How are the costs of PCB cutting calculated?

As the very first process in PCB manufacturing—and also a step that precedes drilling in the drill shop—the cost reduction potential in operations such as material cutting, edge grinding, rounding, PIN insertion, and encapsulation far exceeds what one might imagine.
1. Material Cutting: Nowadays, many companies are shifting from single-layer material cutting to double-layer cutting—such as upgrading from 41×49 to 82×49—in order to maximize sheet utilization. While this approach simply involves increasing the size of incoming raw boards, few businesses actually calculate the cost associated with the 0.1–3–4 mm of material lost with each cut during the cutting process. When dealing with thick copper boards, even a small loss of just 0.1–4 mm can result in a cost difference of several yuan to tens of yuan per sheet. Moreover, the edge scrap generated during cutting carries a significantly higher value than the powder produced by sawing machines—while the powder typically sells for around 2,000–3,000 RMB per ton, edge scrap fetches 7,000–9,000 RMB per ton. For a PCB manufacturer in the Pearl River Delta with a monthly output of roughly 1 million square meters, choosing the right cutting method is an indispensable step in reducing costs. Beyond calculating material loss, labor costs also play a critical role: whether a shift employs 4 workers or as many as 10–15, the total monthly expenses—including base salary, social insurance, room and board, and holiday allowances—can add up to a substantial sum. Then there’s energy consumption to factor in: CNC cutting machines require blade resharpening every 2,000 meters, with each blade undergoing five resharpenings—and that doesn’t even account for the costs of tooth repair after each resharpening. On average, a single blade costs between 4,000 and 5,000 RMB, meaning CNC cutting machines incur blade expenses of roughly 15,000–30,000 RMB per month. In contrast, if using a die-cutting machine, which requires resharpening only once every 200,000 cuts, and assuming each resharpening costs 1,000 RMB, the cost per set of blades comes to about 8,000 RMB. Adding in a spare set of blades for rotational use, the total blade cost for a three-year period of die-cutting operation hovers around 16,000 RMB. CNC cutting machines demand dust collection systems with a capacity of roughly 20 horsepower, whereas die-cutting machines do not require such equipment. As for energy consumption: the CNC cutting machine’s blade motor operates at 11 kW, the push‑board motor at 750 W, the dust-collection conveyor motor at 1.5 kW, the blade‑feed/retract motor at 750 W, and the air‑float platform motor at 3.8 kW—totaling approximately 20 kW. The die-cutting machine, on the other hand, features two 2.2‑kW die-cutting motors (totaling 4.4 kW), four servo motors for the robotic arms at 750 W each (totaling 3 kW), and two push‑board motors at 750 W each (totaling 1.5 kW), with a combined power output of around 10 kW. Assuming both types of machines operate 20 hours per day, we’ll leave it to you to crunch the numbers!
2. Edge‑Grinding Process: Although this is a very simple process, if the edge‑grinding machine cannot precisely control the amount ground on each side—whether it’s an extra millimeter or just half a millimeter—the results can vary significantly. Furthermore, there are issues related to the dimensional accuracy of the boards after edge grinding, as well as the precision required in controlling the board’s dimensions at both ends. The author recommends that when selecting an edge‑grinding machine, you should aim to minimize manual adjustments to the cutting blades and instead rely on CNC controls to achieve the desired dimensional accuracy of the finished boards—for example, by using a CNC online double‑sided edge‑grinding machine.
3. Rounded Corners: Currently, there are three main types of edge‑rounding machines on the market: First, the traditional method that uses a forming cutter to cut from top to bottom; second, lateral cutting; and third, in‑line edge‑rounding machines, which can be installed after the edging machine to round the edges. This setup reduces the need for an additional operator, and it offers another advantage: the rounded edges are not sharp right angles, but rather smooth, rounded edges just like those produced by the edging machine—helping to minimize scratches between boards caused by sharp corners.
4. There are currently several types of PIN‑mounting and encapsulation machines available on the market: traditional PIN‑mounting machines, semi‑automatic PIN‑mounting and encapsulation machines, and fully automatic PIN‑mounting and encapsulation machines. Prices range from 30,000 to over 1 million yuan. The author recommends that each prospective buyer make plans and proceed with purchasing based on their own financial resources and available space.
As a seasoned professional with many years of experience in the PCB industry—particularly in PCB drilling—alongside the relentless advancement of society and the rapid development of AI, new energy, automation, and other cutting‑edge technologies, we’re witnessing a growing demand for PCBs in the future, especially for high‑end boards such as multilayer PCBs. This year, by examining the order books of high‑end PCB manufacturers, we can clearly see the trajectory of future PCB production demand. Meanwhile, many small-scale, low‑end board–focused factories are facing increasingly severe challenges. Cost reduction and efficiency enhancement have become the industry’s inevitable trend! For example, manufacturers with a production capacity of around 10 square meters should carefully assess and plan their material preparation processes—and consider adopting fully automated lines for tasks like material cutting, edge grinding, rounding, marking, slotting, cleaning, and pin‑encapsulation with adhesive! Take a large PCB enterprise in the Pearl River Delta, for instance: with a monthly production capacity of roughly 3 million square feet, they’ve installed four one‑to‑two fully automated lines. Each shift requires just two operators, and a total of four people across two shifts handle all operations prior to drilling.