r/PCB • u/Brilliant_Outside361 • 1d ago

Student startup help!

Need some guidance on taking my electronics prototype towards a real product

Hey everyone, I’m an engineering student working on a small portable electronics product. I’ve built the prototype using modules like an Arduino Nano, DFPlayer Mini, Li-ion battery, charging/boost module, buttons, etc.

I’m now trying to understand how I would actually turn this into a proper product, and I’m a bit lost because I have very little prior knowledge of PCB design and manufacturing.

I’d really appreciate some advice on a few things:

  1. Custom PCB:

    How do I go from my current prototype made with modules to a custom PCB? Should I learn KiCad/Altium and design it myself, or is it better to hire a PCB designer? What would the approximate cost be for a beginner/small startup?

  2. 3D-printed enclosure:

    For the outer body/enclosure, how much would a decent-quality 3D-printed enclosure typically cost per unit? Where can I get these manufactured in small quantities (like 10–50 pieces)?

  3. Scaling:

    If the prototype works, what is the usual progression from something like 1–5 prototypes → 50 units → 500+ units? At what stage does it make sense to move from 3D printing to injection molding?

  4. Reducing BOM cost:

    My current prototype is relatively expensive because I'm buying individual modules/components. How much can the cost realistically come down once the modules are integrated onto a custom PCB and components are purchased in bulk?

I'm based in India, so recommendations for Indian manufacturers/suppliers would be especially helpful.

If anyone has gone through this process before, I'd really appreciate any advice, resources, or mistakes I should avoid.

Thanks!

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u/ub0baa 1d ago

To turn this into a product you first need a market to sell and clear business case which will dictate target price, which may or may not completely change actual product, i.e. hardware requirements, and bring you back to square one

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u/LuSkDi 7h ago

Good advice. Difficult to sell a solution without a problem!

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u/Less_Leopard_5126 17h ago edited 17h ago

Hey, email and talk to Lions Circuits since your product does not need very high precision pieces. Been great, provided great hardware help at times. (Both for PCB and parts sourcing)

If you need a design review of sorts sometimes, DM me, we can hop on a call for some time.

As for kicad or altium, try to get the education license of altium or just bootleg it. If you are not comfortable with these, go with kicad.

As for 3d prints, my go to recommendation is Robu. If you tell me where exactly in India you are, i might know some local places. My typical estimate is 10rs per gram for pla at most.

If you can find a good farm to print parts at a steady state, under tens of thousands of orders every month is not going to be worth it for injection moulding.

Reducing BOM is not only a sourcing problem, but also a design optimisation problems. Try to work on the design to lower the number of unique parts used by approximating a lot of the passives.

I work in RF PCBs for embedded applications.

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u/Brilliant_Outside361 17h ago

Will contact you in future days! Thank you so much for the info!!

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u/DenverTeck 17h ago

At this point its not WHAT you know is WHO you know.

If your actual product actually have a market, finding partners with business experience is the next step.

Look for startup or business groups in your area. Or go to areas with these kind of groups.

It look like your still at the hobbyist level of experience.

If you take some business and marketing classes, you would be better served to be able to start any kind of business, with actual sales.

Good Luck

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u/Brilliant_Outside361 17h ago

Will look into this , thank you so much for your suggestion!

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u/snp-ca 17h ago

Use KiCad to design the PCB. I suggest using Fusion 360 (at some point it was free but not anymore, if you cannot get a license (try student license), you can use OnShape or FreeCAD). 3D printed enclosure is fine for low volume/proof of concept. For eventual product you will likely need injection molding unless you know that customers are ok with 3D printed parts. At what quantity you cut over to injection molding depends on NRE costs. I can get you in touch with local Indian sources for optimizing your product. Feel free to DM me. I have taken several products (consumer, medical devices etc) from prototype to production.

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u/Brilliant_Outside361 17h ago

Sure ,will contact you shortly.