𝐏𝐂𝐁 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐞

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬

When it comes to PCB costs, we are in a perfect storm. The price and availability of raw materials, gold and precious metals are on the rise, along with the cost of freight.

At the same time, the dollar is weaker. That means higher prices for PCB buyers.

Here’s the bottom line: You can expect over the next few months to see an additional price increase of 8 to 10% for doubled-sided boards, depending on technology and quantity requirements. Multilayer PCBs are expected to rise even higher.

However, board buyers may be able to fend off some of those increases by buying smarter and more strategically.

Putting PCBs in an array for ease of assembly makes sense, but I can’t tell you how many times I have seen wasted circuit board real estate when it comes to panelization design. More square inches mean a more expensive board.

Buyers need to push back on their production and engineering departments by asking questions such as, “Does this array really need to have rails this wide?” or “Can we score instead of route?”

Does every board you buy require a gold finish? Yes, ENIG is lead-free; it has great coplanarity features and a long shelf life. But does every assembly on your production floor really need all those costly benefits?

Don’t allow a boilerplate company standard to unnecessarily inflate costs. Be selective. Use a premium finish only when truly necessary. From a pricing standpoint, there is more than one “metallic” way to assemble a PCB.

Do you order the same part number and quantity monthly? If so, review those repetitive purchase orders and have a heart-to-heart talk with your customer.

Your PCB vendor would prefer to run a larger quantity when and wherever possible. Ordering a larger quarterly quantity of PCBs and accepting them in monthly deliveries is a great way to get a discount.

Also, start leveraging your PCB spend with your vendors. Have them visit and ask what else you can do to reduce costs.

At the same time, remind them of your annual spend and length of business relationship. Have a serious discussion about performance issues. If your supplier intends to raise prices, demand those increased costs come with enhanced service.

More importantly, keep your vendors on their toes and, hopefully, you have several suppliers willing to tap dance to give you the best pricing available in today’s market conditions.

It is not only okay, but mandatory that businesses move from one supplier to another—and the tooling charges for those moves should come at a reduced cost or be waived entirely.

Prices are going up. But proactive buying will help minimize cost increases.

𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀? 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀!