Controlling PCB costs requires rigorous initial board design, rigorous forwarding of your specifications to suppliers, and maintaining rigorous relationships with them.

To help you out, we’ve collected 8 tips from customers and suppliers that you can use to reduce unnecessary costs when producing PCBs.

1.Consider the quantity and consult the manufacturer

Even before the technical final engineering design phase, conversations with your suppliers can allow you to begin discussions and understand the production-related challenges of your project.

From the beginning, consider your volumes by gathering as much information you can from your suppliers: material specialties, track technical specifications, or board tolerances. The wrong choice can lead to a considerable amount of wasted time and generate unnecessary costs which in fact are determined as early as the design phase. So take time to discuss and assess the advantages and disadvantages of all the solutions available to you.

2.Minimize circuit board complexity

This is probably the simplest way to reduce PCB costs: optimize board component placement through simple design. You can reduce costs by not using any complex forms and minimizing the size, but be careful, in this case remember to leave enough space between each element.

Complex forms, especially irregular ones, increase costs. Internal PCB cutting is best avoided unless required for final assembly. The manufacturer issues a supplemental invoice for all additional cuts. Many engineers prefer the original look, but in the real world, this difference does not affect the public image and does not add any functionality.

3.Define the correct size and thickness

Board format has a high impact on the wiring process: if the PCB is small and complex, more time and effort will be needed for the assembler to complete it. Highly compact sizes will always be expensive. So it’s always a good thing to save space, we recommend not reducing it more than necessary to avoid multiple operations on the same board.

Once again, remember that complex forms have an impact on the price: a square or rectangular PCB will allow you to keep control.

The more the PCB thickness is increased, the higher the manufacturing cost will be…in theory anyway! The number of layers you choose affects the circuit board vias (type and diameter). If the board is thinner, the overall board cost can be reduced, but more holes may be needed, and some machines sometimes cannot be used with thinner PCBs. Talking to your supplier early will help you save money!

4.Correctly size holes and rings

Large diameter pads and holes are the easiest to create because they don’t require highly accurate machines. On the other hand, smaller ones require much more delicate control: they take longer to make and the machinery is more expensive, which considerably increases your PCB production costs.

5.Communicate data as clearly as possible

Engineers or buyers who order their PCBs must be able to forward their request as clearly as possible, with complete documentation (Gerber files including all the layers, impedance checking data, specific stackup, etc.): in that way suppliers have no need to interpret and time consuming and costly corrective actions will be avoided.

When information is missing, suppliers need to be able to contact their customers, wasting precious time that could have been used on other projects.
Finally, clear documentation makes it possible to identify possible failures to avoid breakdowns and the resulting customer-supplier tensions.

6.Optimise panelling

The optimum distribution of circuits on a panel also plays a key role: every millimetre of used surface area generates costs, therefore it’s better not to leave too much space between the different circuits. Remember that some components can overlap and require additional space. If panelling is too tight it sometimes requires manual soldering resulting in considerable price increases.

7.Choose the right type of via
Penetrating vias are cheaper, whereas blind or embedded holes generate extra costs. These are only needed on complex, high density or high frequency boards.

The number of vias and their type have an impact on production costs. Multilayer boards usually require smaller diameter holes.

8.Rethink your buying habits

Once you’ve mastered all your costs, you can also review your purchase frequencies and quantities. By grouping orders you can save considerable amounts. For example, if you buy a hundred circuits twenty times a year, you can decide to change the frequency by only ordering five times a year.

Be careful not to store them for too long though because of the risk of obsolescence.

You now know how to optimize your PCB costs as much as possible. Be careful, because in some cases, making savings on printed circuit creation may not always be a good idea. Even if costs are reduced for initial production, they may be more expensive over the long run: you can never be sure you won’t have to replace boards more often… You will then also have to manage customer dissatisfaction and find a new solution later on to avoid these losses.

Whatever choices you make, in the end, the best solution to control costs is to always discuss things with your suppliers. They will be able to give you relevant and correct information to meet your requirements. They can help you anticipate the many challenges you may encounter and will save you precious time.