PCB manufacturing

[vince]

Hey guys (and girls)

I am planning to build a power supply to fit in my homemade pedalboard. I would like to design the circuit and have it manufactured on a PC Board.  I checked ExpressPCB.com  It seems to be fairly cheap...
But I'd like to hear what service do you guys use when you want to build PCBs ? Any tips, suggestions and comments would be appreciated!

Thanks
Vincent

[John Lyons]

Express PCB is going to be about $50 for a one off board.
That's pretty expensive!
You can build one yourself fairly easily or have someone make one for you here.
There are many tutorials and threds here about making your own.

I can make on for you if you want. Just email me with the specifics.

John

[Rafa]

I design and build my own PCBs sometimes with a marker, but you get better results with pnp or other methods.

[axg20202]

you get better results with pnp or other methods.

+1.  Jump in, the water's warm.  Making your own PCBs with PnP is actually pretty easy with some basic tools and once you know how you'll be able to make all sorts of cool stuff.

[vince]

Express PCB is going to be about $50 for a one off board.
That's pretty expensive!
You can build one yourself fairly easily or have someone make one for you here.
There are many tutorials and threds here about making your own.

I can make on for you if you want. Just email me with the specifics.

John

Well I guess it's cheaper to do it yourself than have it done...
In fact, a few months I read one tutorial about etching a PCB and bought the copper board, laser photopaper and drill bits. Some relative kinda dissuade me to do so, stating the complicated process. I ought to tright it though...

What if I were to e-mail you the Gerber files ? How much would you ask for a.. let's say 4" X 8" ? Yes, it's big.. It's an 8-ouput power supply.

Thanks
Vince

[BMF Effects]

Batch PCB is a good place for one off boards.

Pros - Nice quality boards, reasonable pricing.
Cons - I've waited six weeks for one board.

[Hanglow]

I looked into getting PCB Train to do some for me, but it's £40 for one. But, if you put 50 or so on one design it works out about £6 each I think (off the top of my head). They will also populate the boards fairly cheaply as well if you want. of course, that's taking away  the fun/torture

my brother uses them a lot for his designs, I might try and get him to tack on a couple next time he uses them

[moosapotamus]

You might also consider soldering up your power supply on perfboard. Routing for power circuits is usually relatively simple.

~ Charlie

[vince]

You might also consider soldering up your power supply on perfboard. Routing for power circuits is usually relatively simple.

~ Charlie

I guess I could do it that way, but I just need a bigger challenge this time

Does anyone know a good tutorial for etching a PCB ?

[jonathan perez]

tonepad.com has a photoessay on it

[calculating_infinity]

You might also consider soldering up your power supply on perfboard. Routing for power circuits is usually relatively simple.

~ Charlie

I guess I could do it that way, but I just need a bigger challenge this time

Does anyone know a good tutorial for etching a PCB ?

Straight from the Wiki. 
http://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/index.php?title=PrintedCircuitBoards

I hear there are hidden treasures in the FAQ's and all those link's up top.   

Have fun! 

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

By all means go DIY PCB, but you know....... a power supply is probably the only thing where point to point wiring makes sense!
It makes sense because most of the parts are large and really need to be mounted physically anyway.

Of course, I'd use vero - but that's just me, and I'm pretty lazy sometimes.

[GREEN FUZ]

As a complete novice I would definitely recommend you try making your own. You already have the necessary equipment and with a bit of care it`s not that difficult.

This is my second attempt using the laser print transfer method

Here`s a couple of additional links that might help.http://www.instructables.com/id/EI62IFRLH4EP2863TS/?ALLSTEPS
http://www.instructables.com/id/ELB1VS99EIEP28798Z/?ALLSTEPS
BTW, credit to basicaudio for the layout.

[vince]

Thanks for all the links!
It doesn't seem hard afterall...

Just one question though:
What kind of component do you use to connect the Mains wire to the board ? And same question to connect the different outputs to the board. I don't want to just solder the wire to the pad... I was thinking of maybe using Molex connectors. Any other idea?

Thanks
Vince

[John Lyons]

Green Fuz
Let us know how that Skyripper works out for you.
Thanks for the nod
That board looks real  nice!

John

[GREEN FUZ]

Let us know how that Skyripper works out for you.

Will do. I`m sure I`ll have plenty of questions to ask but I`ll save them for another post. .