What to Send for a Turnkey PCB Assembly Quote
Direct answer: The practical answer to "What does a turnkey provider need beyond Gerber, BOM, and CPL?" is to use a documented decision gate, not a generic supplier promise. The target outcome is a turnkey-specific quote checklist connecting every input to a pricing or schedule assumption. Start with the fabrication package gate: Send Gerber/drill or agreed native data, stack-up, finish, outline, and drawings. Then review the package and people who can approve exceptions. Hold the project when board requirements require guessing. Exact manufacturing, inspection, sourcing, and test scope depends on the selected design and partner. This guide makes scope explicit before quotation, release, or the next build decision.
What decision does this guide support?
A basic assembly file set does not define sourcing authority, test scope, packaging, or destination. This guide helps buyers preparing a full-scope turnkey quotation make decisions about turnkey RFQ package. Its information gain is a turnkey RFQ checklist with mandatory, conditional, and approval fields. The framework below is a project-control tool, not a claim that one process, supplier, quantity, or lead time fits every board.
Turnkey RFQ Checklist
Use this framework at the point where a project could otherwise move forward on an assumption. Each row names the evidence needed and a condition that should stop release until an owner resolves it.
| Checklist item | Required evidence | Hold condition |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication package | Send Gerber/drill or agreed native data, stack-up, finish, outline, and drawings. | Board requirements require guessing. |
| BOM | Include manufacturer part number, quantity, DNI, alternates, and no-substitute rules. | A line is not purchasable as written. |
| Placement | Send reference, X/Y, rotation, side, origin, and assembly notes. | CPL and BOM population disagree. |
| Build demand | State batch quantity, variants, panel quantity basis, and lifecycle stage. | The supplier cannot determine consumed quantity. |
| Programming/test | Provide binary, method, fixtures, limits, expected evidence, and ownership. | Test cost and time cannot be scoped. |
| Logistics | State packaging, labels, destination, timing constraint, and excess-material disposition. | The quotation ends before the required delivery scope. |
Core fabrication and assembly files
For the core fabrication and assembly files step, use Fabrication package as the control point. Send Gerber/drill or agreed native data, stack-up, finish, outline, and drawings. Treat this as a release decision rather than an administrative detail. Place the build on hold when board requirements require guessing. Record the input reviewed, its revision or date, the decision owner, and the action required. That record keeps a later sourcing, assembly, test, or repeat-batch decision tied to the same baseline.
BOM sourcing instructions
For the bom sourcing instructions step, use BOM as the control point. Include manufacturer part number, quantity, DNI, alternates, and no-substitute rules. The useful evidence is a record another person can review without reconstructing the conversation. Place the build on hold when a line is not purchasable as written. Record the input reviewed, its revision or date, the decision owner, and the action required. That record keeps a later sourcing, assembly, test, or repeat-batch decision tied to the same baseline.
Quantities and build stage
For the quantities and build stage step, use Placement as the control point. Send reference, X/Y, rotation, side, origin, and assembly notes. This check should connect engineering intent to a purchasing or manufacturing action. Place the build on hold when cPL and BOM population disagree. Record the input reviewed, its revision or date, the decision owner, and the action required. That record keeps a later sourcing, assembly, test, or repeat-batch decision tied to the same baseline.
Programming and test
For the programming and test step, use Build demand as the control point. State batch quantity, variants, panel quantity basis, and lifecycle stage. A short written rule is more valuable than a broad assurance because it exposes the next owner. Place the build on hold when the supplier cannot determine consumed quantity. Record the input reviewed, its revision or date, the decision owner, and the action required. That record keeps a later sourcing, assembly, test, or repeat-batch decision tied to the same baseline.
Packaging and logistics
For the packaging and logistics step, use Programming/test as the control point. Provide binary, method, fixtures, limits, expected evidence, and ownership. The aim is not maximum paperwork; it is to prevent an unapproved assumption from entering the build. Place the build on hold when test cost and time cannot be scoped. Record the input reviewed, its revision or date, the decision owner, and the action required. That record keeps a later sourcing, assembly, test, or repeat-batch decision tied to the same baseline.
Turnkey RFQ checklist
For the turnkey rfq checklist step, use Logistics as the control point. State packaging, labels, destination, timing constraint, and excess-material disposition. Close the step with an explicit pass, hold, or approved-deviation result. Place the build on hold when the quotation ends before the required delivery scope. Record the input reviewed, its revision or date, the decision owner, and the action required. That record keeps a later sourcing, assembly, test, or repeat-batch decision tied to the same baseline.
How to use the framework on a real project
- Define the baseline. Identify the board revision, assembly variant, quantity, intended learning or delivery outcome, and files being reviewed.
- Assign decisions. Name who can approve engineering changes, sourcing substitutions, process deviations, test failures, and schedule tradeoffs.
- Record the result. Store the pass, hold, or deviation outcome with the build package so a repeat order does not depend on memory.
Questions to close before release
What evidence is sufficient?
Evidence should match the risk. A file reconciliation may be enough for one decision; a datasheet comparison, inspection record, controlled test, or engineering approval may be needed for another. The key is that the evidence is named before work proceeds.
Who owns an exception?
The party executing purchasing or manufacturing can identify an issue and present options, but changes to functional intent require an authorized customer engineering decision. Put that boundary in the RFQ or release record.
When should the project stay on hold?
Hold when the next action would make an unresolved assumption expensive, irreversible, unsafe, or difficult to trace. A documented hold is usually less costly than discovering after assembly that teams used different revisions or acceptance criteria.
Related Cyrionix resources
This guide strengthens the turnkey pcb assembly topic owner. Supporting resources:
