PCB Prototyping recommendations

shilmover

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Can anyone recommend some PCB Manufacturers (for prototype boards for now)? I know that places like ExpressPCB can do 3 for $50 but I don't like their software (I have been using Eagle).

Any suggestions?
 
BatchPCB.com

When I used them they were $2.50 per sq in and a one time (per order) setup charge of $10 and shipping of course.

I ordered 30 of the boards I laid out in EAGLE as a 1.04 x .96 inch design and they charged me $2.50 per board. BUT... they must've either made a mistake or had a minimum # of boards because they sent me 50 and charged me for the 30.

WOOHOO!

Don't expect communications from them. Don't expect to know when your order will come in because they batch a bunch of customer orders together and have the boards made all at once.

When you upload the design to them for fabrication they have an automated process that checks your layout for problems. If it's all good then you are good to order.

The quality of the board was nice - double sided fiberglass with silkscreen.

RJ
 
ExpressPCB is a nice service but I agree their software is....suboptimal. (-> I hate it.) Try Advanced Circuits. Can be pricey, but they do good work and have regular specials which make them very reasonable. ($33 per board, DS, PT, SS boards). Their freeware CAD is the best I've used and is better than many "flagship" commercial CAD packages too. Very good tech and sales support. You'll have to order directly from them, similar to ExpressPCB...the software doesn't produce gerbers. But they'll send you the gerbers with your boards. You can receive your boards tomorrow if you want, or in a month, or whatever...your choice. Oh yeah. It's www.4pcb.com. (And they'd better give me a cash commision. :p)
 
BatchPCB.com

When I used them they were $2.50 per sq in and a one time (per order) setup charge of $10 and shipping of course.

Thanks, I might use them for larger orders, but I am looking for a place that can do 3 or 4 to start to test my designs.

ExpressPCB is a nice service but I agree their software is....suboptimal. (-> I hate it.) Try Advanced Circuits. Can be pricey, but they do good work and have regular specials which make them very reasonable. ($33 per board, DS, PT, SS boards). Their freeware CAD is the best I've used and is better than many "flagship" commercial CAD packages too. Very good tech and sales support. You'll have to order directly from them, similar to ExpressPCB...the software doesn't produce gerbers. But they'll send you the gerbers with your boards. You can receive your boards tomorrow if you want, or in a month, or whatever...your choice. Oh yeah. It's www.4pcb.com. (And they'd better give me a cash commision. :p)

Thanks. I might try them. Unfortunately, I build my prototype boards in Eagle. I wonder if it will transfer...
 
Thanks. I might try [Advanced Circuits]. Unfortunately, I build my prototype boards in Eagle. I wonder if it will transfer...
I don't know about transferring the designs from Eagle to PCB Artist (the Advanced Circuits tool). But IIRC Eagle produces gerber output. You can send those to most board houses, no problem. That's the standard way of doing things. I only used Eagle for a couple of weeks long, long ago. It was good but I didn't like the design size limit. I used Protel Autotrax in DOS for years, and sent those gerbers directly to board houses. But Autotrax was layout only and DOS is getting more difficult to run. It wouldn't run well on my laptop (video driver). I finally made the switch to PCB Artist from Advanced Circuits last year. I really like it.

One thing I considered doing was designing my circuits and laying out the boards in PCB Artist because of the ease of use and tight integration between the two functions. Then just copying the layout over to Autotrax so I can generate my own gerbers. Repetitive? Yes. But the actual layout is the difficult, time consuming part for me. Once I have a completed design/layout sitting in front of me, I can copy it over just like any other monkey could. You might consider that if your Eagle designs are "simple enough".

I'm pretty sure you can import netlists into PCB Artist. Just a plain text file. That would be another viable route if you're looking for a new tool in addition to a boardhouse.
 
I tried importing the Netlist, but it gave me errors.

I will try to get the gerber format out of Eagle (have not had to do that yet so I dont know how yet... :) )

Thanks for the help
 
I tried importing the Netlist, but it gave me errors.

I will try to get the gerber format out of Eagle (have not had to do that yet so I dont know how yet... :) )

Thanks for the help
No problem. Personally, that's the way I would go in your shoes. Just generate gerbers in Eagle if you've already done the layout. I'm sure it can be done.
 
Can anyone recommend some PCB Manufacturers (for prototype boards for now)? I know that places like ExpressPCB can do 3 for $50 but I don't like their software (I have been using Eagle).

Any suggestions?

For cheap protos have a look at Barebonespcb.com they supply just the board with no solder mask or silkscreen. It's a good way to get a base board for testing and final tweaks to the design.

- James
 
Are you prototyping your own game?

-Adam

Kinda... :rolleyes:

For cheap protos have a look at Barebonespcb.com they supply just the board with no solder mask or silkscreen. It's a good way to get a base board for testing and final tweaks to the design.

- James

Thanks James. That's exactly what I am looking at doing...
 
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