PCB Tech - What are the factors that affect PCB prices?

Presumably, many PCB purchasers are at a loss for the changing PCB prices. Even PCB purchasers with many years of experience may not understand the reason. There are many factors influencing the price of circuit boards. Due to PCB board materials, production processes, different difficulties, customer needs, regions, payment methods, manufacturers and other factors, the circuit board process costs are different. The following is a detailed introduction:

First, the different materials used in the circuit board cause the price diversity

Let’s talk about double-sided boards. The sheet materials generally include FR-4, CEM-3, etc. The sheet thickness ranges from 0.6mm to 3.0mm, and the copper thickness varies from ½Oz to 3Oz. These sheets create a huge cost gap. In terms of solder mask ink, there is also a certain price difference between ordinary thermosetting oil and photosensitive green oil, so the difference in materials causes the price diversity.

Second, the difference in the production process used by the PCB causes the price diversity

Different production processes will cause different costs. For example, gold-plated boards and tin-sprayed boards, the production of gongs (milling) boards and beer (punching) boards, and the use of silk-printed lines and dry film lines will all cause different costs, resulting in a variety of prices.

Third, the price diversity caused by the difficulty of PCB itself

Even if the material is the same and the process is the same, the different difficulty of the PCB itself will cause different costs. For example, there are 1000 holes on two kinds of circuit boards, and the hole diameter of one board is larger than 0.6mm and the hole diameter of the other board is smaller than 0.6mm, which will result in different drilling costs; for example, the two kinds of circuit boards are the same, but the line width and line spacing Different, one is greater than 0.2mm, and the other is less than 0.2mm, which will also cause different production costs, because the difficult board has a higher scrap rate, which will inevitably increase the cost, and thus cause the price diversity.

Fourth, different customer requirements will also cause different prices

The level of customer requirements will directly affect the production rate of the board factory. For example, a board according to IPC-A-600E (printed circuit board acceptance specification), class1 requires a 98% pass rate, but according to class3 requirements, it may only have a 90% pass rate. This results in different costs for the board factory, and finally leads to volatile product prices.

Fifth, the price diversity caused by different PCB manufacturers

Even the same product, but because different manufacturers have different process equipment and technical levels, different costs will be formed. Nowadays, many manufacturers like to produce gold-plated panels because of the simple process and low cost. However, when some manufacturers produce gold-plated panels, the scrap rate rises, resulting in higher costs. Therefore, they prefer to produce tin-sprayed panels, so their quotations for tin-sprayed panels are on the contrary. The gold plate is low.

Sixth, price differences caused by different payment methods

At present, PCB board factories generally adjust PCB prices according to different payment methods, ranging from 5% to 10%, which also causes price differences.

Seventh, the diversity of prices caused by different regions

At present, in terms of geographic location in China, the price is increasing from south to north. There are certain differences in prices in different regions. Therefore, different regions also cause price diversification.