PROTOTYPE ASSEMBLY

Calpak USA offers prototype PCB assembly turnaround as fast as 24 hours for urgent engineering builds when components are in stock or customer-supplied. Our standard quick-turn prototype service delivers assembled boards within 5 to 7 business days, including DFM review, solder paste stencil fabrication, SMT and through-hole placement, reflow or wave soldering, and visual inspection. The 24-hour service is available for boards with moderate complexity, typically up to 500 SMT placements and standard-pitch components. Fine-pitch BGAs, micro-BGAs below 0.5 mm pitch, or boards requiring X-ray inspection may add one to two days. All prototype builds at our Hawthorne, California facility use the same IPC-compliant processes and ANSI/ESD S20.20 handling as production assemblies, so your test results accurately reflect production-quality workmanship.

Most programs that Calpak USA supports require between one and three prototype iterations before releasing to production. A first prototype typically validates circuit functionality and mechanical fit. If the design requires layout changes, a second revision addresses signal integrity, thermal, or DFM corrections identified during testing. A third iteration is common for high-reliability aerospace or defense programs requiring formal design verification testing before first-article production. Calpak USA accelerates this cycle by providing detailed DFM feedback before the first build, which frequently eliminates an entire revision. Our engineers review pad geometries, component spacing, thermal relief, and solder paste aperture ratios using IPC-7351 guidelines. Because Calpak USA handles both prototype and production assembly in our Hawthorne, California facility, process learnings transfer directly to the production line without vendor requalification delays.

No. Calpak USA uses identical equipment, solder materials, reflow profiles, and IPC workmanship standards for expedited prototype builds as for standard-timeline orders. The acceleration comes from scheduling priority, not process shortcuts. Expedited boards receive the same solder paste inspection, automated optical inspection, and visual inspection under IPC-A-610 Class 2 or Class 3 criteria depending on your requirements. Calpak USA operators are J-STD-001 certified, and our Hawthorne, California facility maintains ANSI/ESD S20.20 compliance across all workstations regardless of scheduling urgency. The primary trade-off with expedited service is cost, as priority scheduling carries a premium, and component availability, since parts must be on hand or sourced within the compressed timeline. Calpak USA will not ship a prototype that has not passed all specified inspection gates, regardless of schedule pressure.

Calpak USA accepts prototype PCB assembly orders starting at a single board. There is no minimum quantity requirement for prototype builds, and we routinely assemble quantities from 1 to 100 boards for engineering evaluation, design verification, regulatory testing, and pre-production pilot runs. Pricing for very small quantities reflects the fixed setup costs of stencil fabrication, pick-and-place programming, and reflow profile development, so the per-board cost is higher than production pricing. For quantities above 100, Calpak USA typically recommends transitioning to our production assembly service, which offers better unit economics through high-speed line optimization. Our Hawthorne, California engineering team can advise on the most cost-effective quantity breakpoints for your specific board complexity and BOM during the quoting process.

Calpak USA supports both turnkey and consigned models for prototype assembly. In a turnkey prototype engagement, Calpak USA procures all components from our approved distributor network, including hard-to-find and specialty parts. You provide Gerber files, a BOM, and assembly drawings; we handle sourcing, incoming inspection, and kitting. In a consigned model, you ship your own components to our Hawthorne, California facility, and Calpak USA performs assembly and inspection only. We also support partial turnkey, where you supply specific components such as customer-furnished FPGAs or custom ASICs while Calpak USA sources standard passives, connectors, and discretes. Turnkey prototyping is typically faster for engineers who want to focus on design validation rather than procurement logistics. Calpak USA verifies all incoming consigned components against your BOM for correct part numbers, quantities, and moisture sensitivity level compliance before assembly begins.

Every prototype board assembled at Calpak USA undergoes solder paste inspection before reflow, automated optical inspection after reflow, and manual visual inspection per IPC-A-610 Class 2 or Class 3 criteria as specified. For boards with BGA or bottom-terminated components, X-ray inspection verifies solder joint integrity and voiding levels. Beyond standard inspection, Calpak USA offers functional testing when customers provide test procedures or test fixtures. If no custom test exists, Calpak USA can develop a basic power-on and continuity test to catch assembly-level defects before boards ship. Flying probe testing is available for prototype quantities where ICT fixture development is not justified. All inspection results are documented and provided with the shipment from our Hawthorne, California facility. For AS9100 or ITAR programs, inspection records include full traceability and are archived per program retention requirements.