Developing a new PCB based solution can be a time consuming and laborious process. Reducing the time and cost associated with the development process can greatly improve your next project's chance of success. In this article we will discuss the advantages of beginning your design verification with prototype PCBs and then the advantages of shifting to standard grade PCBs once you have validated your design.
Pcbmain offers both prototype service and standard PCB production. While you will usually eventually use both services, there is an appropriate time for each. The difference is simple. With the prototype service, we take your design and quickly build a small batch of boards using basic materials, which we then ship to you in just a few days. The idea is just to give you a sense of whether your design works or not and worth it to do a full production run. You can test the boards to locate any design flaws before you make a big investment in PCB fabrication based on that design.
In standard PCB production, we are actually making the boards you will use in your applications. This will take a bit longer since we may be using different materials and more complex fabrication processes (e.g. multi-layer designs), but it will usually still be as fast or faster than other PCB fabrication services. You will normally make a larger run of these, since you will actually be using these boards for your market applications.
If you are working from an existing design you have used before, you may want to jump directly to the standard PCB production service. Since design flaws are much less likely, it could save you some time to get the standard boards you need right away. If you are testing a new design, we highly recommend you engage our PCB prototype service. You will lose little time and be able to verify that your design works before standard production, which could save you considerable time and money if you do uncover design flaws.
If you are working from an existing design you have used before, you may want to jump directly to the standard PCB production service. Since design flaws are much less likely, it could save you some time to get the standard boards you need right away. If you are testing a new design, we highly recommend you engage our PCB prototype service. You will lose little time and be able to verify that your design works before standard production, which could save you considerable time and money if you do uncover design flaws.
When you are just starting the development of a new product our rapid PCB prototyping service can help you get your new design from concept to production in record time. When developing a new product, quickly iterating through new versions of your design is of the utmost importance. Rapidly testing and correcting designs is what will allow you to hone in on a finished product as quickly as possible. Additionally, it is also well known that making large engineering changes to a design is best done in the early phases of product development. PCB Prototyping service can allow you to locate just such design change requirements early in the development cycle. Spot design errors in low quantity prototype production runs of your PCB board before ramping up production volume. Hence, it allows you to refine your next design quickly at an affordable cost.
As the saying goes, "time is money" and waiting on long lead time PCBs can doom a project to failure. That is why we offer quick-turn PCB prototype service, which builds your proto boards in as few as 2 working days. Additionally, this service is well suited to low volume production runs with a minimum order quantity of only five boards.
Although our prototype PCBs do not have as high of production tolerances as standard circuit boards, they allow you to get a very good idea of how well your final production version work. Having an accurate view of how your final design will turn out is of great importance to ensuring that your design is successful. Our prototyping service provides you with a nearly identical product to that of a high volume standard production run, albeit at slightly lower manufacturing tolerances. Despite the lower production tolerances, we support track widths down to 4mils and track spacing down to 4mils, 5mils minimum annular rings and minimum drill sizes down to 0.2mm (8mils). Additionally, we can manufacture PCB up to 16 layers in layer count and 500x500 mm in size, covering most PCB applications. Reviewing these capabilities, it is apparent that our prototyping service will allow you to test and verify demanding tight tolerance designs at a lower cost, with shorter turnaround times than what you would encounter with standard PCB services.
When developing surface mount based solutions, it's also of great utility to order solder stencils for prototype assembly purposes. You need to test your circuit design and make sure it is good for huge production.
It is recommended to use Standard PCB service when your design is ready to transform from prototype phase to production phase. We can manufacture up to 10 million pieces high quality PCBs with very competitive prices. To endow your project with expected function and more possibilities, we offer advanced features for Standard PCB services. Comprehensive capabilities can be found in the following table:
| Feature | Capability |
|---|---|
| Quality Grade | Standard IPC 2 |
| Number of Layers | 1 - 32layers |
| Order Quantity | 1pc - 10,000,000 pcs |
| Build Time | 2days - 5weeks |
| Material | FR-4 Standard Tg 150°C, FR4-High Tg 170°C, FR4-High-Tg 180°C, FR4-Halogen-free, FR4-Halogen-free & High-Tg |
| Board Size | Min 6*6mm | Max 600*700mm |
| Board size tolerance | ±0.1mm - ±0.3mm |
| Board Thickness | 0.4mm - 3.2mm |
| Board Thickness Tolerance | ±0.1mm - ±10% |
| Copper Weight | 0.5oz - 6.0oz |
| Inner Layer Copper Weight | 0.5oz - 2.0oz |
| Copper Thickness Tolerance | +0μm +20μm |
| Min Tracing/Spacing | 3mil/3mil |
| Solder Mask Sides | As per the file |
| Solder Mask Color | Green, White, Blue, Black, Red, Yellow |
| Silkscreen Sides | As per the file |
| Silkscreen Color | White, Blue, Black, Red, Yellow |
| Surface Finish | HASL - Hot Air Solder Leveling Lead Free HASL - RoHS ENIG - Electroless Nickle/Immersion Gold - RoHS ENEPIG- Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold - RoHS Immersion Silver - RoHS Immersion Tin - RoHS OSP -Organic Solderability Preservatives - RoHS |
| Min Annular Ring | 3mil |
| Min Drilling Hole Diameter | 6mil, 4mil-laser drill |
| Min Width of Cutout (NPTH) | 0.8mm |
| NPTH Hole Size Tolerance | ±.002" (±0.05mm) |
| Min Width of Slot Hole (PTH) | 0.6mm |
| PTH Hole Size Tolerance | ±.003" (±0.08mm) - ±.006" (±0.15mm) |
| Surface/Hole Plating Thickness | 20μm - 30μm |
| SM Tolerance (LPI) | .003" (0.075mm) |
| Aspect Ratio | 1.10 (hole size: board thickness) |
| Test | 10V - 250V, flying probe or testing fixture |
| Impedance tolerance | ±5% - ±10% |
| SMD Pitch | 0.2mm(8mil) |
| BGA Pitch | 0.2mm(8mil) |
| Chamfer of Gold Fingers | 20, 30, 45, 60 |
| Other Techniques | Gold fingers Blind and Buried Holes peelable solder mask Edge plating Carbon Mask Kapton tape Countersink/counterbore hole Half-cut/Castellated hole Press fit hole Via tented/covered with resin Via plugged/filled with resin Via in pad Electrical Test |
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