Prototype and small-batch PCB assembly
Your design files are ready and you need boards—assembled prototypes, a small batch, or a repeat build of a released revision. PCB Ramp coordinates fabrication, component procurement, and assembly through one point of contact, so the boards, the parts, and the build arrive as one order.
Incomplete packages are reviewed too. You'll get a list of what's missing rather than a rejection.
- Start with
- Gerber and drill files, a BOM, pick-and-place data, drawings if you have them, quantity, and a target date.
- Order types
- Prototypes, small batches, and repeat builds of a released revision.
- Parts
- Turnkey, consigned, or mixed. Substitutions only with your approval.
- Also
- Inspection, project-specific functional testing, and programming of your firmware where the device supports it.
One provider coordinates the board, the parts, and the assembly.
"Turnkey PCB assembly" means you send design files and receive assembled boards. In between, someone orders the bare boards, buys every line of the BOM, gets parts and boards to the same place at the same time, and schedules the assembly. With PCB Ramp that someone is your project contact. You can also supply some or all of the parts yourself.
Full turnkey
Boards fabricated and every component procured against your BOM. You approve any substitution before it's bought.
Consigned
You supply the parts — and the bare boards, if you have them. Fabrication and assembly are coordinated; a kit check confirms what arrived before the build.
Mixed
You supply the long-lead or proprietary parts; the rest is procured. The split is recorded line by line in the quotation so responsibility is clear.
What an order can include
Each item is quoted explicitly. A prototype order might use the first three; a repeat build for a shipping product might use all seven.
PCB fabrication
Bare boards built from your fabrication data by a fabricator matched to the board's specification. Stack-up, finish, and any special requirements are confirmed at quotation. PCB fabrication →
Component procurement
Every BOM line checked for availability and lead time before the quote. Shortages come back to you as options — alternate part, wait, or redesign — and nothing is substituted without your approval. Component sourcing →
PCB assembly
Surface-mount and through-hole assembly as your design requires, with your assembly drawings and special instructions passed to the assembler and confirmed back before the build.
Prototype and small-batch orders
A handful of boards to prove a design, or a small run for early customers or field replacements. Ask for several quantities in one request and the quote shows them side by side.
Repeat builds and revision management
Once a revision is released, it's built again from the same files. Changes are made as a new revision, recorded, and confirmed with you — so a rebuild six months later matches the first one.
Inspection and project-specific testing
Inspection is part of every build. Functional testing is scoped per project against your procedure and acceptance criteria, and quoted as its own line. Programming and testing →
Customer-supplied firmware programming
When boards need to ship programmed, your firmware image is loaded as part of the build, where the device and access method are supported.
What to send for a firm quote
Five items. Send whatever you have and the review names the rest.
- 01Gerber and drill filesAll copper, mask, silkscreen, and outline layers plus NC drill. ODB++ or a native board file is fine if that's what you have.
- 02Bill of materialsReference designators, quantities, and manufacturer part numbers wherever you have them. Mark parts you will supply yourself and any that must not be substituted.
- 03Pick-and-place fileComponent positions and rotations from your CAD tool. Also called a centroid or CPL file.
- 04Assembly drawings or special instructionsIf available. Polarity notes, parts to leave off, hardware to fit, cleaning or coating requirements, labeling.
- 05Quantity and desired delivery dateOne quantity or several to compare. If the date isn't fixed yet, say so — it still helps sequence the work.
How an assembly order runs
- 1 · File review
Fabrication data, BOM, and pick-and-place are checked for completeness and consistency. Availability is checked for every part. You receive questions and a list of anything missing.
- 2 · Quotation
Price and lead time per quantity requested, with proposed substitutions listed for approval, and the test or programming scope spelled out.
- 3 · Build
Boards are fabricated, parts procured or kitted, and assembly scheduled. Status and any issues are reported by your project contact as they arise.
- 4 · Inspect, test, deliver
Inspection and any scoped testing or programming are completed and reported; boards ship to you. The revision is recorded for repeat builds.
Before you request a quote
Is there a minimum order quantity?
Prototype quantities — a handful of boards — are a normal order here, not an exception. Unit cost falls as quantity rises, so ask for two or three quantities and compare them in one quote.
Can we supply our own components or bare boards?
Yes. Fully consigned or mixed builds are both normal. Mark the lines you will supply in the BOM, and the quotation records the split so it's clear who is responsible for what.
What happens when a part is out of stock?
You're told which line, and given options: an alternate part with its differences noted, waiting for stock with the lead time stated, or a design change. The build proceeds only with the option you approve.
Can you test the boards and load our firmware?
Where the project calls for it and the device and access method are supported, yes. You provide the firmware image and the test procedure or acceptance criteria; the scope and any fixture needs are confirmed during file review and quoted as separate lines.
Can a reverse-engineered design go straight into assembly?
Yes — once its samples have been verified. The recovered files are already in the project, so there's no re-explaining the board to a new vendor. See PCB reverse engineering.
Where are the boards built?
By fabrication and assembly partners matched to the board and the quantity. The arrangement for your project is confirmed at quotation, and your files are shared only with those doing the work.
Send the files. Get a quote you can act on.
Upload what you have, name the quantities you want compared, and say when you need the boards. The review comes back with questions, a list of anything missing, and then a quotation.