On 08/02/17 22:06, Neil wrote:
> What do you guys (in the U.S.) do about one-off prototypes which you
> can't make in-house?  To date I've made all my own prototypes manually,
> but I've now got a board with BGA's and other very small components on
> them, which I can't reliably and really would not prefer to attempt to
> make here.  Especially because I have limited sample parts on hand, and
> beyond that would have to be a large-volume order.  I was assuming it's
> just a matter of having a CEM do it, but so far I'm running into issues
> where they're all saying they really do one-offs, and if so, they'd make
> a handful and I can use just one, but they'd have to charge me for all
> that the make.  Is this common?  Or have I just not found the right CEM
> yet? Or do all of you have in-house capability to assemble yourself?
I think you need to look for providers that specialize in low volume work.

Here in the UK I have successfully used the following providers for complex=
 boards.

ASK technology
Newbury Electronics
LEF circuits

I usually send out an email to all of them with design files attached askin=
g for a quote and take whichever one looks best. Generally I have found it =
best to get both fabrication and assembly done by the same provider, that w=
ay they can panelize the boards in whatever way suits their assembly proces=
s.

Component presentation wise they don't seem too fussy. I expect they wouldn=
't like it if you gave them a bagful of tiny loose parts, but cut tape for =
the small parts and whatever packaging the distributor used for the larger =
parts seems fine.

Even with providers that specialize in low volume work expect the price for=
 say ten to be only be of the order of twice the price for one.

Unfortunately I don't have experience with providers in the US



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