Low quantity pcb manufacturers

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AbeFM
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by AbeFM »

Wings3d? Link? Haven't seen it. I've been recommending ViaCAD by Punch! all the time, since it's <$100. But that's more for people who need to legally own something they can use without hangups of not-for-profit, etc. If you want to make something for production in a small business, it's a good way to go.
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by GartnerProspect »

Here is what you get with PCBnew and the wings3D library:

Image

http://iut-tice.ujf-grenoble.fr/cao/KiC ... nstall.zip There is a link to the binaries. You'll be prompted to go to the wings3d site when you finish the install.

And of course the homepage:

http://iut-tice.ujf-grenoble.fr/kicad/index.html
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by GartnerProspect »

I'm finding KiCAD to have a pretty steep learning curve compared to PCB Artist.

I guess this is in part due to more power but I'm not sure I like it yet.
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by AbeFM »

Did you do the trace routing in wings, or import it from a PCB program?
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by GartnerProspect »

Wings is just a 3d library for powering the 3D rendering of the PCB design as the picture above shows.

But the KiCAD is a full featured software in itself without wings.

Schematic Editor,
Component Editor,
PCB Editor,
and Gerber viewer.

Compared to PCB Artist, I'm finding that KiCAD is much more difficult to figure out, as it has lots of similarities to other CAD programs and little similarity to a graphics editing program where PCB Artist seems to fall. I'm more comfortable in Photoshop than AutoCAD. I can't really seem to figure out how to design footprints or components for the schematic editor... PCB Artist has a great footprint wizard that makes it almost trivial to make any style of package on the fly.

So I'm kinda stuck since it's component library isn't really packed.
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by Fred »

Gartner, hold your horses, I have help on the way! :-)

A getting it going thread is being made up soon. I asked them to link it here when they are done.
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by GartnerProspect »

Horses are held!

Thanks. I'll keep plugging away at it.
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by GartnerProspect »

DOH. I figured it all out now.

I feel like a complete moron, but in any case, happy I got it down now! :mrgreen:
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by Fred »

Feel free to do the howto then :-)

Karri can join in on your effort and maybe merge them into one "article" for the articles section.
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Re: Low quantity pcb manufacturers

Post by toalan »

Hi All,

I have done extensive shopping for PCBs and here are my opinions:

PCBfabexpress: Last time I ordered from them, about 1.5 years ago, they had awesome specials, something like $10 per 2 layer board with good specs. It looks like they no longer offer those specials, but their prices are still very good for PCBs made in USA. Read the fine print carefully as everything is loaded with limitations, if your board is out of spec with whatever special they have you will end up paying alot more. Shipping outside USA is expensive. The quality of their board is top notch, traces and pads can take repeated attempts at soldering and desoldering.

Goldpheonix: I like this place, prices are good especially if you are doing very small runs for small boards. They have good specials, $100 for 100-155 square inches with delivery price included (I think). If 100-155 square inches works for you then this is the place to use. Quality of the board is average to below average IMHO. No real gotchas in the fine print, I have never been charged extra for silly things such as exceeding vias/pads density like pcbfabexpress did to me.

MyroPCB: My favorite place. For low quantity small boards goldpheonix offers the best price, but as soon as you need more then myropcb offers the best price. Customer service is good, shipping is reasonable, and delivery time is decent. Quality of the boards is better than goldpheonix but not as good as expresspcb, I am satisfied with the quality. No gotchas in the fine print. Specs of the boards are also very good. I pretty much use myropcb exclusively for large and small jobs, for very small jobs I will spend a few extra bucks WRT to goldpheonix but it is just less hassle to deal with just 1 place all the time.

For making homebrew PCBs I use the toner transfer method. The cheapest place to get toner transfer paper is at staples, I use "Staples picture Paper for inkjet printers". $10 bucks for a pack of 100. Toner transfer methods are too much work though so I do not use it often. I am currently trying to convert my table top mill to full CNC so I can mill my own PCBs without much work.

Regards,

Alan To
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