Favorite PCB Houses

MacGeek117

Hey all,
What’s your favorite PCB house?
Looking for good quality and of course low prices on small batches (5-10 boards max per order).

Thanks,
Pete

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

For prototypes and low volumes, Advanced Circuits
For volume production, Lazer-Tech (as long as we have NAFTA, at least)

-Phil

Tracy Allen

For small quantities and smooth ordering, especially for small boards, Oshpark is my choice. They will make odd shapes, cutouts and arrays if you need that, and they can do both 0.064" and 0.031" material. The finish is very good. They charge by the area of the board, so at larger sizes out of habit I'd look to Advanced Circuits, maybe using one of their specials if the outline of the board is rectangular. Their quoting and ordering process is straightforward, but not as much so as OshPark. Really, there are so many options these days. I just received back 75 small fabs from pcbway in Shenzhen, $29 plus $22 for DHL shipping and less than 10 days turn.

Publison

In the past I have uses ExpressPCB
Not the cheapest, but integrated with their software, and quick turnaround.

I used OSHPark on the last couple of board because I had Gerbers from someones project. Very reasonable. Time varies as you have to get on a panel buildup. Mine was 7 days to deliver.

Some people use the ordering options from the various PCB layout software, (DipTrace, Eagle). It's a one click option.

Another supplier that came up in another thread, JLCPCB, has a very good operation.

You can watch the video here:
https://forums.parallax.com/discussion/168646/multi-layer-pcb-manufacture-in-24-hrs-in-china#latest

DigitalBob

I've been using ExpressPCB but I noticed that their shipping rates have doubled. Next day air used to be $20-$25 now it's $40-45.

JonnyMac

I frequently use GoldPhoenixPCB.com. Their prices are reasonable and they will do quick-turn. In December I did a project for the TV show "Black Lightning" and we needed things done in a hurry. I sent files on Monday and everything was back by Friday for me to assemble. From the perspective of a TV show budget, the quick-turn cost was cheap -- I realize that this would not be the case with experimenters. On this particular project we got nine, oddly-shaped boards for about $185 with shipping.

MacGeek117

@JonnyMac That show is next on my list....

Thanks, guys!
Looks like PCBWay is the cheapest for my next couple of projects, but will keep the others bookmarked...

o7