Home » Manufacturing » Know the Capabilities of Turnkey PCB Assembly for your Project Development

The capabilities of the turnkey PCB assembly are ideal for any small business or start-up to invest in a low-volume PCB build.

In the ever-growing technical world, building a product quickly with minimum cost is one of the biggest challenges for PCB manufacturers. Even the entrepreneurs are looking for assembly providers who can handle all the aspects of product development like component procurement, fabrication, testing and shipping. A turnkey PCB assembly is a one-stop solution to such a requirement. It offers an efficient and cost-effective method of building and testing circuit boards in the least possible lead time.

The capabilities of the turnkey PCB assembly are ideal for any small business or start-up to invest in a low-volume PCB build. They can avoid the overhead of managing a large inventory or inadequate assembly staff. The solution offers freedom to focus on design and innovation, while the service provider can handle the rest of the manufacturing process. Knowing the capabilities of turnkey PCB assembly can largely enhance the quality of the project development.

There are a bunch of capabilities that allow the turnkey PCB assembly provider to build a high-performing and low-cost circuit board.

Fabrication of bare PCBs and sub-assembliesProcurement of substrate material and circuit componentsExpertise in different assembly techniques to mount the componentsInspection facility to verify the assembled boardTesting support to check the circuit functionalityDebug and rework stations to fix any errors during assemblyPacking and shipment of finished products to the customer

The Turnkey PCB assembly provider will also ensure effective communication to understand the product requirements, maintains manufacturing equipment with the latest technologies, and hire experienced component procurement staff and assembly line operators. Executing the whole process efficiently is a challenge but it offers a lot of advantages to the customers.

Benefits of Turnkey PCB assembly in the project development:

Prototype or Proof of concept

Initially, in any project development, it is essential to prove the design concepts by building prototypes. These prototypes are required in low volume and hence Turnkey assembly service can be a great solution here. It avoids component procurement at a higher price due to the small board quantity. The overall production cost for prototypes can be reduced by using the Turnkey assembly service. Also, they deliver professional-grade PCBs which can catch the investors’ interest in case of start-up presentation.

Higher quality product

The turnkey assembly solution provides good board quality by using standard laminates, solder resist, and silkscreen methods. Precise pick and place automated equipment is used for component placement and fine reflow ovens are used to achieve perfect solder joints even on small pin parts.

Early problem detection

Since the turnkey assembly includes design reviews in the initial project development stage itself, any possible error is easily identified and necessary corrections are done. Faults found at the later stages can cost extra time and money to fix.

Quick lead time

A reputed turnkey assembly provide will have a streamlined process that reduces the production time significantly. Multiple component sources and dedicated assembly channels can ramp up production. Since one service provider handles the entire manufacturing process, a lot of time is saved on transportation and other associated delays.

Diligent management

One of the best advantages of Turnkey PCB assembly is hassle-free project management. The service provider will be the single point of contact for all project updates. Communicating to different vendors, keeping track of the assembly progress, monitoring the testing line are all the responsibilities of the Turnkey assembly service provider. This avoids any possible confusion of handling multiple vendors, saves time, and improves project efficiency.

Ready cost analysis with competent pricing

For entrepreneurs, estimating the production cost is very important. Even for established manufacturers, knowing the production cost at the early stages of their product development can assist in effective strategy development. Online quotes are available which can readily provide cost analysis of the complete production. Since the inventory is handled by the Turnkey service provider, they bulk order common parts at a lower cost. This enables them to offer competitive pricing even for assembling low-volume PCB builds.

Flexible build volume

The production facility of the Turnkey assembly provider is capable of handling low-mix and high-mix assembly lines. This enables them to take both low-volume and high-volume PCB assembly. Usually, they combine different small orders and build them in one go. This method avoids any downtime of their assembly line and maintains the profitability margin.

Customized assembly and other services

The immense experience of different industry sectors empowers the Turnkey assembly PCB provider to offer customized assembly along with other services like testing, debug and repair support, packing, and storage, deployment to customers, etc.

The services offered by a Turnkey PCB assembly provider can be a complete package of “concept to delivery” or any combination of the intermediate steps of the project development. It has a vast range of services like

Engineering service with schematic circuit optimization, review, mechanical design, layout proposal, and even documentation assistance.Procurement from a reliable component sourcing network, suggestions on alternate parts, and BoM review.Prototype build for concept evaluation and pitching for investors.Building Cable assembly and sub-assemblies.Assistance in New product introduction and further scalability supportLow-mix and high-mix production facility for all build volumes

Any design concept can be converted into a physical board by a Turnkey PCB assembly provider. It is not only for start-ups or small enterprises, even the established product manufacturers are benefitted from this solution to expand their product roadmap. The service can be partial or complete based on the customer s requirements. Traditional approaches will have a lot of hindrances and can discourage many innovative ideas from becoming a reality! Turnkey assembly is a complete solution for providing a product ready to use.

Online quotes are available which can speed up the process. The inputs expected for this service are a bill of material, Gerber files, product dimensions, and shipping details. If any of these inputs are not available, reach out to the service provider for assistance. Some of the turnkey assembly providers are now offering software and system configuration support also. Thus, a Turnkey PCB assembly solution includes many capabilities to assist you in easy and successful project development.

Ken G is a sales engineer at Technotronix.