 1700 euro for a LitePlacer.
According to Daves video #740 about the LitePlacer, it was $1300 in early 2015.
 

Offline ar__systems

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #11 on: December 08, 2016, 01:33:53 pm »
It is a toy, not a machine. You can't use it in production.

And TM962... Hell no. It is unusable in production at all. You have to try it before recommending.
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #12 on: December 08, 2016, 01:52:30 pm »
The cheapest automatic pnp with optical AFAIK is only around 1300 euro, I don't see why it is unreal.
That's a bit less than anything I have seen. Which machine are you thinking of?

A bit corrupted memory. The correct number is 1700 euro for a LitePlacer.
According to Daves video #740 about the LitePlacer, it was $1300 in early 2015.
I would not consider Liteplacer as any remotely serious machine for the task as it does not have any sort of feeders. Doing 100-200 board run without feeders, with just short pieces of cut tape is a joke.
 
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Offline coppice

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #13 on: December 08, 2016, 02:00:32 pm »
It is a toy, not a machine. You can't use it in production.
I don't think anyone seriously promotes it for production. Its developer promotes it as a prototype assembly machine.

And TM962... Hell no. It is unusable in production at all. You have to try it before recommending.
I assume he means the T962A. That does seem to be a really poor machine. The somewhat similar QS-5100, on the other hand, is like a T962A with all the bad stuff cleaned up. People seem generally happy with that model, and its price is similar to the T962A.
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #14 on: December 08, 2016, 02:05:41 pm »
For reflow oven, $300 TM962 is almost standard issue used by Shenzhen backyard factories. There is another thread here dedicates to modifying it for better performance.
You can try using it for reflowing 10x10 cm boards. For reflowing any sensible size panels, it's useless. You could sort of get away with SnPb solder paste and lack of any connectors with metal body (like micro USB). But no chance for any remotely consistent results with lead-free. Some parts on the panel won't reflow but other will be already burning.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2016, 02:09:18 pm by wraper »
 
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Offline wraper

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #15 on: December 08, 2016, 02:16:00 pm »
I've used a Torch T200N personally and the largest board I've ever reflowed is a 5cm*13cm one with absolutely no problems at all. Solder used is SAC305, mesh type 4.
That is forced convection oven with nitrogen, not IR with all of it's hot and cold spots where even PCB and parts colors means a lot.
 
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Offline aholtzma

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #16 on: December 19, 2016, 02:31:42 pm »
Try OCM Manufacturing in Ottawa, Canada. I've used them for a lot of short run builds (radio boards). They are easy to work with and the pricing is very reasonable.
 

Offline mikeselectricstuff

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #17 on: December 20, 2016, 12:45:32 am »
Based on my experience in the UK it is possible to find assembly at reasonable cost ( assuming you don't want it urgently) , but you do have to shop around quite a lot to find somewhere that fits your needs. IME you should be looking at small places, or places that assemble their own products in-house and sub out their spare capacity. 
A problem is that good places don't need to advertise. Beware anywhere that advertises a lot.

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Offline viya

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #18 on: December 20, 2016, 03:13:21 am »
PCB Assembly Cost = PCB manufacturing cost + PCB frame test or flying probe test fees + PCB engineering cost (only for small prototype order) + Component cost (additional 5%) + SMT assembly charges + PCB assembly test cost + Box building charges + Package cost (for special application) + Logistics cost (requested)
« Last Edit: December 20, 2016, 03:16:09 am by viya »
 

Offline richardlawson1489

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2016, 06:58:58 am »
Hi, piperpilot. You can take a look at 4pcbassembly.com. We may help you with the specific requirements and achieve a long-term goal.
 

Offline Rog520

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #20 on: December 30, 2016, 07:08:04 am »
Curtis, I see you're in Florida so I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I've used a company called Ascentron here in Oregon for several years now and have been generally happy with the pricing and quality of assembly. You can check them out at ascentron.com.
 

Offline technotronix

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Re: Reasonable cost DOMESTIC PCBA Contract Manufacturer Needed
« Reply #21 on: December 31, 2016, 11:02:28 am »
Hi piperpilot. We are experienced custom pcb manufacturer, with 4 decades of experience in providing quick turnaround time and affordable cost as per the end customer specification, drawing and samples.
 


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