Jun. 23, 2025
The printed circuit board (PCB) is a revolutionary invention. Its importance to modern electronics is tantamount to the significance of the wheel in car production. Also, like the wheel, when something becomes so widespread that we mistakenly treat it as commonplace, we take for granted how a singular spark of brilliance forever changes the entire world.
Along with the introduction of the PCB, we have seen transformative advancements in manufacturing for PCB assemblies and manufacturers perfecting the process of turnkey solutions.
In addition to exploring what turnkey PCB assembly is, we’ll discuss the value of these solutions and why partnering with the right manufacturer makes all the difference in quality, cost, and turnaround.
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used for wiring component circuitry together on a thin board, usually made of fiberglass, composite epoxy, or similar materials.
Prior to PCBs, complex electronics were all wired by hand, and all components were directly connected by wires soldered together. The fundamental concepts of different electronic devices were intricate and sophisticated but costly and laborious to produce.
In , the American inventor Charles Ducas came up with the initial inspiration of a printed wire. This concept was mastered by the first official working PCB in by an Austrian engineer named Dr. Paul Eisler.
With a PCB, complex wiring schematics can be etched or printed into a board, saving an immense amount of time, money, materials, labor, and space. A modern PCB can manage the equivalent electronics that would have taken up an entire building in the s at a fraction of the price.
For instance, the ENIAC computer completed in occupied 1,800 square feet, using over 17,000 vacuum tubes for processing, while the modern smartphone’s microchip has around 100,000 times the processing power of the computer that assisted navigation for the Apollo missions.
PCB assembly can refer to two related concepts:
Turnkey means that everything involved in manufacturing a product to completion is included. Like turning a key to start a car, a “turnkey” solution means that the product manufactured is finished and ready for the user to operate.
Turnkey PCB assembly means a manufacturer is able to manage every aspect of creating a printed circuit board, propagating it with the components it is designed to be used with, and providing the finished product fully tested and shipped.
A PCB is a printed circuit board without any components attached. A PCB assembly, also called a PCBA, is a PCB with all of the components installed.
The PCB contains all of the wiring paths integrated into the board, but until the components are assembled onto the board, none of those connections become active.
PCB and PCBA can be described as two stages of the same manufacturing process, where the PCBA is the completed stage.
PCBs come in all shapes and sizes. They are used in everything from computer motherboards to medical devices, smartphones to everyday appliances. Today, any device that requires wiring connections is likely designed on a circuit board.
There are five main types of PCBs.
SMT assemblies are used to mount components directly on top of the surface of a PCB. SMT PCB assemblies make it easy for a wide range of components and devices to fit in place without requiring extra wiring and, in some cases, without the need for soldering.
For example, Schott Magnetics manufactures surface mount inductors and transformers, also known as surface mount devices (SMDs), that can be used with PCBs mounted directly to the surface in place of wired leads.
THT assemblies allow component leads to connect to the PCB by inserting the leads through drilled holes. Schott also makes custom inductors and transformers for through-hole connectivity.
Mixed technology PCB assemblies are a combination of SMTs and THTs, offering flexibility for how a design is able to connect to other components.
When a PCB is incredibly small and intricate, a BGA can be useful to attach an extremely large number of pins. Microprocessors are a common example of a BGA assembly PCB.
A rigid-flex PCB assembly may also be called a flex-to-install or dynamic flex PCB, and can be created for use in numerous different designs. They use a combination of flexible and rigid substrates in each case.
When you are able to fully assemble your PCBs at a single manufacturing facility, you are dealing with fewer contacts, which also means fewer conversations and less need for coordination between multiple facilities.
With every step of manufacturing coming from a single operation, it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to source all of your component parts, run quality assurance, and ship the final assembled products.
The cost of PCB assembly varies widely depending on how complex the design is and the amount of labor involved.
PCBs are used everywhere—from mass-produced consumer products to small-run boutique audio equipment. Virtually every industry relies on PCBs. The scale of operations, production size, and complexity of circuitry all play a role in the cost to manufacture and assemble PCBs.
Pricing is often based upon the amount of circuitry involved in each square inch for the device but is also heavily influenced by how many are produced since larger quantities can cut individual costs down considerably.
One of the determining factors on cost is the ability to have PCBs manufactured in Mexico.
When factoring in labor costs, affordable shipping rates, fast turnaround, and favorable trade deals providing tariff-free imports, the best prices for high-quality PCB assembly come from Mexico.
For example, in , Mexican manufacturing workers earned $3.90 per hour, compared to the labor costs in China at around $6.50 per hour. In the US, as of August , manufacturing wages averaged $26.70 per hour.
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Qingjian Electronics.
This is why SCHOTT Magnetics can offer our clients full turnkey PCB assembly for transformers
at the highest quality with virtually any quantity—and with fast turnaround times.
Our production facilities in Mexico have the following certifications:
Complex situations require innovative solutions in the current world where we work and live in hybrid or remote states. In this article, we will cover the subject of turnkey PCB assembly. We will explain what turnkey assembly services are and what alternatives there are for turnkey PCB assembly services.
Once you master the concept of turnkey PCB assembly, you’ll be able to produce better projects at lower risk. At the end of this article, you’ll be able to choose the right turnkey PCB assembly supplier for your project. You will also know which china’s PCB turnkey assembly manufacturer provides the best service and support for such needs. All this while reducing costs and ensuring your customers are happy with the results.
Turnkey PCB assembly is the idea of producing a PCBA project from design to finished product. PCB turnkey assembly involves the following steps:
As we can see, the turnkey custom pcb assembly service includes everything from the beginning to the end. Not knowing such a service is available, customers often choose to produce and purchase components from different suppliers and manufacturers.
This can often lead to tremendous faults and miscommunication between the parties involved. To solve the issue, a turnkey PCB assembly service came into existence. By enabling customers to produce the entire project in one place – we can reduce the risk. Additionally, cost and frustration while handling communication with multiple manufacturers and service providers can be reduced as well.
If a company decides to consider other ways than full turnkey PCB assembly, There is a way. In such a case, the company will need to handle each of these steps on its own:
Diverse the PCB assembly line instead of using a full turnkey PCB assembly method could be risky.
By choosing a turnkey PCB, companies can discard all the disadvantages mentioned above and pay more attention to the product and the customers.
It’s not always black and white. Often, there are points in between to be chosen from. That’s the case with Hybrid turnkey PCBA, where the company can use a turnkey PCBA assembly to produce their entire product. The testing and packaging, however, will be handled by the client’s side.
Normally, there is no right or wrong. These decisions depend on each company, product, budget, and supply chain. Full turnkey PCB assembly, however, will often involve the entire thing. The product needs all the requirements to reach the customer’s doorway.
Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea to consult a trusted turnkey PCB assembly provider to choose what is suitable for your company and product.
The number one advantage of using turnkey PCB assembly is the ease of mind. Companies can focus on what matters the most, ensuring they are prepared for sales, marketing, and distribution channels. There are other advantages involved in using turnkey PCB assembly factories:
Using the PCB assembly turnkey service will save you time. By putting the entire production line in the hands of a trusted, experienced and responsible manufacturer, it’s almost sure the project will be delivered in time.
Budget is a big problem. In mass production, you can avoid counterfeit components, which can be costly. This is especially true during the prototyping stage. By allowing a single manufacturer to produce the entire project, you will certainly receive a good offer that will save you a handful of funds.
Using a turnkey PCB assembly service from a trusted vendor, your project can go on smoothly, knowing each component and part is sourced from a trusted warehouse.
It’s inevitable that during production, especially during the prototyping stage, you might encounter some problems that you’ll need to solve. If having issues is not challenging enough, imagine trying to communicate with 2-3 different suppliers and facilities. All while arranging parts delivery and figuring out what went wrong and who’s a fault for it.
Solving the problem in a single place with a trusted person is the key. And sometimes, it might be all you need. For that reason, a PCB turnkey assembly supplier can be convenient.
If managing a product and bringing it to market is hard enough, imagine the difficulty of working and communicating with multiple factories to produce a single product. By entrusting a turnkey PCB assembly facility, we can eliminate all those worries and management overhead.
Usually, each facility will do well but only on its things. If a project requires multiple parties, someone will need to manage those parties to ensure the project goes smoothly. This is especially true for PCB assembly as it has various aspects such as PCB, components sourcing, community, and testing.
Usually, when using multiple suppliers and manufacturers, each one will be obvious in what they do and what they don’t. By using turnkey PCB assembly, we can ask for customization, modification, or external tests that the manufacturer doesn’t usually include by default.
Because the manufacturer handles the entire product line, they have a sense of ownership and responsibility over it. And often, this will result in the manufacturer agreeing to customization or requirements according to the product demands.
In the end, both the manufacturer and the company inventing the product have the same goal – to ensure the product works well and leaves all the customers happy.
There are many turnkey PCB assembly manufacturers, but it’s almost certain that the best of them are located in Shenzhen, China. China pcb turnkey assembly supplier can ensure consistency and fast delivery as the factories are located in the center of the “silicon valley for hardware”. China PCB turnkey assembly manufacturers have been in the market for years, knowing all the distributors and providers, ensuring all the components are genuine and sourced from trusted suppliers. An excellent example of such a manufacturer would be PCBasic.
At PCBasic, we’ve dedicated years of research and hard work towards mastering turnkey PCB assembly, becoming a well-respected and known china turnkey PCB assembly manufacturer.
By entrusting us to be the turnkey PCB assembly manufacturer for your next project, you can ensure the project stays in good hands. We will handle the entire process, including producing a high-quality PCB, sourcing components from trusted sources, making tests and certifications, and even packaging and assembling the final product.
We always deliver the project on schedule and according to the customer timeline. We can even offer a 24-hour turnkey PCB assembly based on the need. As something that most manufacturers won’t do, this might sound quite surprising.
If you are looking for the best turnkey PCB assembly suppliers, look no more. PCBasic is here to help, and we look forward to our next cooperation.
Are you interested in learning more about China Turnkey PCB Assembly? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
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