Is It Advantageous To Setup Your Own In-house PCB Manufacturing Unit

Have you been facing constant issues with your PCB manufacturer, in terms of quality of the PCBs delivered to you, in terms of the delivery timeline and cost? You are not alone, this is one of the most common plights of most of the electronic equipment companies. There are so many manufacturers in the industry but not all of them are equally reliable. Often customers feel let down by their manufacturers.

When you are constantly let down by your PCB manufacturer, you are likely to be tempted to take care of your own PCB manufacturing needs by setting up your own facility. Before you could venture into in-house PCB fabrication options you should take into account all the pros and cons.

Is it advantageous at all to start your own PCB manufacturing facility? This depends on a number of factors. At the superficial level, one might think that it is advantageous for the following reasons. You could manufacture your own PCBs and never have to worry again about the quality of the PCBs and the delays in the delivery of your PCBs. You will be in total control of the entire PCB manufacturing process.

While it is true that you would be in total control of the entire PCB manufacturing process, you should be ready to invest heavily on your PCB manufacturing equipment. You need to decide whether you are ready for such a huge investment. Without having advanced PCB manufacturing equipment, you will not be able to assure yourself the best quality PCBs even if you are manufacturing the PCBs in-house.

Your investments are not just one time investments as far as your PCB manufacturing equipment are concerned. You would be required to constantly upgrade your equipment it is not possible to meet advanced PCB manufacturing requirements with outdated equipment.

When you setup your PCB manufacturing unit, your setup will not be complete with just the equipment, you need to have experienced staff to take care of the production process and you would need a manager to foresee the operation. All these will shift your focus from your core-competencies. Depending on the scale at which you operate, it could cost you more to have your own in-house PCB manufacturing unit as opposed to what you have been thinking. Added to all the equipment cost and the employees that you should retain for running the entire show, you should also be needing commercial space for setting up your PCB manufacturing unit.

You need to think several times before you move in this direction. Instead of going through all these hassles, you could invest enough time in screening your manufacturers. There are many reliable PCB fabrication companies in China that could meet your ongoing requirements in the most cost-effective way. You could keep to your core competencies when you outsource your PCB manufacturing need to third parties either in your own country or in China. Finding a China PCB manufacturing company would be even more beneficial in terms of costing.