I am looking to make some one side grp pcbs cheaply. 10 of each of 2 different boards, around 6 x6 cm area each.
Cheapest but tedious would be to draw them with resist ink/paint but wondering how much itll cost to get them done professionally if i supply
artwork?
And additional cost for drilling them.
Other diy option is to transfer artwork off transparency or use uv masking but now uv leds are cheap, that could be viable.
Any free simple to use pcb layout tools out there?
The volume you need is low so I would imagine a UK based manufacturer would be the route to get PCBs made. We have PCBs made at work by a UK broker called Hi Spec http://www.hispecltd.co.uk/ who IIRC source both in China and the UK. They're probably worth asking for pricing on different options and maybe guidance on artwork software (we use Altium, but it's paid for software). http://www.altium.com/
Ive always made my own PCBs using photo-resist board material. I used to use a UV striplight in a cardboard box to expose but eventually bought a
specific light box with timer.
Chemicals are not too expensive from RS or rapidonline... provided you mix them properly and use them at the right tempterature with regular
adjitation of the tanks I got really good results.
For bigger batches I used a company in china but you have to be bang on with your pcb file as they don't check them. There are loads of uk and
china based manufacturers. Depends on your budget, the quality will be better than DIY but the cost for such a small number may be painful. I had some
double sided boards made up with plated vias... something that I could never achieve easily using my DIY setup.
When I shopped around I couldnt find a UK based company who could get anywhere near the price of the chinese... its a risk regarding quality and
turnaround time but I never had issues with the company I used.
For simple diy use PCB wizard. For anything else (and to prepare for sending to third party for manufacture) I use diptrace.
[Edited on 15/2/16 by tegwin]
Thanks for replies, its looking like diy uv photoresist is the way, assuming the library printer accepts transparencies (my inkjet has been rip for a while)
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
Thanks for replies, its looking like diy uv photoresist is the way, assuming the library printer accepts transparencies (my inkjet has been rip for a while)
Try ragworm.eu - use them for my custom PCBs and tend to be cheapest 60x60mm x 10 would be £111.60
They'll take EAGLE brd files direct
edit: also pcbtrain who might be better in quantity (£81)
[Edited on 15/2/16 by cloudy]
For small quantity prototypes you really can't beat the online Chinese manufacturers. I've used ITeadStudio for many boards before and you
can get 10pcs of 100mm x 100mm boards for $19.90.
https://www.itead.cc/open-pcb.html
Many others exist such as Eurocircuits, PCB-pool etc but you'll be hard pushed to beat the price.
For the artwork, have a look at the free DesignSpark software from RS components. They also offer a PCB fabrication service but I've not tried
it personally.
http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/page/des
ignspark-pcb-home-page
HTH.
Ed.
ITeadstudio looks good (though postage appears to be charged on top) what does the lead time run to delivered to UK?
quote:ditto.
Originally posted by Madinventions
For the artwork, have a look at the free DesignSpark software from RS components. They also offer a PCB fabrication service but I've not tried it personally.
http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/eng/page/des ignspark-pcb-home-page
quote:
Originally posted by cloudy
ITeadstudio looks good (though postage appears to be charged on top) what does the lead time run to delivered to UK?
Isyour artwork In gerber (cad) files?
I have used http://www.pcbtrain.co.uk for low volume.
Not the cheapest but you can get quotes online.
Best bit is they can be delivered in tow days.
If you want cheap try: https://www.seeedstudio.com/service/index.php?r=pcb
Slow and from china but found them good if you don't mind waiting... Quality is amazing for the cost...
I made PCBs at college (20 yrs ago) with transfers and exposure - it was a comedy experience and I didn't know people still did it.
Hi there
I've worked with these guys before: www.lamargroup.co.uk may be worth a call, but I'm not sure what volumes they do.
Cheers
Ian