4-layer PCBs "too" cheap at Elecrow?

[c4757p]

I was looking into the cost of doing 100mm x 100mm four layer boards for my function generator project (don't want to do four-layer, but I do want to know what that would cost me if I had to make the switch).

Price for ten:

- ITEAD: $99
- PCBCART: $273
- ProjectPCB: $308
- Advanced Circuits: $680
- Elecrow: $49.90

Advanced Circuits just doesn't seem to like such small quantities. That $68/unit goes down to $15/unit if I get 60 boards.

...which is still much more then Elecrow, who claim to do ten boards at $50 total. $5/board. I can't even get a quote from Advanced for a quantity that brings the price that low, they just say Call Us.

Am I missing something here? Or is the quality really horrible or something?

I haven't been too impressed with the boards I've gotten from them (and shipping takes a decade if you don't pay for UPS; my general experience has been that Hong Kong Post is much faster than China Post), but they were acceptable, and damn, if I could get four-layers from them for just a bit more than two-layers from ITEAD....

[Araho]

I've been planning on checking out Elecrow, actually. Have no idea whether they are any good, but the price is fantastic for prototype/small volume. Will post a review / pics if I ever get it done.

[TheBay]

Wow that's cheap!

[calexanian]

Advanced Circuits just doesn't seem to like such small quantities. That $68/unit goes down to $15/unit if I get 60 boards.

Its the 4 layer part.. You can get their bare bones boards cheap. Cheap enough that I just run ideas off and in a couple days, bang, boards. Call them and ask if they have any 4 layer promos running before you go off to china.

[marshallh]

There is no reason to not go 4 layer anymore, you can make the pcbs smaller and guaranteed a nice return path under all your circuits.

[c4757p]

There is no reason to not go 4 layer anymore, you can make the pcbs smaller and guaranteed a nice return path under all your circuits.

Many of my 2-layer boards have an almost unbroken ground plane on the bottom. Some of them are so small that they are pretty much a blanket of components.

I'd say that it really depends on the type of board you are making. Many analog circuits are just fine as double-layer boards due to their nature: signal in, signal out - route it like the schematic shows.

I am really happy to see the falling price, though. Hopefully it will reach a critical point soon where lots of hobbyists will start making 4-layer boards, and then we can see a "race to the bottom" between the companies as we have seen with the two-layer service. Seems close with Elecrow already.

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

I did a quote at Seeed for the same .

$89.90 for 10
or $69.90  for 5

Although I dont think the solder mask gets the precision they specify.

[calexanian]

If our market we avoid 4 layer for serviceability. PCB size however is not much of a concern.

[mikeselectricstuff]

There is no reason to not go 4 layer anymore, you can make the pcbs smaller and guaranteed a nice return path under all your circuits.

There are tons of reasons.
You may need the PCB to be big anyway.
You may need to get it turned round same day.
4L is inherently significantly more expensive to make - 2L will always be cheaper, other factors being equal
I rarely have problems getting a decent groundplane on even quite dense 2L PCBs - 4L is very much the exception rather than the rule.