Creating my own version of an existing board/schematic - difficulty, cost

[slowpogo]

I've been building a particular fuzz pedal for people using a commercially available PCB. I've sold enough that I'm starting to wonder about making my own version of this board, which would a pretty close copy but with a reworked tone section and reconfigured for top jacks.

1. How difficult is it for a beginner with limited EE knowledge to learn circuit board topology?
2. Might it be easier to pay someone to do this work for me, and what might that cost?

[iainpunk]

board design for pedals doesnt need to be that hard, since pedals are pretty low frequency types of circuits, and low voltage as well.

for beginners, i suggest first trying to design a perf board layout, not vero, so that you can make connections every shape you want, so that you get a feel for it, post here for feedback, make changes accordingly, and then just convert that to a pcb design on a program. follow some tutorials to learn how the programs work, plenty of them on youtube.

cheers

[Invertiguy]

For pedals working at audio frequencies and low voltages it's really not that difficult as long as you do a bit of basic research first. I learned how to use Eagle with the help of this and other internet forums and YouTube videos and haven't looked back since, nor have I ran into any issues other than physical ones (give large value film caps enough space and don't put tall electrolytic caps where you're planning on placing jacks!). There's a bit of a learning curve, but not really any more than using any other CAD or Graphic Design program, and KiCad is free (although the free version of Eagle is sufficient for the majority of pedal applications). Fab houses like JLCPCB are fast and cheap enough that there's very little risk involved even if you mess something up, so there's not much point in paying someone to do it for you if you only need a few boards. My advice is to jump in and swim!

[Yazoo]

Yes, I use Kicad and once you get past the initial learning curve it's pretty easy to use. You could start by replicating the layout of the pcbs you have been using and go from there.

[mozz]

If it's for a npn silicon fuzzface board they are cheap. Paid less than $1 each (in large qty.) You can wire the tone off the vol. Small enough for side or top jacks.

[Processaurus]

If you're running a business and value your time at a certain $/hr it makes sense to hire a subcontractor to do occasional design work.  I bet someone who did PCB design could whip out your Gerbers in a day or two if there wasn't mechanical design to do (board mounted pots, matching shape to enclosure etc.). I bet a beginner learning software would probably be more like 40hrs.
Not everything that ends up being valuable in a person's life has an immediate financial gain though.  If you're involved and interested in electronics the benefits of knowing a PCB design /eCAD package is priceless- low quantity PCB fabrication is so accessible and affordable these days. 

[soggybag]

Not hard to do. You'll need to learn to use a PCB creation tool like Eagle or KiCad. Then the process becomes:

- create a schematic in your software
- turn the schematic into a PCB layout in your software
- export gerber files
- upload your gerbers and order your boards from a service

I have been using PCBWay.com for the last 10 or so boards I created the cost is roughly $5 for 10 boards. Plus shipping. Shipping costs run $10 to $20 but you can save by order multiple PCB designs at the same time.

The cost to order 5 vs 10 boards is the same so I always order 10 and they seem to send 11 each time.

In my last order I ordered 6 different boards, 10 of each. The total cost was $59.29. Broken down as roughly $30 for boards and $30 shipping. That's $1 per board, not bad! Plus I always get 11 boards so it's a little less than a dollar.

The manufacture takes takes a couple days and shipping is about 2 weeks.

The quality is very good. They have a lot of options, which can change the price. I always opt for the standard two sided which is cheapest.

The boards are pre tinned. You can also choose from green, yellow, blue, red, purple, back, and white for colors at no extra cost. They have some matte color options but these cost more.

Here are some pictures:

[soggybag]

I realize I didn't address the difficulties.

Probably the hardest part is learning the electrical engineering stuff to build original designs.

After that, learning Eagle and or KiCad, both have a steep learning curve at first. There's a lot of strange menu items options that you need to make sense of.

If you start with simple tried and true designs with fewer parts you can practice and absorb the concepts. Then move on to larger more complex designs.