Any recommendations for contract assembly companies?
mpou...@gmail.com
small electronic device. This is the first time I've ventured into the
world of commercial electronics production. I'm looking for advice on
how to arrange this. I need to have PCBs made, have the boards
populated, and have the entire device assembled into a sale-ready unit.
Cost is critical -- the target cost for PCB, population, and packaging
is less than $8. Should I look for one company to do it all (turnkey),
or is it likely to be better to use separate entities for each task?
Are there any specific companies you would recommend? I'm especially
wondering about the final assembly. I've ordered PC board before, and
I've found plenty of SMD assembl houses, but I don't know how to go
about contracting for the final assembly. Any advice would be
appreciated.
bungalo...@yahoo.com
mpou...@gmail.com wrote:
> I need to arrange for contract assembly of a 1000 unit batch run of a
> small electronic device. This is the first time I've ventured into the
> world of commercial electronics production. I'm looking for advice on
> how to arrange this. I need to have PCBs made, have the boards
> populated, and have the entire device assembled into a sale-ready unit.
> Cost is critical -- the target cost for PCB, population, and packaging
> is less than $8.
So your expecting to give a company $8000 and receive 1000 units of a
product in sale ready unit? I don't see how this is possible. How many
thru hole pins/surface mount pads? Custom molded enclosure I assume?
How many assembly parts? Blister pack for sales display required? If
you work with the manufacturers directly it may be possible, but
contractors can burn you money pretty quickly.
Spehro Pefhany
wrote:
I assume he means packaging of the stuffed PCBs (for shipment), which
can add noticably to the assembly cost, both for setup and for unit
cost. He doesn't mention testing.
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
sp...@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
zwsd...@gmail.com
> I need to arrange for contract assembly of a 1000 unit batch run of a
> small electronic device. This is the first time I've ventured into the
> Cost is critical -- the target cost for PCB, population, and packaging
> is less than $8. Should I look for one company to do it all (turnkey),
I can say with some confidence you're not going to find anyone in
America to do it for that price, and you're not going to find anyone in
Asia willing to handle such a tiny volume unless this is the pilot run
for something much larger. 1000 units is nothing, and it's the
hundredth root of nothing if the end product has a mfd cost of $8. By
packaging I assume you mean taking the populated PCB, putting it in a
housing (included in your $8?) and then retail-packaging the end
product?
If you intend to put this into actual commercial production then build
a relationship with a Far East CM and do one-stop shopping. If 1000
units is a one-shot with no guarantee of ongoing large orders then
accept higher prices.
Pooh Bear
"mpou...@gmail.com" wrote:
> I need to arrange for contract assembly of a 1000 unit batch run of a
> small electronic device. This is the first time I've ventured into the
> world of commercial electronics production. I'm looking for advice on
> how to arrange this. I need to have PCBs made, have the boards
> populated, and have the entire device assembled into a sale-ready unit.
> Cost is critical -- the target cost for PCB, population, and packaging
> is less than $8.
You want to have someone ....
1. Make a pcb
2. Supply the components
3. Assemble the pcb
4. Test it
5. Supply an enclosure
6. Assemble the stuffed pcb into the enclosure
7. Supply a carton suitable for point of sale ( colour printed ? )
8. Package the product in the carton
And you want this for $8 on a run of only 1000 pcs ? With no tooling or
set-up costs ?
You're dreaming ! Unless it's a *tiny* item. You haven't specified what it
is.
> Should I look for one company to do it all (turnkey),
> or is it likely to be better to use separate entities for each task?
> Are there any specific companies you would recommend? I'm especially
> wondering about the final assembly. I've ordered PC board before, and
> I've found plenty of SMD assembl houses, but I don't know how to go
> about contracting for the final assembly. Any advice would be
> appreciated.
It is probably best to one-stop shop. You clearly can't afford western
prices so you need to go to Asia. I have some trouble figuring why any
outfit would be interested in an $8000 dollar job though. You might have
some luck if you wanted 10,000 pcs.
Or get it made in the west at a higher price.
Graham
Spehro Pefhany
<spef...@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote:
>On 30 Dec 2005 22:09:53 -0800, the renowned bungalo...@yahoo.com
>wrote:
>
>>
>>mpou...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> I need to arrange for contract assembly of a 1000 unit batch run of a
>>> small electronic device. This is the first time I've ventured into the
>>> world of commercial electronics production. I'm looking for advice on
>>> how to arrange this. I need to have PCBs made, have the boards
>>> populated, and have the entire device assembled into a sale-ready unit.
>>> Cost is critical -- the target cost for PCB, population, and packaging
>>> is less than $8.
>>
>>So your expecting to give a company $8000 and receive 1000 units of a
>>product in sale ready unit? I don't see how this is possible. How many
>>thru hole pins/surface mount pads? Custom molded enclosure I assume?
>>How many assembly parts? Blister pack for sales display required? If
>>you work with the manufacturers directly it may be possible, but
>>contractors can burn you money pretty quickly.
>
>I assume he means packaging of the stuffed PCBs (for shipment), which
>can add noticably to the assembly cost, both for setup and for unit
>cost. He doesn't mention testing.
Oops, I missed the 'sales-ready' bit.
Yeah, he needs to add some zeros here and there. 80K would be more
like it, for a relatively simple product without too much tooling.
mpou...@gmail.com
the PCB, population/reflow, and assembly of the final product. All of
the components, the case, and other parts of the product will be
supplied by me. This is service-only expense. The exact steps of the
process are:
1: Make PCB (2X3", 2 sides)
2: Assemble PCB from customer-supplied components (all auto
placement/soldering).
3: Assemble the final device in customer-supplied case.
3: Insert customer-supplied rechargeable batteries.
4: Pack all 1000 in a box and ship to USA at my expense.
Spehro Pefhany
<mpou...@gmail.com> wrote:
Should be possible. You forgot test fixtures and testing.
Steven Swift
>Oops, I missed the 'sales-ready' bit.
>Yeah, he needs to add some zeros here and there. 80K would be more
>like it, for a relatively simple product without too much tooling.
My experience is that you already have to have the assembly house chosen
before you even draw a schematic. If you want something really cheap, the
best is to dovetail onto a product the house is already building. What
parts you choose-- leaded, SM, etc. depend greatly on the processes used
in manufacturing.
For low volume work (like your 1000 pieces), try D.E.C. in Santa Ana, CA
(1790 E. McFadden, Unit 105). They do nice work for smallish runs.
good luck.
--
Steven D. Swift, nova...@eskimo.com, http://www.novatech-instr.com
NOVATECH INSTRUMENTS, INC. P.O. Box 55997
206.301.8986, fax 206.363.4367 Seattle, Washington 98155 USA
mpou...@gmail.com
>>1: Make PCB (2X3", 2 sides)
>>2: Assemble PCB from customer-supplied components (all auto
>>placement/soldering).
>>3: Assemble the final device in customer-supplied case.
>>3: Insert customer-supplied rechargeable batteries.
>>4: Pack all 1000 in a box and ship to USA at my expense.
>
>Should be possible. You forgot test fixtures and testing.
Yes, that issue did occur to me. I should be able to make a jig that
will test a populated board for functionality in about 1 second. Could
probably make a jig to test 10 at a time easily.
Mike Poulton
mpou...@gmail.com
<<My experience is that you already have to have the assembly house
chosen
before you even draw a schematic. If you want something really cheap,
the
best is to dovetail onto a product the house is already building. What
parts you choose-- leaded, SM, etc. depend greatly on the processes
used
in manufacturing.
For low volume work (like your 1000 pieces), try D.E.C. in Santa Ana,
CA
(1790 E. McFadden, Unit 105). They do nice work for smallish runs. >>
Thanks! I'll contact them. Unfortunately, there are very few viable
choices in the design of this product. It consists of two buttons, a
4-digit 7-segment LED display, a piezo buzzer, a ZigBee radio module, a
PIC micro, and a dozen minor discrete components. I've gone through
eight schematic revisions to reduce parts cost, and there just aren't
very many different ways to accomplish this. I expect, however, that I
will do at least one more revision after choosing a manufacturer and
discussing DFM optimization with them.
Mike Poulton
zwsd...@gmail.com
mpou...@gmail.com wrote:
> Yes, that issue did occur to me. I should be able to make a jig that
> will test a populated board for functionality in about 1 second. Could
> probably make a jig to test 10 at a time easily.
Bass-ackwards. It is normal to test boards while they are still
panelized.
Spehro Pefhany
If the total quantity is only 1,000, and test time is negligible, I'd
test them one at a time. Even $1K in fixture is $1/unit.
Fred Bloggs
How do you plan on marketing such a small run- the Internet?
mpou...@gmail.com
<How do you plan on marketing such a small run- the Internet?>
It's not a consumer product. A run of 1000 is approximately 4 sales
orders worth of product, or about 3 months of projected sales.
Marketing is primarily through direct industry contacts.
Mike Poulton
zwsd...@gmail.com
Spehro Pefhany wrote:
> If the total quantity is only 1,000, and test time is negligible, I'd
> test them one at a time. Even $1K in fixture is $1/unit.
Well, it depends if it's ICT or FT. FT I guess is OK one by one. But it
costs little more to build an ICT jig for a panel of 50 vs a single
circuit, since you can use 50 sets of probes switches by relays to the
tester.
Joerg
If you do the enigineering work on that test set for free, yes. I have
designed many test sets, involving HW engineers and SW folks. When it
was all said and done the cost was north of $30k at western rates. It's
not just R&D and build, it needs to be ECOed and that costs.
Best is to built a really good test functionality into the circuit
itself. IOW where it can test itself on the first power-up.
Regards, Joerg
cbarn...@aol.com
With such a low production rate you should consider employing someone
to make them. 1 part time employee should be able to keep up with that
demand. You need to have the board itself made externaly.
zwsd...@gmail.com
Joerg wrote:
> Best is to built a really good test functionality into the circuit
> itself. IOW where it can test itself on the first power-up.
Qualify "test"... ICT's purpose is to make sure all desired locations
are populated with approximately the correct component values.
Something like a Zentel tester is used. The bed-o-nails is custom but
the tester itself is generic, software-reprogrammable. It's not
significantly more expensive to make a bed-o-nails for the panel than
for the individual PCB; it's a step and repeat CNC process to drill the
probe positions.
Sometimes ICT will include programming flash chips, EEPROMs,
serialization, etc.
FT's purpose is to make sure the device as a whole functions within
specifications. This is almost always a custom fixture.
It's very difficult to perform equivalent functionality to a
bed-o-nails ICT in vivo on the device itself. If this feature is a
customer requirement, then it can be engineered in, but at a
staggeringly high cost.
Joerg
(sorry, don't know your name)
>
> Qualify "test"... ICT's purpose is to make sure all desired locations
> are populated with approximately the correct component values.
> Something like a Zentel tester is used. The bed-o-nails is custom but
> the tester itself is generic, software-reprogrammable. It's not
> significantly more expensive to make a bed-o-nails for the panel than
> for the individual PCB; it's a step and repeat CNC process to drill the
> probe positions.
>
With test I mean a detailed enough diagnostic routine. In most of our
cases it entails an extra few routine on a uC. This pipes signals from
otherwise quiet port pins into strategic points and from the response it
is deduced what could be wrong. Mis-stuffed caps, resistors, lack of hfe
in a transistor and so on. The transistor thingie is next to impossible
with ICT, at least for RF. Not that we hadn't done that on a Zehntel in
the past but it required elaborate 'satellite boards'.
Wrong component values are pretty much a thing of the past these days.
Same with tombstoning but that could be found via optical inspection
anyway. The last time I saw a design being subjected to the big Teradyne
was more than a decade ago.
> Sometimes ICT will include programming flash chips, EEPROMs,
> serialization, etc.
>
Yes, that's a nice advantage. But contract assemblers charge a lot for ICT.
> FT's purpose is to make sure the device as a whole functions within
> specifications. This is almost always a custom fixture.
>
There usually is no fixture. Upon power-up plus sometimes a 'secret
button' press the circuit performs a self-test. The only time when there
is a fixture is for checking cal levels of voltages, frequencies and the
like. But that boils down to a connection plus connector saver and some
PC controlled lab equipment.
> It's very difficult to perform equivalent functionality to a
> bed-o-nails ICT in vivo on the device itself. If this feature is a
> customer requirement, then it can be engineered in, but at a
> staggeringly high cost.
>
True but one doesn't necessarily need all that functionality. In the RF
world the functionality of ICT is actually lower or sometimes ICT can't
do it at all.
Staggering cost? Cannot agree here. Not if testability is a functional
requirement from day one of the design cycle. Which it should. In the
medical world that's almost the law so we have to.
Regards, Joerg
JeffM
>> zwsdotcom
>
> (sorry, don't know your name)
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:cH4Z6eMfWWMJ:www.zws.com/+Lewin-A-R-W-Edwards