Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff

Am I paying too much to have PCBs made?

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MarkF:
Thnks everyone.  I too am looking to get my first PCBs made.

I have been using DipTrace for a few months now.  It is free for 2 layers and 300 pins and you can get a free non-profit license for 500 pin layouts.  DipTrace was very easy to learn (a day or two) and can import Eagle files and parts.  The DipTrace component list is not very big but it's easy to create new parts or import ones.

jolshefsky:
I used to use BatchPCB before they became OSHPark and stick with them for prototypes. My goal is to get (1) boards that work, that are (2) available in ~2 weeks, (3) made in ethical working conditions (usually U.S.; definitely not China), and (4) reasonably priced per-unit. If you change the order of those goals then you might pick a different vendor.

smbaker:
I'm an Eagle / OshPark user. Before that I used to use batchpcb, and I would send off gerbers and neurotically inspect them with Gerbview before sending them off. Prior to switching I had one mishap where I forgot to send the bottom layer for a board (doh! How this that happen?). Since switching to OshPark and sending off the Eagle board files, I haven't had any mishaps. Oshpark breaks out most of the layers into separate images during the submission process. It's not as good as using Gerbview to interactively toggle layers on and off, but it is good enough to idiot-check that I'm not missing something.

I do try to design conservatively, upping trace widths and clearances when feasible.

What's the 'security concern' with sending Eagle board files? That someone is going to steal your board layout? Couldn't they still do that with Gerbers? It'd be more work and they may have to figure out the component values themselves, but for a determined thief that seems plausibe. Besides, as soon as we make a widget and then give/sell it to someone else, they can try to reverse engineer it.

KL27x:

--- Quote ---rs20, can you provide some examples of what kind of errors you're talking about?
--- End quote ---
e.g.

Some of the pads you have placed might be bare for a reason, and you might inadvertently have them in your paste layer, because you used pads from a library or you forget to remove the paste layer on your own footprint.

Do you know if your vias are tented or not? Examine your paste layer. You might have to change some setting to get what you want.

Sometimes you may want a custom Gerber layer with detailed placement information (device outlines/reference markers) for an assembly service. But perhaps this information should not be printed on the silkscreen, because it would make things too busy, or because that information goes over areas of exposed copper.

What are all the various "other layers" in you Eagle.brd files that are "never used?" You can use those for w/e you want. You can add those to w/e Gerber layers you want. Is part of your toolset.

sentry7:

--- Quote from: oodavid on November 03, 2015, 10:57:22 am ---I too need to start thinking about PCB printing. Do any of the suggested board houses do Pick n Place too?


--- Quote from: sentry7 on November 03, 2015, 01:14:02 am ---The bad part is that now, I have no way of moving the work I've already done to other CAD packages. The good news is that with the better software, it should be a breeze to redo the one board I've designed already. It could've been much worse.

--- End quote ---

Will you make an exact replica or do you think the new board will end up different?

--- End quote ---
I would like it to be as close to the original as possible, but if the new software has an autorouting feature (ExpressPCB does not), I will probably wind up using that instead of manually redoing the entire board.

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