There are many ways to find the printed circuit board you need, and one option is designing a custom one yourself. If you’re thinking of making a custom board, consider the benefits of designing your own printed circuit board and what you can expect in our guide.
Save Time
You might think that designing and building a custom printed circuit board (PCB) would take up more of your time and energy, but it’ll save you in many ways. The design portion will take the most time, but you can get this part done quickly if you have the right software.
Since it’s custom and yours, you cut down on the time you spend waiting for shipping, and those extra days and hours can be crucial if you’re working with a tight timeline.
Fewer Labor Costs
Most of the costs of creating a PCB come from labor costs instead of material costs. When you design your own PCB, you significantly cut down on those costs, saving you money even if it may not seem that way at the moment. Custom PCBs generally require less re-work and adjustments, where labor costs can pile up as problems snowball into another.
Plus, when you’re done with the first PCB, you can take the schematics and build a second PCB cheaply if needed—which is more often than you think.
More Flexible
When designing and building a custom PCB, there’s more flexibility and freedom to adjust and fix as you move through the process. Instead of waiting for a fully assembled PCB to return to you to fix a bug or discover something else, you can adjust it right from your workbench instead of waiting.
We all know how quickly bugs and problems can arise, but designing a custom PCB lets you tackle those problems more efficiently.
Technical Control
Designing your PCB puts you in total technical control of the project, from the significant ideas to the most minute materials. You’re not limited by anything else, including go-betweens; you get to have the final say on every decision.
That also has drawbacks, as problems and revisions fall squarely on your shoulders. A custom PCB focuses more on the initial design phases to avoid later issues, like troubles with the EMI shielding.
There are many benefits to designing your own printed circuit board. You get the freedom and technical control and don’t have to rely on others, but that means taking on greater responsibility. Even if it doesn’t work out, it’s worth giving it a shot at least once!
