Methods to Reduce PCBA Costs Through PCB Design
2026-03-17
Reducing PCBA costs through PCB design is one of the most effective ways for electronic engineers to control hardware expenses during the product development stage. The following are several core design strategies:
1. Optimize Board Layers and Size
Reduce layers: Use a double-layer board instead of a four-layer board whenever possible while meeting performance requirements, which can significantly lower the unit price of the PCB.
Compact layout: Reasonably compress board margins and component spacing to improve board material utilization. The standard board size is usually 2440mm x 1220mm; the smaller the board area, the more panels can be cut from a single large board, and the lower the cost per piece.
2. Standardize Packages and Selection
Standardization: Prefer using common packages like 0603, 0402 resistors and capacitors, as well as standardized connectors, and avoid using irregular or ultra-small packages (such as 0201) to reduce assembly difficulty and procurement costs.
Normalization: Try to unify material specifications across the board; for example, use the same brand and tolerance for resistors of the same value. Increasing usage can help lower the BOM (Bill of Materials) procurement unit price.
3. Simplify Manufacturing Process
Separate PTH and SMD: Concentrate through-hole components (PTH) on the same side of the board whenever possible, reducing manual soldering after reflow or wave soldering processes.
Reasonable panel design: For small-sized PCBs, design as a panel (V-CUT or mouse bite holes), allowing SMT lines to place multiple pieces at once, significantly improving production efficiency.
4. Reserve Testability
Reserve test points in the design to ensure that ICT (In-Circuit Test) or FCT (Functional Test) fixtures can make contact at once, reducing manual debugging time caused by testing difficulties and thereby lowering hidden production costs.
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