| Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff |
| Am I paying too much to have PCBs made? |
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| sentry7:
Hey guys, I use ExpressPCB for my board manufacturer, and the first board came to a total of about $93 for one board. The cost breakdown was: $ 61.00 - Setup fee $ 01.00 - Quantity : 1 $ 16.59 - Area : 23.7 in2 $ 14.05 - Shipping : (2nd day air) Is this reasonable compared to the other options out there? The service and communication was great. The only downside is that they force you to use their PCB/SCH software, and you can't export to other file formats (such as gerber files). |
| kripton2035:
this is around 12x12cm ? ok so the chinese people will do 10 pieces of 15x15cm boards for ... $60 if you can wait a month for shipping, or $76 if you want it in a week but you get 5 boards for that price ... http://pcbshopper.com/ try to make 10x10 cm boards, the prices are really cheaper if you can: $16 for 5 boards with shipping ! you need "standard" quality board thought, but for hobby it's always enought. |
| c4757p:
$93 for one roughly 120mmx120mm board? Hell no that's not reasonable. And forcing you to use their software should put them right out anyway. I strongly recommend Literally Anyone Else. |
| georges80:
I typically use http://www.custompcb.com/ for my 2 layer prototypes. They are quick (typically about 1 week), quite inexpensive and the finished quality is good. They have some limitations on minimum drill size, but not a big problem for protos. They also ALLOW you to put multiple designs onto one pcb/panel. I would NEVER use a PCB house that requires anything other than industry standard gerber files. cheers, george. |
| KL27x:
I'm familiar with ExpressPCB. There is a huge catch22 with this service. For a professional, the price could be reasonable. Shipping is fast. Ordering is easy. Don't even need to make Gerbers. Just click and done. But a professional would not suffer the limited software. Can't do more than two layers. Can't alter paste layer. Can't make a bottom layer silkscreen. List goes on. ExpressPCB software is excellent for one thing. It is very easy to make simple boards with it, without making new device footprints or schematics. It has tools for simply designing the entire copper layer straight off the bat. And a professional might need hundreds/thousands of boards after the prototype is tested. For higher quantity, the price just gets worse. Designing a board in a closed software that can't make gerbers is just a waste of time, unless that software and manufacturing service are simply excellent. This is not the case with either. So the only thing Express PCB is good for is a hobbyist with money to burn and who finds their software easy to use. For one-offs, 2 day shipping, and one click ordering, the price isn't super terrible. I'd continue to use them while learning a new pcb software, pronto. You may also want to learn how to make your own boards, using photoresist or toner transfer. The only easy alternative manufacturer is yourself. And of course you will continue to use their service in the interim. You don't have any other choice! ExpressPCB is a useful concept. It's a little like PICAXE of the PCB design/manufacturing world. Super simple, but you pay a premium and will not find it terribly useful beyond proof of concept of simple designs. |
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