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Cost Incurred When Designing PCBs
Finding an inexpensive circuit board used to be impossible. Now with the availability provided by the Internet, there are many manufacturers out there that claim they can produce the most PCBs at the lowest cost for the consumer. While this new paradigm has been a boon for hobbyists and others seeking prototype circuit boards, the quality of the manufacturing process has suffered accordingly. However, there are several companies that work to find the happy medium between cost and quality.
The decrease in price of printed circuit boards can be directly attributed to the invention of computer aided manufacturing, and free PCB layout software. These two modern conveniences combined to streamline the assembly process, paving the way for companies to introduce Quickturn PCB, which is used by those seeking PCB fabrication with turnaround times measured in days. Of course, the more complex the board and the greater the number of layers, the more expensive it is to manufacture.
Shortly after the turn of the century a manufacturer called Advanced Circuits launched this trend of inexpensive PCBs into full swing when they started selling PCBs for $33. Prototype PCBs were then available to everybody especially those who invent, students studying robotics, and hobbyists. Another thing Advanced Circuits devised was online ordering and tracking of PCBs. Since that time, costs of PCB fabrication have decreased dramatically due the increased availability of these less expensive boards.
Since free PCB layout software such as PCB Artist allows anyone interested to design a printed circuit board, the only costs to be concerned with are those of the components in addition to the PCB fabrication fees. For people wanting to shop around before purchasing a PCB, there are calculator applications where designers can enter the size and quantity of the circuit board and receive a list of estimates from a handful of companies. For those wishing to locate a low-cost circuit board manufacturer , the challenge has become how to ensure the quality of the finished product while continuing to minimize costs.
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