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PCB prototype service?


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There was a thread a few years back discussing PCB proto services, perhaps it is time to revisit.

 

I would like to hear about any user experiences, including things like price, quality, turn-around time, shipping costs and so on. I have found a few so far:

 

 

 

http://oshpark.com/

 

* USD5 per square inch, for 3 copies. Flat mailer is USD8 worldwide, shipping from US. Directly parses EAGLE files and quality looks high (ENIG).

 

 

 

http://www.elecrow.com/

 

* 5cm * 5cm USD9.9 / 5cm * 10cm  USD23.9 / 10cm * 10cm USD23.9, 10 copies. ENIG more expensive, but you can choose a PCB colour for free.

 

 

 

http://imall.iteadstudio.com/open-pcb/pcb-prototyping.html

 

* Basically the same pricing structure as above, more for colours

 

 

 

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/fusion-pcb-service-2-layers-p-835.html?cPath=185

 

* Again, similar pricing structure (5*5 cm USD10, 10*10 cm USD25). Free shipping is available for orders over $50, you can combine with components or Arduino etc.

 

 

 
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I use OSHpark all the time, highly recommend.  ENIG plating and purple boards.  He sends jobs out every couple of days so expect to get the parts in 2 weeks if you're in the US.  I've retired my FeCl2 tank as a result of this place since I can just upload eagle files and have pro quality boards 2 weeks later and he can make boards cheaper than I can doing them by hand.  I also use the "medium run" (150 sq, in.) service and the price point can be beat at $1 per square inch.  I did a lot of shopping around to have my monotribe midi boards made and most quotes came in at around $400 for 100 boards, Lain got me 200 boards for $178, enough said

 

You also can use BatchPCB.  Little more expensive but also good high quality stuff.  My 4XIIC midi board was made there before Smash's version was available

 

I use PCBfabexpress (Advanced Circuits main competitor in the US)  for my day job regularly, but places like that a more geared toward fast over cheap so they are in another cost bracket all together 

 

MTmidi2012.JPG

Edited by Altitude
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  • 9 months later...

@TK, The options you’ve listed are all great. The free colour of the PCB options is there to lure people in since it doesn’t cost that much in the first place. I’d suggest you go with better quality and better delivery times instead of looking for better colours. There’s one option that you missed in this list though. It’s Bittele.com. They have fast turn-over times and turn-key PCB assembly is also available. Do tell us what options you tried and what you found out.

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  • 5 months later...
China is preferred.  So Seeed is a good choice. We also tried the prototype pcb packages from  www.nexpcb.com. It's has quick lead time than Seeed.

 

I wonder why China should be preferred - I don't necessarily agree. What I know is that their price tags are waaayyyy above the other alternatives discussed further up. Anyways, this posting rather looks like self-advertisement...

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I wonder why China should be preferred - I don't necessarily agree. What I know is that their price tags are waaayyyy above the other alternatives discussed further up. Anyways, this posting rather looks like self-advertisement...

Indeed, putting an add for displaymodule.com in your Signature.  And that domain is registered to suprise suprise: nexpcb.com 

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my prefered choice is makepcb.com. Its not fast at all but its the  cheapest i found. The Manufacturing days they present are to doubble.  :rofl: 

The last PCB had 3 Months. Normal is about 1 1/2 Months. The Urgent service takes about 1 Month to arrive in Switzerland.

But hey check the price... its ridiculous...

for fast and smal designs i thake oshpark.

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...for prototyping i can highly recommend "seeedstudio". excellent service! now they even offer 4-layer multilayer and panelized pcbs for a fair price. they will check your gerber-files and ask you to re-send them, if needed. they offer a great assembly service with their open-parts-library as well, so you dont have to solder your smd-resistors onto your boards. they can do it much quicker, so you dont need to waste your time with stuff like that. lead-time is 2-3 weeks for uk. delivery is for free for orders over $50. if your pcb is cheaper than that, you can fill the order up with fancy gadgets. :D

for production pcbs, i would prefer osh-park. they are in the business for quite a while. i remember seeing comparision-photos from their pcbs and they have excellent quality for higher quantities. this includes the finish, solder-mask, plating on holes. great!

 

mOnO

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