Manufacturing cost modeling in printed wiring board assembly

This paper discusses cost modeling of electronics assembly operations. Station-by-station assembly cost equations are presented for the estimation of total assembly cost of a seven-station printed wiring board (PWB) assembly. The equations for the average production time of the acceptable assemblies at these stations are also demonstrated. The total manufacturing cost equation includes three main elements, which are inventory cost, assembly cost, and test and rework associated cost. A case study is done to present the application of the developed cost model. The cost model developed in this paper can be used by the design team to evaluate the associated manufacturing cost for design alternatives in concurrent engineering processes.