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Electronics => Manufacturing & Assembly => Topic started by: andersendr on October 13, 2011, 04:47:12 am

Title: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: andersendr on October 13, 2011, 04:47:12 am

Hello Guys, I like the boards Dave gets made and I think I can remember that he has mentioned his board house before.  Does anyone know what he uses?  I am trying to stay away from ITead from the few mess ups I have seen from people.  I am looking for a place that will gold plate it.  I have not found of a lot of houses doing this.  I would like the gold platting for the high speed connectors in a not so clean environment. 

Title: Re: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: joelby on October 13, 2011, 04:55:47 am

I've personally had no trouble at all with ITead, and you really can't go wrong for the price.

PCBCart.com will do gold fingers and gold finishes, and I can recommend them highly for any board with requirements outside of Seeed, ITead, or DorkbotPDX's parameters.

Title: Re: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: andersendr on October 13, 2011, 04:57:42 am

Thanks Joelby.  I may give ITead a try.  The other problem is I don't need 10 boards, but for the price I'll just toss the other ones on the shelf.  I'll have a look at the other companies you listed and see if they meet my req's.

Title: Re: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: joelby on October 13, 2011, 05:01:28 am

Exactly. For a delivered price of under $20, you can afford to throw most of them away. If there genuinely are manufacturing problems with your boards, they'll probably replace them.

You might even consider doing a few prototype spins through a lower cost provider. Once you're happy that the design is correct, get a more expensive PCB house to do one with gold.

Title: Re: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: Psi on October 13, 2011, 06:38:11 am

www.ourpcb.com (http://www.ourpcb.com) are also quite good.
But im pretty sure ITead will be cheaper for only a few boards.

Title: Re: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: _Sin on October 13, 2011, 09:28:22 am

Both ITead and Seeed will do a gold finish, AFAIK.

Title: Re: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: shadewind on October 14, 2011, 03:19:21 pm

Quote from: _Sin on October 13, 2011, 09:28:22 am

Both ITead and Seeed will do a gold finish, AFAIK.

They do. And I've never had a problem with iTeads PCB quality. I've ordered lots of them and I've never had a dodgy board although I've never examined every single one with a loupe. I should also point out that I do push the limits 0.5 mm pitch QFP/QFN and 0402 resistors and caps. iTeads reputation for making poor quality PCBs is somewhat overstated in my opinion.

Title: Re: Looking for a PCB House
Post by: metalphreak on October 15, 2011, 07:24:11 am

Seeed does gold finish. Just select the ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold) option. It adds $15 to the price for every 10 boards (regardless of board size chosen).