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Manufactured PCB's — Parallax Forums

Manufactured PCB's

jmalaysiajmalaysia Posts: 97
edited 2008-06-17 16:52 in General Discussion
I've finally decided it's time to integrate my receiver, stamp,· and relays into a single circuit board.· I've read several posts concerning PCB drawing software,· but what I'm wondering is if anyone has researched pricing to have 50-100 boards manufactured and can give me a clue to who is cheapest.

Comments

  • Steve JoblinSteve Joblin Posts: 784
    edited 2008-06-12 14:10
    I like expresspcb.com as they provide free software for designing the board.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2008-06-12 14:23
    Advanced Circuits also provides free PCB CAD software. Their boards and service are superb. New customers get the first $500 free, too.

    -Phil
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2008-06-13 19:14
    I've used CustomPCB for a short run of boards that I sold. They were very cheap.

    Leon

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
    Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle

    Post Edited (Leon) : 6/13/2008 7:24:01 PM GMT
  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2008-06-17 00:40
    If you are talking only fabricating PCBs and not PCB assembly, then I use PCBCart which is a Chinese based company. They can take gerber files or even an EAGLE file.

    If you want PCBA, then there are tons of options, but I warn you it isn't always cheap.

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    Timothy D. Swieter

    www.brilldea.com·- uOLED-IOC, RGB LEDs, TLC5940 driver PCB
    www.tdswieter.com
    One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode
  • ZootZoot Posts: 2,227
    edited 2008-06-17 02:25
    Also SparkFun.com has very inexpensive boards (from supplied Gerber files which can be generated from the free version of Eagle) if you don't mind slightly longer turnaround times and stricter design rules.

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    When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. -- HST

    1uffakind.com/robots/povBitMapBuilder.php
    1uffakind.com/robots/resistorLadder.php
  • SeariderSearider Posts: 290
    edited 2008-06-17 03:25
    I recently had some boards made. I investigated all of the companies that have been recomended in a couple of long threads here and selected PCBCART (Thanks Timothy for first mentioning them). They had the lowest price with shipping cost included in the comparison. They made me a double sided board with Soldermask and silkscreen on one side. The quality was perfect and they kept to the schedule they quoted. I will happily use them for my next board.

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    Searider
  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2008-06-17 03:29
    There are many good companies out there, it comes down to price and preference. With PCBCart, be sure to investigate the different shipping options. I found that DHL provides a cheaper shipping option to me in Hong Kong than UPS. It was cheaper by US$30 or US$40!!

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Timothy D. Swieter

    www.brilldea.com·- uOLED-IOC, RGB LEDs, TLC5940 driver PCB
    www.tdswieter.com
    One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2008-06-17 05:45
    Timothy,

    How are your boards assembled? I notice that PCBCart offers only FR4 laminates, which are not rated for the higher temperatures required by lead-free SMD reflow soldering.

    -Phil
  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2008-06-17 05:50
    The boards that I have produced so far haven't required Lead-free or high quantity of PCBs, but I have been using mostly lead-free parts. Right now my order quantities are low and the assembly are done by hand. I heard some murmurs about FR4 and reflow soldering for lead-free, but I hadn't gotten into that enough yet to have it be a design concern. I should research this more now that you bring it up.

    For my hobby and Brilldea, we have used PCBCart. For my "day job" we have several sources in china that we use for assembly and sourcing circuit boards.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Timothy D. Swieter

    www.brilldea.com·- uOLED-IOC, RGB LEDs, TLC5940 driver PCB
    www.tdswieter.com
    One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2008-06-17 08:58
    FR-4 has been used for a couple of years in Europe with lead-free solder. Reliability doesn't seem to have been affected.

    I just checked the FR-4 spec. for one of the PCB suppliers I use: it can cope with much higher temperatures than are used with lead-free soldering.

    Leon

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
    Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle

    Post Edited (Leon) : 6/17/2008 12:27:55 PM GMT
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2008-06-17 16:52
    Leon,

    You may be referring to high-temperature FR4, which is recommended for lead-free soldering, and which is different from the standard FR4 used for years with leaded solders. It's too bad they couldn't have called it something else. I can just hear the conversation at Fly-By-Nite PCBs:

    "Do you use high temperature FR4 laminates?"

    "Yeah, Mac, FR4, that's what we use. 'Says so right on our website."

    "But is it high-temp FR4?"

    "Sure. Whatever. Youse can let it get pretty hot."

    -Phil
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