Guides · 17 guides
PCB assembly (SMT/PCBA) guides
Start hereWhat is PCBA? PCB vs PCBA explained
The difference between a bare circuit board (PCB) and an assembled one (PCBA), how boards are made and assembled in Shenzhen, and what first-timers need to know before ordering.
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01Design · 9 minHow to order PCB assembly: Gerber, BOM and pick-and-place files
The three files every PCB assembly order needs, how to prepare them so your quote is fast and your boards come back right, and the questions factories will ask.
02Cost · 7 minHow much does PCB assembly cost?
What makes up a PCBA quote (setup, boards, components, assembly and testing), why prototypes cost more per board, and how to bring the price down.
03Choosing · 6 minTurnkey vs consigned PCBA
Should the factory buy your components, or should you? The pros and cons of turnkey, consigned and partial-turnkey PCB assembly for first-time hardware teams.
04Basics · 10 minSilicone keypads and seals: a beginner's guide
How custom silicone parts like keypads, buttons, gaskets and seals are made, what hardness and key feel mean, compression molding vs LSR, and how to order them in Shenzhen and Dongguan.
05Design · 9 minWhat is DFM? Design for manufacturing explained
What design for manufacturing (DFM) means, why it decides most of your product's cost, the core rules, when to do a DFM review, and how DFM feedback from Shenzhen suppliers works.
06Design · 9 minDFA and DFT: design for assembly and design for test, explained
How to design a product that's quick to put together and easy to test on a production line. The core design-for-assembly rules, what design for test means for circuit boards and finished products, and how Shenzhen factories use test fixtures.
07Design · 9 minEngineering change orders (ECOs) and design freeze, explained
What design freeze means, why late changes are so expensive in hardware, and how engineering change requests, orders and notices (ECR, ECO, ECN) keep you and your factory on the same version.
08Basics · 12 minEVT, DVT, PVT explained
The three test builds between a working prototype and mass production, explained for first-time founders. What each build is for, roughly how many units you make, and what usually goes wrong.
09Cost · 10 minHow much does it cost to develop a hardware product?
The cost buckets of developing and manufacturing a hardware product, explained for first-timers. Design, prototypes, tooling, certification and the first production order, with typical ranges where they're widely published, plus the costs people forget.
10Working in China · 10 minHow to choose a factory in China
A step-by-step, neutral guide for first-time hardware teams. How to find suppliers, tell factories from trading companies, check what you can, compare quotes, and start small.
11Working in China · 12 minHuaqiangbei for hardware makers
A first-timer's guide to Shenzhen's famous electronics market district. What it is, what it's good for, how to get there, how to buy, and what to watch out for.
12Basics · 6 minLooks-like vs works-like prototypes
Why most hardware teams build two different kinds of prototype, what each one is for, and when to combine them into a single "looks-like, works-like" build.
13Basics · 11 minProduct development stages: how to make a physical product from idea to finished product
The stages of making a physical product, from first sketch to boxes on a ship, explained for first-timers. What happens at each stage, why it matters, what you get out of it, and who in Shenzhen helps.
14Basics · 10 minPrototype to production: what changes when you scale from 10 units to 1,000
Why a product that works as 10 prototypes can fail at 1,000 units, what changes in parts, people, testing, documents and cash as you scale, and the steps between a working prototype and your first production run in Shenzhen.
15Working in China · 10 minQuality inspection explained: pre-shipment checks and AQL
What pre-shipment inspection is, when to inspect, how AQL sampling works in plain words, what an inspector checks, and how to prepare so the report is actually useful. For first-time importers.
16Design · 9 minWhat is a bill of materials (BOM)? How to write one
What a BOM is, why factories in China build and quote from it, the columns a good BOM needs, how to structure one for a hardware product, and the mistakes that cause wrong parts and delays.