Assembling an FPGA board is not the same job as populating a simple sensor PCB. The centrepiece is a large, expensive, fine-pitch ball grid array surrounded by high-speed memory, dense passives, and connectors, all of which have to be placed and soldered without a single hidden defect. One bridged BGA ball or one starved joint under the FPGA can send the whole board back, and the parts on an FPGA assembly are far too costly to treat casually.
FPGA.io provides FPGA PCB assembly built around that reality. We handle everything from a single prototype to full production, with the inspection and process control that high-density, high-value boards demand. This page covers the assembly models we offer, the capabilities that matter for FPGA hardware, and how we verify that every board leaves the line working.
Turnkey, partial turnkey and consigned assembly
There is no single right way to run an assembly project, so we support three models and help you pick the one that fits your program.
- Turnkey assembly. We procure the bare board and every component, place and solder the assembly, and test it. You send files, we send working boards. This is the fastest path for most teams because it removes the logistics of chasing dozens of parts, especially hard-to-source FPGAs that can dominate the schedule.
- Partial turnkey. You supply the critical or long-lead parts, typically the FPGA itself, and we source the rest. This is common when you already hold FPGAs on allocation or want to control the highest-value line item.
- Consigned (kitted) assembly. You provide all parts and the board; we provide the placement, soldering, inspection and test. This suits teams with an established supply chain who need manufacturing capacity and quality, not procurement.
Whichever model you choose, the assembly, inspection, and test workflow is the same, and it is tuned for the density and value of FPGA boards.
SMT, through-hole and mixed-technology capability
FPGA boards are rarely pure surface-mount. A typical design mixes a fine-pitch BGA, hundreds of small passives, fine-pitch QFP or QFN devices, press-fit or through-hole connectors, and sometimes shielding cans. Assembling it well means handling every one of those technologies on the same board without compromise.
Our assembly capabilities cover the full range FPGA hardware needs:
| Assembly capability | Detail |
| Surface-mount (SMT) | Fine-pitch down to 0.3 mm, BGA, micro-BGA, QFN, CSP |
| Smallest passives | 01005, 0201, 0402 and larger |
| Through-hole & mixed | Selective, wave and hand soldering; press-fit connectors |
| BGA & bottom-terminated | Full BGA placement with 100% X-ray verification |
| Component range | 1000s of unique parts per assembly; single- and double-sided |
| Order size | One-off prototypes to volume production, no minimum order |
| Inspection | SPI, AOI, X-ray, and ICT / functional test |
| Standard | Built and inspected to IPC-A-610 Class 2 and Class 3 |
Handling high-density FPGA boards
Density is what separates FPGA assembly from routine PCBA. When a large BGA sits in the middle of a board, several things get harder at once, and each needs deliberate process control.
The FPGA’s package has a large thermal mass, so the reflow profile has to deliver enough heat to melt the balls at the centre of the array without overheating small nearby passives. Heavy copper planes act as heat sinks that pull energy away from joints, which can starve solder if the profile is not developed for that specific board. Fine-pitch neighbours raise the risk of bridging. And because the most critical joints are hidden underneath the package, you cannot confirm them by eye, which is exactly why X-ray inspection is not optional on FPGA work. We develop a thermal profile per board rather than reusing a generic one, precisely because FPGA layouts vary so much.
If your design centres on a large or fine-pitch device, our dedicated BGA assembly process covers reflow optimisation, X-ray analysis, and rework in depth.
Prototype to production, with no minimum order
Hardware development is iterative, and the first assembly of a new FPGA board is where most problems surface. We assemble prototypes, including single units, so you can get a real board on the bench quickly and validate the design before committing to volume. The same line, processes, and inspection then scale to pilot runs and full production, so the way your board is built does not change underneath you between revisions.
Fast, low-volume assembly matters most exactly when the stakes are highest, on that first build with brand-new, expensive parts. Pairing it with a free DFM review before the first run means avoidable layout issues get caught before they turn into a failed prototype and a lost week.
Inspection and test: how we verify every board
Inspection is where quality is proven, not assumed. Our FPGA assembly process layers several complementary checks so defects are caught at the earliest, cheapest stage.
- Solder paste inspection (SPI) measures paste volume and alignment before any parts are placed, catching stencil and printing problems up front, which matter enormously under a fine-pitch BGA.
- Automated optical inspection (AOI) verifies component presence, orientation, and visible solder quality across the board at high speed.
- X-ray inspection sees the joints you cannot: the hidden balls under every BGA and bottom-terminated device. We use it to check for voids, bridges, and head-in-pillow defects. On FPGA boards this is the single most important inspection step, and we run it on 100% of BGAs.
- In-circuit test (ICT) and functional test confirm the board is not just well-soldered but actually working. We can execute your functional test procedure or help develop one, including boundary-scan/JTAG testing that FPGAs and their memory naturally support.
The goal is simple: no board should leave the line with a defect that a proper inspection flow would have caught, and none should ship untested.
Quality standards, traceability and documentation
FPGA boards are built and inspected to IPC-A-610 Class 2 for commercial products or Class 3 where higher reliability is required. Our assembly runs under an ISO 9001 quality system, with moisture-sensitive-device (MSD) handling per J-STD-033, ESD controls throughout, and RoHS-compliant or leaded processes as your product requires.
Traceability follows the build, so you can tie an assembly back to its component lots, a genuine advantage when counterfeit-part risk is a concern on high-value FPGAs. We provide the documentation your program needs, from certificates of conformance to inspection and test records.
One team from bare board to tested assembly
The cleanest way to build an FPGA board is to keep fabrication, sourcing, and assembly under one roof. When the same team fabricates the bare board, sources the components, and runs the assembly, there is no finger-pointing between vendors when something needs attention, and the whole project moves on one schedule. It also means the people placing your thousand-ball FPGA already understand the stackup and the finish it is being placed on. That end-to-end ownership is exactly what an FPGA board, with its high part cost and low tolerance for hidden defects, benefits from most.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have a minimum order quantity for FPGA assembly?
No. We assemble everything from a single prototype to full production runs. Low-volume and one-off builds are a core part of what we do, because that is when FPGA designs are being validated.
Can you source the FPGA and the rest of the BOM for me?
Yes. With turnkey assembly we procure the entire bill of materials, including scarce or long-lead FPGAs, through our component sourcing team, with counterfeit-avoidance controls on high-value parts.
How do you inspect the solder joints under the FPGA?
With X-ray. The balls under a BGA are hidden from optical inspection, so we X-ray 100% of BGAs to verify the joints and check for voids, bridges, and head-in-pillow defects. See our BGA assembly page for detail.
Can you run our functional test?
Yes. We can execute a functional test procedure you supply, help you develop one, or use boundary-scan/JTAG testing that FPGA designs support natively.
What files do you need for an assembly quote?
Typically Gerber or ODB++ for the board, a bill of materials (BOM), and pick-and-place (centroid) data. You can send them with your quote request and we will confirm anything missing.
Get an FPGA PCB assembly quote
Upload your board files, BOM and pick-and-place data and we will return an assembly quote, usually within 24 hours, with a free manufacturability review included so problems are caught before the first build.
Related services: PCB Fabrication | BGA Assembly | Component Sourcing | Free DFM Review
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