to hire someone who knows s/w turn ckt-diag into PCB Gerber fabrication files

Are you reverse-engineering something? Are the <whatever> files used to create the first pc board available?

ak

 

What you are asking does not come cheap. Try looking at the companies represented here to find someone with the capabilities you need. For a shop in Aurora, Colorado, visit this web page.

As Steve said, there are many of us here that can do what you want to do, from scanning a printed circuit board to reverse-engineer its schematic to importing hand-drawn schematics. But, IMO, it is better to work locally and, where possible, in person-to-person contact with the whoever is doing the work. Heck, you may even want to have the boards manufactured in the States. There are several quality board houses in Colorado on the Eastern Slope, and many more in California who work with Asian fabricators for inexpensive fast turn-around prototype quantities.

 

I use the free Kicad for schematic capture and board layout.
Also a Hong Kong Co Seeed are offering 100mm x 100mm double sided PCT boards for $4.90 per qty 10.
M.

 

Have you acquired any PCB software yet? If so, please tell us what you have.

As @Minder mentioned, there is free PCB design software available. Avoid PCB houses that offer you their "free" schematic capture and layout software because the files their software creates are not portable Gerber files but are proprietary to the board vendor. Nothing wrong with that if you don't mind getting "locked in" to that one vendor, but it is mainly suited to hobbyists doing one-offs, rather than production work where you need to maintain control and portability of the files used for production.

Years ago, in the 1970s, I did PCB layouts on Vellum using crepe tape and Bishop Graphics "puppets". CAD was just getting started for this type of work and very expensive. About 20 years later, I accepted a contract to build a multiplexed push-button switch interface to an IBM PC-AT clone. I bread-boarded the design with wire-wrap sockets, but was also able to convince my customer that a dedicated PCB would be better in the long run. So I purchased a one-year license to use PADS PCB schematic capture and layout software, passing the cost on to the customer. I found the learning curve fairly steep but manageable. About two months after installing PADS I had created a decent board layout. I allowed the license to expire without purchasing continuing "maintenance" and a few years later PADS was absorbed by another software giant and basically became un-affordable to me.

I would suggest that you not walk down a similar path. PCB design has become quite complicated and you need a PCB software design package that can keep up, but you probably don't need the latest and greatest thing available. Try demo versions of commercial software first before taking the plunge. I would suggest starting with something like Eagle.

 

How complex is the PCB? Can you post a schematic and a picture of any bare PCBs you have on the forum.
Thanks
Adam

 

PCB "engraving" machines have been around for quite some time... some of them even work... sort of. You have to be aware of their limitations with regard to resolution and accuracy. For any PCB of significant size and/or complexity, removing copper by scraping or machining is going to be a time-consuming process that does not scale upward for multiple copies. I would suggest it is only suitable for "one off" projects of limited complexity and larger feature sizes.

The preferred, standard, method of PCB production involves photo-lithography, chemical etching, and selective electro-plating, which is capable of manufacturing features with sub-micron resolution and accuracy. A variant of the photo-lithography process is used to manufacture integrated circuits, although you obviously don't need that sort of resolution to make a printed circuit board. But the nice thing about photo-lithography is it can be scaled up for production quantities.

What you DO need is a Gerber plot file and a drill file. The Gerber is used to make photo-lithographic masks by exposing photographic film, mounted on a X-Y CNC table, through various apertures that define the width of lines and the shape of pads. Don't worry about the details. You PCB design software will produce an appropriate set of Gerber plot files that can be used by ANY PCB board-house to make photographic masks for single sided, dual-sided, dual-sided with plated-through holes, and multi-layer boards with plated-through vias connecting various layers. The software will also generate a drill file containing information for CNC drilling of all the holes and routing all the edges required by your board. The important thing is to make sure the files that your software produces are in standard Gerber PCB file format and Excellon drill file format.

 

Here is a blog post comparing Eagle and Kicad.

Spoiler

Kicad wins.

Seeed Studio is a reliable Chinese PCB manufacturer plus a whole lot more, with tools and modules aimed squarely at the hobbyist. Some Seeed modules are (or were) stocked by Radio Shack. As per usual when dealing with Asian vendors, documentation can be a bit spotty and/or thin.

 

PCB design requires a PCB software design, you can start with something like Eagle or Kicad.

 

I have to say, to master pcb-layout technically, you may need some professional knowledge and software like CAM350, and you may learn more when you deal with your PCB fabricator。It's actually very easy to understand the whole designing of circuit board stack-up after you know one software.