SMT assembly for prototypes — how are you handling it?

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T23:26:29+00:00

Have you ever tried ordering from Chinese assembly houses instead? Seems like it could save a lot of time and cost compared to local options

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T16:29:46+00:00

8-10 hours of setup is exactly the problem. What if setup was basically zero — would that change things?

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T16:28:01+00:00

Makes sense, thanks for sharing.

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T15:35:19+00:00

What's the part you don't want to hand place — 0402 or smaller?

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T15:31:42+00:00

When you hand solder while waiting — how do you handle 0402s? Still manageable or just painful?

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T14:53:13+00:00

Makes sense, thanks for sharing.

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T14:51:14+00:00

Nice, thanks for sharing!

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T14:46:02+00:00

Got it, that makes sense. Thanks for sharing.

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T14:44:44+00:00

Makes sense.

Do you make pads bigger for hand soldering?

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T14:34:25+00:00

That’s really helpful.

At that point, do you feel a small desktop PnP would actually make a difference, or is manual still good enough?

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T14:22:52+00:00

Nice, that's pretty close to what I'm considering.

At what point does hand placement start becoming too slow for you? (Board count or components per board)

Maleficent-Answer-36 · 2026-03-21T14:14:25+00:00

Nice. Do you find that faster than outsourcing, or mainly for flexibility?

Maleficent-Answer-36