PCB Tech - Different materials used in PCB cause price diversity

Take the ordinary double-sided PCB board as an example. The board materials generally include FR-4, CEM-3, etc. The board thickness varies from 0.6mm to 3.0mm, and the copper thickness varies from ½Oz to 3 Oz. All of these are in the same sheet. The item has caused a huge price difference; in terms of solder mask ink, there is also a certain price difference between ordinary thermosetting oil and photosensitive green oil, so the difference of materials has caused the price diversity.

First, the difference in the production process used by the PCB causes the diversity of prices

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 circuits and dry film circuits will all cause different costs, resulting in diversified prices.

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

Even if the material is the same and the process is the same, the 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.

Third, 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, class1 requires a 98% pass rate, but according to class3 requirements, it may only have a pass rate of 90%, resulting in different costs for the board factory, And finally lead to volatile product prices.

Fourth, the price diversity caused by different PCB manufacturers

Even for the same product, because different manufacturers have different process equipment and technical levels, they will have different costs. Nowadays, many manufacturers like to produce gold-plated plates because of the simple process and low cost. However, some manufacturers produce gold-plated plates, and the scrap will increase. As a result of increased costs, they would rather produce tin-sprayed panels, so their quotation for tin-sprayed panels is lower than that of gold-plated panels.

Five, price differences caused by different payment methods

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

6. Different regions cause price diversity

At present, in terms of geographical location in China, the price is increasing from south to north, and there are certain differences in prices in different regions. Therefore, different regions also cause the diversity of prices. How to calculate the PCB quotation!

1. Plate cost (different plate cost is different)

2. Drilling costs (the number of holes and the size of the aperture affect the drilling costs)

3. Process cost (different process requirements of the board lead to different process difficulties, and even prices will vary)

4. Artificial water and electricity plus management costs (this cost depends on the cost control of each factory, relatively speaking, Taiwan-funded factories are lower in many countries)

That's the basic composition. As for the price of PCB raw materials, it has basically stabilized now, and the possibility of price increase is unlikely.