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PCB Design & Layout Services for Production-Ready Hardware

India-based PCB design services for global product teams, from schematic capture and component selection through HDI, rigid-flex, RF and high-speed multilayer layout. We deliver the design database, fabrication outputs, BOM, assembly drawings and DFM package needed for a clean manufacturing handoff.

Quick answer

What we build
Production-ready PCB designs: schematic capture, component selection and HDI, rigid-flex, RF and high-speed multilayer layout up to 24 layers, delivered with fabrication outputs, BOM, assembly drawings and a DFM package.
Who it is for
Product teams without in-house layout capacity, and hardware engineers with a finished schematic who need layout or a DFM review before fabrication.
Typical timeline
2–6 weeks per board
Typical cost
Design fees across the market run $800–$25,000+ per board, from freelancers to US firms. Rapid Circuitry's typical design fee is $2,000–$5,000 for a simple 2–4 layer board, $4,000–$8,000 for a 4–6 layer high-speed board and $10,000–$25,000+ for an 8+ layer HDI, RF or mixed-signal board. Fabrication and assembly are separate. Source: PCB design cost guide.
Deliverables
Gerber/ODB++ and drill files, BOM and assembly drawings, DFM/DFA reports, Source CAD files
Tools and technologies
Altium Designer, KiCad, Cadence Allegro/OrCAD, Siemens PADS

Every project is quoted as a fixed-scope proposal within 3–5 business days of a discovery call. Discuss your product

Specifications

  • Up to 24 layers
  • HDI and microvias
  • Rigid-flex
  • RF and mixed-signal
  • Controlled impedance

Capabilities

What we deliver

Expert schematic design

Precise schematic capture with hierarchical design capabilities, comprehensive part libraries, electrical rule checking (ERC), and detailed design documentation for manufacturability.

Multi-layer PCB layout

Advanced PCB layout services for boards up to 24 layers, including HDI designs with microvias, blind/buried vias, and sophisticated stackups for optimal signal integrity and power distribution.

High-speed digital design

Specialized high-speed PCB design with controlled impedance routing, length matching, differential pair handling, and simulation-driven optimization for signal integrity at frequencies up to multi-GHz.

RF & mixed-signal layout

Expert RF PCB design with proper grounding schemes, impedance matching, RF isolation techniques, and careful component placement for optimal performance in challenging wireless applications.

EMI/EMC compliance design

Proactive EMI/EMC design techniques including proper stackup design, controlled return paths, filtering, shielding, and grounding strategies that reduce the risk of failing formal EMC tests.

Advanced DFM optimization

Comprehensive Design for Manufacturing analysis ensuring cost-effective production with optimized trace widths, proper clearances, testability features, and panelization for assembly efficiency.

2 more capabilities

Thermal management solutions

Specialized thermal design including copper pours, thermal vias, component spacing optimization, and simulation-based verification to manage heat dissipation in high-power applications.

Flex & rigid-flex design

Expert design of flexible and rigid-flex PCBs with careful attention to bend radii, neutral bend axis placement, strain relief, and specialized manufacturing considerations.

Capabilities and deliverables

Design capabilities

  • High-density BGA fanouts (0.4mm pitch and below)
  • Impedance-controlled traces for digital and RF signals
  • Power integrity analysis and simulation
  • Design for EMI/EMC compliance and testing
  • Advanced stackup design and impedance profiling

Deliverables

  • Manufacturing-ready Gerber/ODB++ files with fabrication notes
  • BOM and assembly drawings with detailed instructions
  • DFM/DFA reports and compliance documentation
  • Source design files in requested CAD format
  • Signal integrity and design rule check reports

Process

How we work

Video poster: step 03, “Layout and analysis”, beside a routed 4-layer example board with an RF keep-out and the badge “DRC 0 · SI / PI checked”.

What a PCB design engagement hands you25 s · no sound

Video text
  1. PCB design & layout. Schematic to a DFM-checked fabrication package.
  2. 01 · Constraints and stackup: Stackup, impedance and fab limits agreed first. 4-layer example board, 1.0 mm: L1 Top, prepreg, L2 GND plane, core, L3 3V0 plane, prepreg, L4 Bottom.
  3. 02 · Schematic capture: Reviewed schematic and BOM. Design review passed.
  4. 03 · Layout and analysis: Placement, routing, then SI, power and EMC checks where needed. DRC 0 · SI / PI checked.
  5. 04 · DFM review and release: Fab and assembly package on one revision. Gerber / ODB++ · Drill files · BOM · Pick-and-place · Assembly drawings · DFM/DFA report.
  6. Up to 24 layers · HDI and microvias · Rigid-flex · RF and mixed-signal. Altium Designer · KiCad · Cadence Allegro/OrCAD · Siemens PADS.
  7. PCB design, typically 2–6 weeks per board. Rapid Circuitry. Discuss your product → rapidcircuitry.com/contact. Reply within one business day · Mutual NDA on request.
  8. Drawings: illustrative, example project.
  1. Constraints and stackup

    Confirm board outline, connector locations, layer stackup, impedance targets and fabrication limits with the intended supplier.

    Deliverable: Agreed stackup, design rules and routing constraints

  2. Schematic capture

    Hierarchical schematic capture, component selection and electrical rule checking.

    Deliverable: Reviewed schematic and BOM

  3. Layout and analysis

    Placement and routing with interface-specific constraints; signal-integrity, power and EMC checks where the design needs them.

    Deliverable: Signal integrity and design rule check reports

  4. DFM review and release

    Resolve manufacturing queries and review the complete fabrication and assembly package on one revision.

    Deliverable: Gerber/ODB++, drill files, BOM, pick-and-place data and assembly drawings

  5. Bring-up and validation

    Prototype fabrication, board bring-up and validation, scoped separately from the design release.

    Deliverable: Bring-up and test records against the product requirements

Engineering notes

What makes a PCB design ready for manufacturing?

A PCB layout is ready for release when the agreed electrical, mechanical and manufacturing checks are complete and the fabricator and assembler receive a consistent revision of the design package. Passing the CAD tool’s design-rule check is one step; it does not establish board functionality or EMC compliance.

Agree the stackup and constraints before routing

Confirm board outline, connector locations, layer stackup, impedance targets and fabrication limits with the intended supplier. Set interface-specific routing and return-path constraints. High-speed, RF, power and rigid-flex requirements affect placement and material choices as well as trace geometry.

Review the complete fabrication and assembly package

Keep source CAD, Gerber or ODB++ outputs, drill files, stackup notes, BOM, pick-and-place data and assembly drawings on the same revision. Review the manufacturing queries, approved substitutions, test access and unresolved exceptions before authorizing a build.

Plan validation and redesign separately

A fabrication release produces boards; bring-up and validation determine whether they meet the product requirements. For a PCB redesign or obsolete-component replacement, identify the changed interfaces, power and thermal behavior, then define the regression tests and any compliance retesting before comparing costs.

Key considerations

  • Supplier design rules agreed before layout
  • Traceable schematic, layout and BOM revisions
  • DFM and assembly queries resolved before release
  • Prototype fabrication, validation and redesign included explicitly in the scope

Planning

Scope and cost

Start with a non-confidential summary of your product and the milestone you need to reach next.

What to include in a PCB design brief

A useful PCB design estimate starts with the board constraints and the files you need at handoff. Share what is known and identify the decisions that still need engineering work.

Inputs for your project brief

  • Existing schematics or a block diagram, preferred CAD tool, and component requirements.
  • Board dimensions, connector positions, enclosure constraints, and target production volume.
  • Power rails, high-speed interfaces, RF requirements, and the fabricator's stackup or design rules if available.

Choose the scope for your next milestone

Agree the deliverables and acceptance criteria

Agree the source CAD files, fabrication and assembly outputs, review reports, and responsibility for resolving manufacturing queries. Keep schematic design, layout, prototype fabrication, and board validation distinct in the quote.

Agree confidentiality arrangements before sharing proprietary design files.

Planning guides

Hardware Product Development Roadmap

Idea to mass production in six stages — feasibility, prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT and ramp — with durations, cost ranges, founder decisions, IP terms and pilot runs.

Plan your PCB design project

Budget the layout, check the board against manufacturing rules and review the techniques behind dense and high-speed boards.

Proof

Related case studies

Automated Nitric Oxide Therapy System

Connected iNO Delivery for NICU Patients

Medical equipment manufacturer, India

Class C Firmware Design
IEC 62304
Dosing Accuracy (or ±0.5 ppm, whichever is greater)
±10%
Design target
Lower Device Cost vs Imported iNO Systems (BOM estimate)
60%
Design target
2 more case studies
Review all case studies

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is PCB design?

PCB (Printed Circuit Board) design is the process of creating the layout for electronic circuits on a board substrate. Modern PCB design involves schematic capture, component placement, trace routing, impedance control, and signal integrity analysis. PCBs range from single- and 2-layer boards to high-layer-count and high-density interconnect (HDI) designs; backplane and server boards can exceed 30 layers.

Source: Rapid Circuitry engineering team. Related terms: schematic, Gerber files, DFM, impedance control.

Working with Rapid Circuitry

How much does a project cost, and how is pricing structured?

Each project is quoted as a fixed-scope proposal: a statement of work with milestones, deliverables and pricing, sent within 3–5 business days of the discovery call. The price depends on the requirements, how mature the design is, technical complexity, the number of prototype iterations and the validation scope. Longer engagements can also run as a retainer or a hybrid of both. For budgeting before you contact us, our hardware development cost benchmarks and the PCB design, firmware and IoT cost guides give indicative ranges with their assumptions stated. They are planning ranges, not quotes.

How long does a project take?

It depends on the scope and on what already exists when we start. As planning ranges from our cost benchmarks: a single PCB layout takes 2–6 weeks per board and embedded firmware 4–16 weeks. A connected (IoT) product takes 3–12 months from concept to a production-ready design, and a regulated medical device 12–24 months to a 510(k) submission-ready package; from idea to mass production, a typical connected product takes 9–18 months. The proposal sets out a dated milestone plan, and you receive weekly progress updates during the project.

Who owns the intellectual property?

You do. Our contracts assign the intellectual property in the project work product (schematics, PCB design files, firmware source code and documentation) to you on payment, and we hand over the source files, not only fabrication outputs or compiled binaries. The exact terms are set out in the signed agreement for each engagement.

Do you sign NDAs?

Yes. We sign a mutual NDA before any technical discussion of your project. Send your standard NDA or use ours; we return it signed within one business day.

Can you work with clients in the US, Europe and Japan?

Yes. We are based in Hyderabad, India, and work with product teams in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, the Middle East and other markets. Our office hours are 10:30–19:00 India Standard Time (UTC+5:30), Monday to Saturday, and we schedule design reviews across time zones, typically from US Pacific to Central European time. Japan is 3.5 hours ahead of India, so our first four hours overlap the Japanese afternoon. Prototypes and documentation ship by international courier such as DHL or FedEx. Our hardware outsourcing guide covers what to agree before an international project starts.

Do you hand off to manufacturing, and which contract manufacturers do you work with?

Yes. We prepare the manufacturing release package — fabrication and assembly drawings, the BOM with approved manufacturers, programming files and test specifications — and hand it over to the contract manufacturer (EMS) you choose. If you have not chosen one, we help you evaluate candidates through technical capability assessments and a pilot build. See manufacturing support.

Are you ISO 9001 or ISO 13485 certified?

No. Rapid Circuitry does not hold ISO 9001, ISO 13485 or other certificates. Our processes are aligned with ISO 9001:2015, and we design products to the requirements of the standards that apply to them — for example IEC 60601-1 and IEC 62304 for medical devices (with design documentation structured so your ISO 13485 quality system can absorb it) and IEC 61000 for EMC — and we specify IPC-A-610 workmanship classes for assembly. We prepare the product and its documentation for certification testing at accredited laboratories; the certificate or approval is issued for your product by the laboratory, notified body or regulator.

What do you need from me to start?

A short, non-confidential description of the product and what it must do (sensors, connectivity, on-device processing), the target production volume and unit cost, the markets and regulations it must meet (for example FDA, CE or FCC), your timeline, and what already exists: a concept, a proof of concept, schematics, PCB files or firmware. After the NDA, the next step is a 30-minute discovery call with the engineers who would work on the project, followed by the fixed-scope proposal. Send a project brief to begin.

Explore

Embedded hardware development

System architecture, MCU/SoC selection, schematic and PCB design, board bring-up, validation and manufacturing handoff.

Electronics design

Precision analog, mixed-signal and power circuits: sensor front ends, power supplies and battery management.

RF design

Antennas and RF front ends from sub-GHz to about 8 GHz, integrated and pre-scanned before radio certification.