Some China PCB manufacturer recommend

[eneuro]

http://smart-prototyping.com/ has good pricing but.. be carefull I found also: http://smartprototyping.com  linked  to http://www.smartech-labs.com/ ? 

Anyway, I do not like in those China manufacturers I have to pay using PayPalm (no chance to pay diretcly from MasterCard not linked to PayPalm) 

[volthaus]

I have ordered several boards from Elecrow also and have had no problems.

[true]

I've ordered several boards from Elecrow and I have had problems. Most orders went okay. Had minor problems on a couple of orders. On one order, the problems were resolved on the manufacturing side but not without added cost and a big loss of time (got proper boards within days of deadline, not enough time to assemble).

Like some other PCB houses they don't print fab numbers on the boards anymore, which is great for me as about half of my designs present the PCB in some way.

But overall they are consistent, quality average to above average.

[volthaus]

I have used Elecrow also and have no complaints. Great service, price, product.

[Pii]

I have used Seeed Studio's Fusion Service for several dozen different board designs, both 2-Layer and 4-Layer boards with excellent quality on all of them.

[peter.mitchell]

I've ordered lots of different boards from U&I (http://quickturnpcb.co.kr/)  and can certainly recommend them, especially for boards with tight tolerances or MCPCB/IMS

[pcbfox]

I am new comer to eevblog for several weeks ago, I want to share some experience with everyone,this is a question I am frequently encountered from time to time in different forums. I decided to make a list over some Chinese PCB manufacturers.As we all known,there are many PCB manufacturers in China,the prices are relatively low and the quality is very well.

here is a list of PCB manufacturers from China:

http://www.goldphoenixpcb.com
http://www.pcbcart.com
http://www.raypcb.com
http://www.wonderfulpcb.com
http://www.kingbrother.com
http://www.chinapcbboard.com
http://www.kingfordpcb.com
http://www.pcbsino.com
http://www.xdpcb.com
http://www.unitpcb.com
http://www.sunshinepcbgroup.com
http://www.pcbsourcing.com

The list is not in any priority .New board houses may be added along with some comments,I hope this can help someone in need.
If you want to know more about PCB manufacturer all over the world,you can see: http://www.eevblog.com/wiki/index.php?title=PCB_Manufacturers

do any of these have SinkPad (direct to copper) technology?

younghe-tech.com, this one have the SinkPad technology .

[poorchava]

People may like them or not,  but IMO Pcbway offers best bang per buck and so far the most flexibility of all Chinese pcb fans. I switched to them after ordering from Elecrow for a long time (nothing wrong with Elecrow at all,  just that PCBWAY offers better value for money)

Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk.

[boffin]

I used ITEAD for some boards last year, nothing complicated and it was inexpensive and they did exactly what the order was, can't really ask for more.

[technotronix]

I had an experience with pcbcart. One of the best and leading manufacturer in china.

[mrpackethead]

Im consistently getting good results, pricing from PCBway.com    I know they are a wee bit spammy, but they do good stuff. 

[whalphen]

I first used PCBWay about a year ago.  I needed some boards quickly so I requested DHL delivery to my location in Michigan.  I ordered the boards on a Tuesday.  They were shipped on Wednesday.  I received them on Thursday.  Subsequent orders haven't been quite that fast, but have been reasonably quick.  And the quality has been excellent.

[amitchell]

I just got some boards from PCBWAY and I am not seeing how they are better than OSHPARK like some will claim.

The soldermask has ripples all over it specifically at vias and trace end points.

TONS of dust under the soldermask, it looks like rubbish. If you are not cleaning the dust off the PCB between process's I am not sure of your quality.

Soldermask missing between QFN pins, I am sure OSH park had soldermask between my QFN pins.

[mrpackethead]

I just got some boards from PCBWAY and I am not seeing how they are better than OSHPARK like some will claim.

The soldermask has ripples all over it specifically at vias and trace end points.

I've done > 100 orders from them, and only had a few orders with issues.   All Shops get it wrong from time to time.    Have you talked to them? They are very responseive for me, and they have always made good on any issues.   

TONS of dust under the soldermask, it looks like rubbish. If you are not cleaning the dust off the PCB between process's I am not sure of your quality.

Maybe you got unlucky, andsomethign has gone wrong with your order..

Soldermask missing between QFN pins, I am sure OSH park had soldermask between my QFN pins.

the minimum width of Soldermask is .18mm.. thats in their DRC.   If you make it smaller, then you need to tell them, they can process it, but its not on the standard fab

[amitchell]

I just got some boards from PCBWAY and I am not seeing how they are better than OSHPARK like some will claim.

The soldermask has ripples all over it specifically at vias and trace end points.

I've done > 100 orders from them, and only had a few orders with issues.   All Shops get it wrong from time to time.    Have you talked to them? They are very responseive for me, and they have always made good on any issues.   

TONS of dust under the soldermask, it looks like rubbish. If you are not cleaning the dust off the PCB between process's I am not sure of your quality.

Maybe you got unlucky, andsomethign has gone wrong with your order..

Soldermask missing between QFN pins, I am sure OSH park had soldermask between my QFN pins.

the minimum width of Soldermask is .18mm.. thats in their DRC.   If you make it smaller, then you need to tell them, they can process it, but its not on the standard fab

I will send them an email today and see what happens. I will look more closely at the DRC with them, I can claim fault there.

Hopefully we can make things right.

[amitchell]

Just an Update. I was told after some back and forth and a bit of pissing, that I would have a coupon applied to my account for the value of the PCB's.

I am currently waiting to see the coupon.

[nwvlab]

Hi,

I used in the past many pcb manufacturers, but for the last two projects I used PCBCart (excellent quality but expensive for a chinese company, especially compared to others), and PCBWay (electrically the panels were ok - I have also reflow soldered them and they work- but aesthetically the routing was poor in some points, as probably their router had a noticeable backlash).

I would like to try elecrow, but in this forum I read some disturbing posts (see https://www.eevblog.com/forum/eda/elecrow-rant-or-how-ridiculously-they-screwed-up-a-panel-crappy-solder-resist/), especially with black and red solder masks.

I'm a bit worried, because this prototype will be very densely populated with small components (0402, SOD923, QFN, etc), with track/space 6/6 mils.

I know that if they screw up, they will remake the pcbs for free. However, DHL is such a pain in the ass, as not only they take 10€ just for handling customs, but also they won't calculate the custom fees based on the invoice and declared value (last time my order was 177€ - including shipping fees -, but DHL used the "statistical value" of 217€ - despite the invoice was attached!-, so I had to pay 10€+47€ instead of 39€ of custom fees. I.e. no matter if the boards costed 217€ or 10€, I will always have to pay something like 57€ in taxes, for each shipment with DHL!).

Anyone tried elecrow (black soldermask)? What was the min track/space you used ? (I read on elecrow "6/6 mils, 8 recommended". Why do they recommend 8?!?! That's disturbing! They are not sure they will manage to achieve 6/6?!?)

Could you post some pictures from elecrow?

Cheers!

[nonlinearcircuits]

Does anybody know which PCB manufacturers put sheets of paper between PCBs when packed for shipping?

I use PCBs as faceplates, they are great for this but typically anywhere from 10-40% arrive with scratches on them from rough handling and getting squashed together with no paper padding the layers. These scratched ones are basically scrap.

A place I used years ago did this as standard but they are gone.

[rea5245]

Does anybody know which PCB manufacturers put sheets of paper between PCBs when packed for shipping?

I don't, but you could choose a likely company (use the price comparison calculator at PCBShopper.com), contact them, and ask if they'd do it for you. In addition, include it as a special instruction when you submit your order.

- Bob

[tatus1969]

I use elecrow.
http://www.elecrow.com/services-c-73.html

Also using them and very happy. They also offer PCB assembly at a good rate.

[NEYi]

Just had my first PCBs manufactured in China.
Ordered from these guys: http://sitopway.com/en/index.php

10 pcs 10x10 cm, HASL finish, FR4 with 1.6 mm thickness. $30 for making and another $30 for delivery by DHL(optional).
Made everything for 5 days and delivered right under my door for another 3, from the other side of the globe. Lol, DHL are just awesome.

The photos are in attachment.
If anybody curious – it's a Tesla coil controller, I like hitting people with electricity.

[rea5245]

Just had my first PCBs manufactured in China.
Ordered from these guys: http://sitopway.com/en/index.php

I've never heard of them before and their website does not look very user-friendly. How did you find them and why did you choose them above better-known manufacturers?

- Bob

[plazma]

The finish does not look like HASL.

[Gary.M]

Does anybody know which PCB manufacturers put sheets of paper between PCBs when packed for shipping?

I use PCBs as faceplates, they are great for this but typically anywhere from 10-40% arrive with scratches on them from rough handling and getting squashed together with no paper padding the layers. These scratched ones are basically scrap.

A place I used years ago did this as standard but they are gone.

PCBCart does this at least on the standard production orders. The proto boards are not separated with paper though.

[amitchell]

Looks like a free ENIG upgrade.