Where to get PCBs printed?

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FerrariT

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
182
Location
Minnesota
Not really sure if this is the right place to post this?

But I was curious since I yielded nothing within the search,
what and who would you guys recommend to print up pcbs?

I thought it would be nice to have a reference point to look to when one was thinking of printing a batch?

If you feel like recommending a few places based off your own experience that would be nice?

Hopefully I'm not asking much  :D

Thanks for any input.
 
Well you can try my shop anytime  ;)

I do a lot of PCB work for individual projects, it has turned into
my little passion in the mean time. I work straight off pdfs or bmps,
and basically do the simple etching, without drilling, soldermask
or silkscreen. Haven't gotten around to making a sticky yet, but you
can gladly send me a mail.

Cheers, Lukas
 
I find that this is a moving target, especially getting very small PCBs economically.  just a few months ago I made some 2-layer boards at PCB pool in Ireland and was very pleased with the price and quality for small boards.  took a while but otherwise great.  looked into them recently to do some more really small opamp boards and it was much more expensive, mostly due to exchange rates.  more recently I made some 2-layer boards with Batch-pcb (spark fun people).  took a while but was very cheap compared to everyone else for small boards. Highly recomended.
http://www.batchpcb.com/

I'd like to hear other's input on this. I need to do some more very small (1"x1.5") 4-layer prototypes soon.  unfortunately 4-layer leadtimes at batch pcb is measured in months.  the per-board pricing schemes stink for tiny little PCBs.  any suggestions?

At work I use Sunstone if I need it really fast (for 1-2 days leadtime) or advanced circuits otherwise.  I have a hard time justifying $66 a PCB from A.C. when it is coming out of my pocket and i don't need it right away.
mike p
 
heres 2, if you don't mind chinese fabs:

http://www.goldphoenixpcb.biz/
i've personally used goldphoenix, and have several pcbs from others who use them.  very cheap, quick and mostly reliable

http://pcbcart.com/
i've heard good things about this place, and have a few pcbs others have made there.  they offer a few options that goldphoenix doesn't.  i will try them next...
 
I've used Futurlec for three runs now. They're quite slow (they're in Thailand and I think they ship by rowboat) and their US rep's command of English isn't great, which has led to a couple of misunderstandings (luckily corrected in time). But the price is very right (or was as of the last run), and the quality of the boards was excellent.

Peace,
Paul
 
I second Gold Phoenix.  Very fast turn around.

for 4 layer boards using there special price, you can get about 44 1x1.5 PCB's for $300

I've been meaning to try PCB cart but they charge for tooling.  I think PCB cart would be cheaper for bulk than Gold Phoenix.

Don't forget about
http://www.olimex.com/

they do euro card sizes for $60 USD shipped (I think)

 
Yeah ;) Well, thankfully the holiday season has delivered some quality time for things like sleeping
and such...I remember I got into boardmaking because I had no interest in paying tooling costs, setup
charge and what have you just to build something, let alone if you want to change the layout. Now I just
design, etch, build.  :D

Yah Volker, I was really impressed by pcbcart. Looks good and costs little. I could never compete with the chinese when it comes to serial production, that´s one thing for sure  ;)
 
I've used 4pcb.com a few times.  Great quality and super fast turn around.  Price is OK, but they have a $500 promotion towards your first purchase.  I actually got 10 pcbs for free.  Plus didn't have to pay for tooling after that.

 
Well I'm happy that I'm seeing more positive posts than horror stories!
Thnx a lot you guys!
I think this would make a decent reference thread for the future.

 
I've used
http://www.goldphoenixpcb.biz/ for several projects and was very happy with their service.  They were all orders for small boards, and I used their "step and repeat as many times as you can on one panel" service for $99.  Turn around was about a week for all my orders so far.
Best,
Bruno2000
 
What was the shipping cost? They ship via Fedex only I think, right?

Jim

bruno2000 said:
I've used
http://www.goldphoenixpcb.biz/ for several projects and was very happy with their service.  They were all orders for small boards, and I used their "step and repeat as many times as you can on one panel" service for $99.  Turn around was about a week for all my orders so far.
Best,
Bruno2000
 
Another vote for Gold Phoenix in China. Another good chop suey boardhouse is www.ourpcb.com.
With all this positivity, I sadly note that my old favourite cheep'n'cheerful Malaysian boardhouse
CustomPCB (AKA Silver Circuits) have revamped their website and swept away all the old "as much
as you can fit on an A4 panel" deals - so handy for lots of littlle designs. Now it's one design per
job and they have massively hiked setup charges. So long Gary, nice knowing you. Time to unearth
the KPR, H2O2, HCl and UV light <sob>.
cheers
M
 
FedEx shipping was included in the price. They do charge an extra 3.4% for using PayPal, so the $99 deal ends up costing $102.37.
Best,
Bruno2000



Bluzzi said:
What was the shipping cost? They ship via Fedex only I think, right?

Jim

bruno2000 said:
I've used
http://www.goldphoenixpcb.biz/ for several projects and was very happy with their service.  They were all orders for small boards, and I used their "step and repeat as many times as you can on one panel" service for $99.  Turn around was about a week for all my orders so far.
Best,
Bruno2000
 
Why not etch your own boards?

I use PCBs from Kinsten and very pleased of the results. Photo sensitive boards, single and double layered.
I print out the layout on a transparent and put it with the PCB under a UV light (UV unit can easy be self made!).
Then develop it in a simple etch tank of 35 euros with an air pump and heater.
in 10 minutes everything done...

- no waiting time, immediately available...
- no shipping costs
- much cheaper
- no assembly cost

Silk screening can easy be done with a lazertran or other transfer method. PCBFX has a nice method...

For drilling the holes I use an DIY PCB Drilling Machine.... 4 minutes and an eurocard PCB is drilled with 100 holes... :)
Software is using gerber files to position the drill machine... is really cool to see it actually drilling.. my drill machine is 50x40 cm and big enough for everything...

http://www.pcbfx.com/
http://users.bigpond.net.au/vk3yng/pcb/making_pcbs.htm

7_White_Silkscreen-big.jpg
 

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