Manufacturing your PCB prototype is one of the most important steps in electronic equipment production cycle. Until you develop a highly stable PCB prototype you will not be able to have any proof of concept and you will not be able to take your product to the next level. The PCB prototype manufacturing process could turn out to be a highly expensive process. For start-up companies with a very tight budget this could turnout to be a huge burden.
Is there a way to reduce the PCB protype building cost? Here are some guidelines for you to consider. Firstly, work with the most experienced PCB design engineer. The PCB prototypes will not be working 100% the way you want with the first attempt. It has to undergo a number of rounds of iterations. Each round of iteration would cost you and this is where working with the most experienced PCB design engineer would help. It would help you reduce the number of rounds of iterations and thereby effectively reducing the total prototype building cost.
Before you get to the production process, try to make use of all the latest PCB design tools so that you get things as close as possible to what you are looking to build. To support your efforts further, try to find the best China PCB manufacturer. When you outsource your PCB prototype building needs to a manufacturer in China you will be able to save a substantial amount of money. Manufacturers in China are able to offer such competitive quotes because the labour costs in China are low. This will enable you to get the best quality PCB prototypes manufactured at a very reasonable price. You would be spending just a fraction of what your local company would charge for each round of iteration.
You need to be a bit cautious when you are tying to source your PCB prototypes from China with the intention of saving money. Make sure that you are interacting with the manufacturer directly because if you do not interact with your manufacturer directly then you may not be able to get the fullest cost savings benefits. There are mediators and intermediaries that would be interested in working with you but as you could easily guess, when you work with an intermediary the cost for PCB prototype building would be marked up by these agents and you will not be able to get the actual factory price. Before entrusting your PCB prototype building requirements to any China PCB supplier try to make sure that you are working with the manufacturers and not with any wholesale agents.
Even before you approach your PCB prototype building company try to run as many feasible tests as possible using simulated software tools. Make use of all the help you could get and also find the most trusted manufacturers of PCB prototype building. This will help you get the maximum cost saving benefits by avoiding unnecessary manufacturer side errors in the manufacturing process.
