Best small run PCB manufacturer

[Klaus Jensen]

Can anyone tell me, who are the currently preferred "economy" PCB
manufacturers operating online with worldwide postal delivery?

Basic doubled sided. Less than 100 x 100mm in size.

Small runs: 10-25 pcs.

No overlay or mask. Cheap but nice.

Thanks,

Klaus

 

[Winston]

Can anyone tell me, who are the currently preferred "economy" PCB
manufacturers operating online with worldwide postal delivery?

Basic doubled sided. Less than 100 x 100mm in size.

Small runs: 10-25 pcs.

No overlay or mask. Cheap but nice.

I've heard good things about Olimex though
I've not been a customer:
http://www.olimex.com/pcb/

--Winston

 

[Rick]

pcbcart.com

Used by myself and others here. No problems, quality & service is good.
Communications is good.

pcbcart.com I have bought thousands of boards from them with no problem.
12 day delivery standard, overlay and mask no charge.

 

[P E Schoen]

"Klaus Jensen" wrote in message

Can anyone tell me, who are the currently preferred "economy" PCB
manufacturers operating online with worldwide postal delivery?

Basic doubled sided. Less than 100 x 100mm in size.

Small runs: 10-25 pcs.

No overlay or mask. Cheap but nice.

I have previously ordered from pcbcart and PCBfabExpress. But I am now using
www.eintervconnect.com. They were originally zoompcb.com. They have
reasonable prices and very good communication. Plus they are a US
manufacturer (Chicago) with their own fab so I don't mind paying a little
bit more.

Don't worry - I don't get kickbacks!

Paul

 

[hamilton]

in message




I have previously ordered from pcbcart and PCBfabExpress. But I am now
using www.eintervconnect.com. They were originally zoompcb.com. They
have reasonable prices and very good communication. Plus they are a US
manufacturer (Chicago) with their own fab so I don't mind paying a
little bit more.

Don't worry - I don't get kickbacks!

Paul

does not work.

 

[P E Schoen]

"hamilton" wrote in message

does not work.

Sorry.

http://www.eiconnect.com/default.aspx

and their old URL www.zoompcb.com redirects there.

Paul

 

[TTman]

pcbcart.com I have bought thousands of boards from them with no problem.
12 day delivery standard, overlay and mask no charge.

Same here. Word of advice.... forget 'No solder mask' and 'no overlay'.
You'll only save a few pennies.
I used to use pcbexpress in the USA for small runs ( without mask/overlay
cos it was cheaper) then I found pcbcart....
They have on-line price calculator and shipping calculator so you will know
exactly the cost, less Duty,Vat,Customs Clearance in your country.....

 

[Syd Rumpo]

I've heard good things about Olimex though
I've not been a customer:
http://www.olimex.com/pcb/

--Winston

I've used Olimex a few times, albeit not for a couple of years. They
were very good value and quality.

Cheers

 

[DA]

responding to
http://www.electrondepot.com/electrodesign/best-small-run-pcb-manufacturer-619528-.htm
DA wrote:

Winston wrote:

I've heard good things about Olimex though
I've not been a customer:
http://www.olimex.com/pcb/

--Winston

I've used Olimex before and they were very good at actually getting me
through the process 'cause I did not have much experience in ordering
PCBs. They took just the Eagle file and basically processed it internally
and produced the boards. I think at the time I could have saved something
like $10 (on 10 very small boards) by going through Open PCB or BatchPCB
or other similar services but I would have to make sure I've done all the
layers Gerber files and the drill file correctly and it was not worth the
trouble for me. They've done a very good job overall, so I can defintiely
recommend them.

 

[hamilton]

Does anyone know of a Free DRC that is not connected to a PCB house ??

I have found the DRC program with 4pcb.com very useful.

By clicking on the FREEDFM link it sends me to another 4pcb page, so I
guess its their own work.

Thanks

don

 

[Rich Webb]

Can anyone tell me, who are the currently preferred "economy" PCB
manufacturers operating online with worldwide postal delivery?

Basic doubled sided. Less than 100 x 100mm in size.

Small runs: 10-25 pcs.

No overlay or mask. Cheap but nice.

Perhaps the Fusion PCB service offered by Seeed Studios?
<http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/fusion-pcb-service-p-835.html?cPath=185>

Qty 10 of 10 cm x 10 cm, double-sided, PTH, HASL, mask and silkscreen
for US$25 for the lot (i.e., $2.50 / board), plus shipping from China.
Haven't used them but I'll probably give them a try for my next project.

I have used Sparkfun's Batch PCB service successfully but I'm not
familiar with their worldwide shipping capability.
http://batchpcb.com/index.php/Products

 

[Rich Webb]

responding to
http://www.electrondepot.com/electrodesign/best-small-run-pcb-manufacturer-619528-.htm
DA wrote:

Winston wrote:




I've used Olimex before and they were very good at actually getting me
through the process 'cause I did not have much experience in ordering
PCBs. They took just the Eagle file and basically processed it internally
and produced the boards. I think at the time I could have saved something
like $10 (on 10 very small boards) by going through Open PCB or BatchPCB
or other similar services but I would have to make sure I've done all the
layers Gerber files and the drill file correctly and it was not worth the
trouble for me. They've done a very good job overall, so I can defintiely
recommend them.

Download Viewmate (free!) from Pentalogix
http://www.pentalogix.com/viewmate.php. It's pretty easy to use and
gives you a third-party's software to check whether, e.g., your gerbers
and drill files line up correctly.

 

[Tim Williams]

Does anyone know of a Free DRC that is not connected to a PCB house ??

I have found the DRC program with 4pcb.com very useful.

By clicking on the FREEDFM link it sends me to another 4pcb page, so I
guess its their own work.

FreeDFM is Advanced (4PCB)'s service, which also autogenerates a quote,
handy if you want a quick estimate, even if you buy elsewhere. I
regularly use this service just because it's more-or-less automated and
gets me a quick check. If it passes their proto rules, it should pass
anyone's rules (copper width and spacing, soldermask expansion, annular
rings, etc.) Not affiliated, blah blah..

Tim

 

[DA]

responding to
http://www.electrondepot.com/electrodesign/best-small-run-pcb-manufacturer-619528-.htm
DA wrote:

However things change quickly and I suppose many Asian fabs are hungry
for business.

That's true but not during the Chinese New Year festivities Most
Chinese PCB houses are closed or will close very soon till the end of
January.

 

[Nico Coesel]

I use E-Teknet in Arizona, US. They may not be the cheapest, but probably
pretty close. You get excellent quality, I have had over 100 designs done
with them. I have had all sorts of problems with boards done by other
outfits. My biggest pain was paying for electrical test, and then finding
shorts in boards AFTER all the parts were installed. This can be REALLY
difficult to fix on a 4- or 6-layer board.

I use Eurocircuits. They scan PCBs with a special flatbed scanner to
look for shorts and opens.

 

[TTman]

pcbcart.com

We have also happily used www.pcbcart.com as our standard fab for
several years, for DS/PTH with mask and overlay. As TTman pointed
out, the masking and overlay are effectively "free" with pcbcart - it
seems to be built into their standard pricing which is quite sensible
from a production point of view. Their communication is excellent and
they will ping you before starting production if they see what appears
to be an error - better than getting a batch of boards with an inbuilt
design cock-up. Saved us time and money once!

I missed that very important point. More than once their front end check has
picked up silly mistakes I had made. That alone is worth untold money.... OK
so I get a delay of a couple of days. Life isn't that short.