In what cases will there be charged extra for FPC?

To continuously deliver high-quality products and services, JLCPCB has been optimizing its production processes and advancing its manufacturing technology. We are also committed to meeting our customers’ diverse needs.

To provide customers with excellent service while maintaining sustainable production, we may charge extra fees for special processes and requirements, depending on the actual situation.  

Basically, all the prices are based on the online calculator when you select the corresponding options according to your Gerber file, but there are some exceptions. For specific designs and some special processes, or if the wrong options were selected when placing your order, additional fees may be required during the file review process. The following are the cases that will incur extra charges.

1. Too Many Test Points

The number of test points in a PCB board depends on the number of PIN points. As the number of PIN points increases, testing time increases accordingly. As a result, labor costs and testing costs will increase. Therefore, when the number of test points per board/panel reaches or exceeds 8,000, we will charge the corresponding fee according to the following rules：

Small batch/Mass Production orders

When you place a small batch or mass production order, there is no extra cost for orders with fewer than 8,000 flying probe test points per board/panel. If there are 8,000 or more test points, an extra $40.74/m² will be charged.

2. ENIG Area over 30%

The more copper is exposed on the surface, the larger the ENIG area will be. Therefore, the cost will be significantly higher correspondingly. When the ENIG area is over 30% of the total PCB dimension(top and bottom sides combined, 200%), an extra fee will be charged for the excess portion:

Note: If no coverlay is needed on either side, please design two fully opening soldermask layers in your Gerber files to correctly calculate the ENIG area.

3. Stiffeners on ≥100% area or ≥ 4 pcs

For prototype orders, when there are 4 or more stiffeners on the board, an extra fee is required.  

For a small batch or mass production order, when there are 4pcs or more stiffeners on the board, or the total stiffener area on both sides is no less than 100% of the board area, extra cost is required.

Note: Any hole or cutout inside a stiffener will also be included in the stiffener area calculation.

4. Too Many Drilling Holes

When there are too many drilling holes in your design, there will be an extra drilling fee. The slotted hole will be regarded as multiple drilling holes.

For prototype orders, we will charge $16.29 extra when there are more than 4,000 drilling holes.

For small batch or mass production orders, when the drilling holes are more than 150,000/m², an extra cost will be charged on the exceeded holes according to the following rules:

5. Difficulty Process Fee

When the trace width or trace spacing is between 2-3mil, it is more difficult to produce. We will charge 20% of the product value as an extra cost. If your order qualifies for a special offer price, the trace width/spacing must be increased to at least 3 mil; otherwise, the order will not be eligible for the special offer.

6. Small Board Fee (with/within 30*30mm)

When your PCB is 30*30mm or smaller, it's recommended to panelize your boards; otherwise your order may be subject to the small board fee rules:

Edge rails are not required if assembly service is not selected. Zero panel spacing is possible. For panel guidance, refer to https://jlcpcb.com/blog/Design-Guidelines-for-Flex-PCB-Panels-on-JLCPCB .

7. Transparent PET Protective Film

When your board is too thin and too long, specifically when the width of the board is less than 2mm, and the corresponding length of this area exceeds 20mm, there's a risk of getting curled/wrinkled during production and transportation.

To avoid such potential issues, we will add transparent PET protective film on the board, which you can easily tear off after you receive the PCBs. There is an extra cost for this protective film, $8.148+$8.148/m². Since we use laser cutting for Flex PCB, carbon powder will be generated on the edges, and it is difficult to be cleaned up completely for such small PCBs.

If you accept the risk of the board getting curled/wrinkled and will not submit a complaint on such an issue, we can proceed without the transparent PET protective film.

                 Without PET Protective Film             With PET Protective Film                     PET Protective Film                          

8. Extra Cost for Different PCB Designs in One Gerber File

In the FPC panel, if you include different designs in one outline frame(no cutout is used to separate the panel), your order will be audited and charged according to the following rules:

When there are more than 3 different PCBs, it will be further reviewed by our audit team to determine whether it is one design or not.

When there are different PCBs in one outline frame, maximum 10 PCBs are allowed in the panel.

Please note: Since such board is more difficult to produce than a regular single PCB design, we will try our best to produce it, but if a few pieces in the same outline are scrapped during production unfortunately, due to huge cost of production, we will send the good boards and refund the difference to you or send you a coupon of the same value of missing pieces.

9. Extra Cost for Placing Stiffeners after Assembly

If there are SMT components around the stiffeners that require placing stiffeners only after the assembly process, there will be an extra cost for labor fees. For prototype orders, it will be $8.14/order; for small batch or mass production orders, it will cost $0.032/PCS.

In such a case, stiffeners will be applied with 3M adhesive, the bonding strength of which may not be as good as that of thermosetting adhesive.

10. Extra Cost for Castellated Holes

When you need castellated holes processing, there will be an additional testing process fee to detect micro shortening after laser cutting, with an extra cost of $8.148+$8.148/m².

11. Extra Cost for Small Vias

A via hole size of 0.1 mm with a via diameter of 0.3 mm on 2- and 4-layer boards, or a via hole size of 0.15 mm with a via diameter of 0.35 mm on 4-layer boards, is much more difficult to produce.For prototype orders, it will cost $16.29 per order; for small-batch or mass-production orders, it will cost $16.29 + $16.29/m².

To avoid this extra cost, please design a minimum hole size of 0.15 mm for 2-layer boards and 0.2mm for 4-layer boards. The via diameter should be 0.2mm larger than the hole size; 0.25mm larger will be better.

12. Stiffeners in the Same Location

When you need to stack up stiffeners in the same location, there will be an additional cost of $8.14+$24.44/m² for every extra stiffener.

Please mention in the FPC Remark the sequence of the stiffeners that you require.