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  3. Recommendation for PCB fab?

Recommendation for PCB fab?

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  • S sineverba

    @neverdie Limited 50mm x 50mm at 5$, 100x100 15$. So, for small pcb price is same. For bigger, price is insane bytheway including DHL ship. From China to Italy, 3 days. Fantastic!

    Nca78N Offline
    Nca78N Offline
    Nca78
    Hardware Contributor
    wrote on last edited by
    #47

    @sineverba said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

    @neverdie Limited 50mm x 50mm at 5$, 100x100 15$. So, for small pcb price is same. For bigger, price is insane bytheway including DHL ship. From China to Italy, 3 days. Fantastic!

    Looks like a strategy for them. Start with extremely low price, then add restrictions in a progressive way, and people will accept to pay more and more because "it's still cheap" for the DHL version. But right now there is no "cheap" option, and if you order 3 PCBs bigger than 5*5cm you're at the same price than other manufacturers, even including the DHL shipping.
    And if you're not in a hurry it's way cheaper to select HK Post with Elecrow from the first PCB.

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    • NeverDieN Offline
      NeverDieN Offline
      NeverDie
      Hero Member
      wrote on last edited by NeverDie
      #48

      Argh. AllPCB raised their prices again. Looks like the $5 deal is totally gone now. Now it's $12-14 for 5 small PCB's.

      S 1 Reply Last reply
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      • NeverDieN NeverDie

        Argh. AllPCB raised their prices again. Looks like the $5 deal is totally gone now. Now it's $12-14 for 5 small PCB's.

        S Offline
        S Offline
        sineverba
        Hardware Contributor
        wrote on last edited by
        #49

        @neverdie Yes :( Fortunately shipment is very, very fast and free (for the moment) :(

        NeverDieN 1 Reply Last reply
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        • S sineverba

          @neverdie Yes :( Fortunately shipment is very, very fast and free (for the moment) :(

          NeverDieN Offline
          NeverDieN Offline
          NeverDie
          Hero Member
          wrote on last edited by NeverDie
          #50

          @sineverba That's true. From that point of view, it's still not bad. Before long that will probably change too.

          I knew this was coming, which is why I got a CNC PCB etcher. Hopefully I can push some of the early design cycles onto it, which will let me spend bigger $$$ on fast turnaround services toward the end. Waiting 4-7 days to receive an order from AllPCB isn't bad. It's the 3-4 week waits that really kill momentum.

          S 1 Reply Last reply
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          • NeverDieN NeverDie

            @sineverba That's true. From that point of view, it's still not bad. Before long that will probably change too.

            I knew this was coming, which is why I got a CNC PCB etcher. Hopefully I can push some of the early design cycles onto it, which will let me spend bigger $$$ on fast turnaround services toward the end. Waiting 4-7 days to receive an order from AllPCB isn't bad. It's the 3-4 week waits that really kill momentum.

            S Offline
            S Offline
            sineverba
            Hardware Contributor
            wrote on last edited by
            #51

            @neverdie i did not understand..... allpcb ship to me in 1 or 2 day, and shipment take 3 day. I order monday, i receive friday (on italy).... they did augment also the time fabrication?

            Do you have a machine to print pcb??? :D where are you from??? :D

            NeverDieN 1 Reply Last reply
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            • S sineverba

              @neverdie i did not understand..... allpcb ship to me in 1 or 2 day, and shipment take 3 day. I order monday, i receive friday (on italy).... they did augment also the time fabrication?

              Do you have a machine to print pcb??? :D where are you from??? :D

              NeverDieN Offline
              NeverDieN Offline
              NeverDie
              Hero Member
              wrote on last edited by
              #52

              @sineverba said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

              allpcb ship to me in 1 or 2 day, and shipment take 3 day. I order monday, i receive friday (on italy).

              Yes, it's the same for me.

              @sineverba said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

              Do you have a machine to print pcb??? where are you from???

              https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/8735/cnc-pcb-milling/437

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              • dbemowskD Offline
                dbemowskD Offline
                dbemowsk
                wrote on last edited by
                #53

                I use EasyEDA which since I ordered before has 5 boards for $2 US for the first board and $5 for additional ones, but they charge shipping. Fast shipping with DHL for me is $18. Slow shipping is just under $10.

                Vera Plus running UI7 with MySensors, Sonoffs and 1-Wire devices
                Visit my website for more Bits, Bytes and Ramblings from me: http://dan.bemowski.info/

                NeverDieN 1 Reply Last reply
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                • Nca78N Offline
                  Nca78N Offline
                  Nca78
                  Hardware Contributor
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #54

                  Received another order from AllPCB this morning, I made the order on Friday afternoon. Still really impressive. And as with the previous order no custom tax meaning also no fee from DHL.
                  Now I need to hurry up designing small PCBs before they stop this offer, I would be surprised if it survived the lunar new year...

                  @dbemowsk said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

                  I use EasyEDA which since I ordered before has 5 boards for $2 US for the first board and $5 for additional ones, but they charge shipping. Fast shipping with DHL for me is $18. Slow shipping is just under $10.

                  In the end the 2$/5 boards is pretty deceptive IMHO, it seems whatever option you choose on EasyEDA you end up paying more than most other suppliers.

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                  • dbemowskD dbemowsk

                    I use EasyEDA which since I ordered before has 5 boards for $2 US for the first board and $5 for additional ones, but they charge shipping. Fast shipping with DHL for me is $18. Slow shipping is just under $10.

                    NeverDieN Offline
                    NeverDieN Offline
                    NeverDie
                    Hero Member
                    wrote on last edited by NeverDie
                    #55

                    @dbemowsk said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

                    I use EasyEDA which since I ordered before has 5 boards for $2 US for the first board and $5 for additional ones, but they charge shipping. Fast shipping with DHL for me is $18. Slow shipping is just under $10.

                    It looks as though EasyEDA may have a tool to help with panelizing. Does EasyEDA charge extra for panelizing? So far, only dirtypcb's was mentioned as a source that doesn't charge extra for panelized boards.

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                    • NeverDieN Offline
                      NeverDieN Offline
                      NeverDie
                      Hero Member
                      wrote on last edited by NeverDie
                      #56

                      I uploaded a 29mmx29mm pcb to easyeda, and it appeared to allow me to panelize that at 3x3 per 100mmx100mm panel at no extra charge. So, that would be 45 pieces for the regular price. I don't know how that compares to dirtypcb's, but it is very easy to do: you simply check the box next to "Panel by EasyEDA" under advanced options and then select the number of rows and columns that you want per board. Not sure if it would work for circular cut PCB's that are panelized or whether it just v-grooves some rectangles for you to break them apart yourself.

                      Also, DHL express would be $18.41 to my location, and $9.9 for airmail, which they seem to discourage. $2 total for the boards. i.e. you get a more precise (lower) shipping cost when you enter your address than you do on the general quote page.

                      Not sure if you can panelize more than one type of pcb, or whether it needs to all be one type. Hopefully? I don't ever seem to need 45 of any one thing.

                      [Edit: revisited it, and it looks like I could get 10 panels (90 pieces) for the same price. ]

                      [Edit2: And I did the same with a smaller board, where it let me do a 4x4 per panel. So, that's 160 PCB's for the regular price, which seems great, if I actually needed 160 PCB's.]

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                      • Nca78N Offline
                        Nca78N Offline
                        Nca78
                        Hardware Contributor
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #57

                        Argh I missed your previous message @NeverDie, went to AllPCB hoping to still enjoy a 5$ PCB but the lower you can get to is 11$ but for that you need a very small PCB, a 49*49mm like I planned to make is 14$, and you have to pay for every little change you make. Want 10 boards ? +1$. Want another colour than green or white ? +9$

                        So, bye bye AllPCB it was a great offer, but I'll switch back to the other companies...

                        NeverDieN 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • Nca78N Nca78

                          Argh I missed your previous message @NeverDie, went to AllPCB hoping to still enjoy a 5$ PCB but the lower you can get to is 11$ but for that you need a very small PCB, a 49*49mm like I planned to make is 14$, and you have to pay for every little change you make. Want 10 boards ? +1$. Want another colour than green or white ? +9$

                          So, bye bye AllPCB it was a great offer, but I'll switch back to the other companies...

                          NeverDieN Offline
                          NeverDieN Offline
                          NeverDie
                          Hero Member
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #58

                          @nca78 Pricing doesn't seem so bad if you need a lot of something. For instance, to order just 5 of a PCB that's 46mmx67mm, it would cost me $15. But to get 20 of the same PCB it would cost me $20. i.e. the incremental costs are quite low.

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                          • gohanG Offline
                            gohanG Offline
                            gohan
                            Mod
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #59

                            Has anyone tried smart-prototyping?

                            Nca78N 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • gohanG gohan

                              Has anyone tried smart-prototyping?

                              Nca78N Offline
                              Nca78N Offline
                              Nca78
                              Hardware Contributor
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #60

                              @gohan said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

                              Has anyone tried smart-prototyping?

                              No, never heard about them before. But their cheap shipping options are at 5$ for me so I might give it a try for boards I can wait for.

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                              • mtiutiuM Offline
                                mtiutiuM Offline
                                mtiutiu
                                Hardware Contributor
                                wrote on last edited by mtiutiu
                                #61

                                AllPCB it's great with DHL shipping. At least for now. It's true that the boards final price includes shipping too but it's still cheaper via DHL. Even if I have to pay VAT it's ok (19%). For the very short time to my door which is 3-4 days that's just WOW compared with 3-4 weeks via regular shipping.

                                @gohan I tried smart-prototyping in the past and they are pretty ok I can say but not the best compared to PCBWay for example. For cheap services and pretty decent quality I will still opt for Elecrow for example. And for pretty decent quality and very fast shipping - AllPCB - at least for now and if their prices won't go higher in the future.

                                Oh and AllPCB finishes the boards in 2 days for that price. Compared to EU factories it's still the cheapest - you can't beat China when it comes to that. Here in EU for the same price that AllPCB does I get ONLY 3 boards...wtf..so yeah you get the idea.

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                                • NeverDieN Offline
                                  NeverDieN Offline
                                  NeverDie
                                  Hero Member
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #62

                                  OSHPARK seems to have improved a lot lately. They now have a "super swift" option for fabbing your board in 5 days. I got lucky because they gave me a free upgrade to that for some of the boards I submitted yesterday because they had extra space on their production run.

                                  So, we'll see. In the past OSHPARK's silk screening wasn't very good at small font sizes as compared to, say, allpcb.com. Also, even OSHPARK's superswift isn't as fast as allpcb.com, but for small board prototypes the OSHPARK prices are much lower.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • D Offline
                                    D Offline
                                    diogoc
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #63

                                    JLCPCB made good and cheap pcbs

                                    F Nca78N NeverDieN 3 Replies Last reply
                                    1
                                    • D diogoc

                                      JLCPCB made good and cheap pcbs

                                      F Offline
                                      F Offline
                                      freynder
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #64

                                      @diogoc said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

                                      JLCPCB made good and cheap pcbs

                                      I second that. Especially if you can combine a few PCBs in one order it is very interesting.

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                                      • D diogoc

                                        JLCPCB made good and cheap pcbs

                                        Nca78N Offline
                                        Nca78N Offline
                                        Nca78
                                        Hardware Contributor
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #65

                                        And you can also combine JLPCB boards with components order on LCSC so you don't have any endless wait from AliExpress.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • D diogoc

                                          JLCPCB made good and cheap pcbs

                                          NeverDieN Offline
                                          NeverDieN Offline
                                          NeverDie
                                          Hero Member
                                          wrote on last edited by NeverDie
                                          #66

                                          @diogoc said in Recommendation for PCB fab?:

                                          JLCPCB made good and cheap pcbs

                                          Well, the PCB prices are great, but maybe it depends on where you live? What's your shipping cost? For me in the USA it has DHL, UPS, and registered air as the options. The costs to me would be $20, $28, or $12 respectively.

                                          For contrast, I can get 3 of my solar harvester boards for $1.46, including shipping, from OSHPARK. Admittedly, though, that board is (deliberately) tiny, and OSHPARK becomes a lot less cost effective with larger board sizes. So, it's good to know what the alternatives are.

                                          Nca78N 1 Reply Last reply
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