Getting circuit board printed

[bifbangpow]

Thinking about getting some circuit boards printed, instead of continuously etching my own.  Anyone got recommendations for who to go to?

[Plexi]

I took the same decition.
But here in my country, they're very expensive; and you need to order almost in bulk: a huge amount of money.
So.. I'm waiting to have some founds, and enter in the fantastic CNC world.

At the moment, I experiment with protoboard, and build some small pcbs.

[bloxstompboxes]

Check out pcbshopper.com. It will give you a list of prices based on your input. Keep in mind these are mostly Chinese fab-houses, which are fine, but if you want made in the USA, then it will cost hundreds for even the simplest project. Chinese boards are like a couple bucks a piece.

[PMowdes]

Thinking about getting some circuit boards printed, instead of continuously etching my own.  Anyone got recommendations for who to go to?

I use elecrow.com. Cheap and really good quality, the delivery can take a while but it is worth it.

[bean]

OSHPark is a great option. They are heavy duty - ENIG finishing and 2oz copper and a quick turnaround.

Elecrow is very cheap/reliable and I use them a lot. Right now you can get 5 boards up to 10x10cm for $5 plus shipping...no joke: https://www.elecrow.com/5pcs-2-layer-pcb.html

[potul]

in my last order I used Seeedstudio, they had a 5$ coupon, and if the pcb is small it was about 5$ 10 pieces plus shipping.

https://www.seeedstudio.com/fusion_pcb.html

[vigilante397]

+1 for OSHpark. I still make boards myself for prototyping, but when I know my layout is good I go to OSHpark.

[bifbangpow]

OSHPark is a great option. They are heavy duty - ENIG finishing and 2oz copper and a quick turnaround.

Elecrow is very cheap/reliable and I use them a lot. Right now you can get 5 boards up to 10x10cm for $5 plus shipping...no joke: https://www.elecrow.com/5pcs-2-layer-pcb.html

whuuuuuhhhh? How is this even real?  5 dollars? 

[bifbangpow]

also whats the difference between a 1 layer and a two layer pcb?

[Hatredman]

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/pcb-basics/all.pdf

Maybe this would help.

Scarlett Johansson uses a Burst Box with her Telecaster.

[italianguy63]

OSHPark is a great option. They are heavy duty - ENIG finishing and 2oz copper and a quick turnaround.

Elecrow is very cheap/reliable and I use them a lot. Right now you can get 5 boards up to 10x10cm for $5 plus shipping...no joke: https://www.elecrow.com/5pcs-2-layer-pcb.html

I only use Elecrow.  They rock.

[sominka]

also whats the difference between a 1 layer and a two layer pcb?

If you are designing your own pcb's, 2layers can make the pcb smaller. Copper traces are on both sides but can interconnect through the board so avoiding jumpers.

[bifbangpow]

If you are designing your own pcb's, 2layers can make the pcb smaller. Copper traces are on both sides but can interconnect through the board so avoiding jumpers.

I read that. But if you don't need the two layers because it's a pretty simple build are there any reasons or drawbacks to using the two layer board?

[bloxstompboxes]

If you are designing your own pcb's, 2layers can make the pcb smaller. Copper traces are on both sides but can interconnect through the board so avoiding jumpers.

I read that. But if you don't need the two layers because it's a pretty simple build are there any reasons or drawbacks to using the two layer board?

Nope, in fact, you can use that extra layer as a ground plane that will benefit most circuits.

[kenyanscott]

if you use elecrow

what do you do? send them a diagram and they print them?

[PMowdes]

Sorry I missed this.

To use elecrow you need to upload a set of gerber files to their website.  Programs like Eagle and Diptrace can be used to design your schematic and board, and generate the gerber files.

Have a look at this 

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/using-eagle-schematic

and this

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/using-eagle-board-layout

[vigilante397]

I had only ever used OSH park but decided to give Elecrow a chance based on this thread my boards shipped out this morning...

[vigilante397]

Got my boards last night Since I mostly just wanted to try them out I went with sometjing small, a breadboard-friendly prototyping board for 12A*7 tubes. They look great, shipping was reasonable. Also I ordered 5 of them, but apparently because I was well within the maximum size they decided to send me 36 so if anyone needs a board or 5 let me know