I have never worked with really small designs before, and would like to have an idea of how much the NRE charges will be to get started. I have an idea to shrink a project I have previously done into a USB pen drive format.
This is a hobby project, and as such resources are limited. Some very preliminary calculations have led me to the conclusion that at a minimum I will need 6 layers (possibly 8 ), .8 mm thickness on FR4, and blind vias. The components are mostly .8mm BGA’s, so I can get by with 8/20 vias and 6/6 trace/space.
Since the PCB is so small, qty. is hardly an issue. I could fit hundreds on a panel. I’ll take the smallest thing I can reasonably get.
Can anyone give me a ballpark figure of what this will cost to prototype? Is it possible to do this for $500? If not, how much? I don’t need an accurate quotation, I just want an order of magnitude calculation based on the technologies I’ve listed above.
I’d say that $500 was probably about right for a couple of prototypes. You will also need a stencil, and your assembly company will probably want you to use an SS one - perhaps another $100.
nutchanoot:
I have never worked with really small designs before, and would like to have an idea of how much the NRE charges will be to get started. I have an idea to shrink a project I have previously done into a USB pen drive format.
This is a hobby project, and as such resources are limited. Some very preliminary calculations have led me to the conclusion that at a minimum I will need 6 layers (possibly 8 ), .8 mm thickness on FR4, and blind vias. The components are mostly .8mm BGA’s, so I can get by with 8/20 vias and 6/6 trace/space.
Since the PCB is so small, qty. is hardly an issue. I could fit hundreds on a panel. I’ll take the smallest thing I can reasonably get.
Can anyone give me a ballpark figure of what this will cost to prototype? Is it possible to do this for $500? If not, how much? I don’t need an accurate quotation, I just want an order of magnitude calculation based on the technologies I’ve listed above.
Any idea?
Best Regards.
My board house does low quantity, small 6 layer boards for about $300. They can get it this cheap because they combine a number of customer's orders on one panel. However, your blind vias are going to make this into a custom order. I mean I guess it's possible that you can find a company that has a standard 6 layer process that has blind vias - but it seems unlikely. So more than likely you'll be buying the entire panel. In America I'd guess your costs would be closing in on $1-2K. If you're one of those people that hates freedom and wants to ship it overseas - half that might be reasonable...