PCB manufacturing?

[rankot]

I never used any of those services, but want to ask you if anyone knows the answer - is it OK to have multiple small PCBs joined into one bigger using break tabs? I can prepare those gerber panels with Gerber Panelizer app. Do they charge it additionally, or not?

[vigilante397]

I don't think they charge extra, but I've never tried it. Mark, haven't you done that before?

[italianguy63]

I have one PCB that has 2 boards on it separated by break tabs.  Elecrow does not charge extra.. pricing is based on the overall dimension of the work.

I USED to panelize my small PCBs.. I liked that because I could ship say 10 PCBs in a flat 1st class envelope.  There was no extra charge for that either.  However, a couple years back Elecrow screwed me on an order and only gave me about 1/2 as many boards because they were panelized.  I have never bought panelized boards from them again.  Unfortunately, I had to pass the shipping costs on to the consumer, because now I have to ship them in a bubble envelope (which is considered a parcel) by USPS. 

MC

[Gumby212]

Lotta great info here. Been messing with diptrace and i dig it so far. Few more noob questions tho. What is the purpose of the copper pour? Is that a necessary step? I notice that for some reason it doesnt fill my whole board (a buzzaround fuzz circuit). It filled most of it but left out 2 big chunks and im not sure why. Ive also seen via youtube that people connect their ground trace to the copper pour, making everything in between traces ground, but i dont understand why that would be beneficial or necessary. Also, is paneling it at all important if you arent printing them out and etching your own boards? Thanks again for all the great tips and refrences. More questions likely to follow...

[vigilante397]

The purpose of a copper pour is to give a solid DC reference (usually ground) to your other signals for the purpose of shielding. It can also be used to make routing easier. I don't even make ground traces anymore, I just let them connect to the pour. That being said a pour is generally optional in most pedals, so there's nothing forcing you to do it.

Sometimes copper pour won't go everywhere because of trace clearance, sometimes it doesn't have anything to connect to there so it's considered "dead copper" and is removed by the software.

Paneling isn't really important, though if you have a small design it would make sense to make a "pseudo panel." Places like Elecrow and JLCPCB charge a flat rate for 10 boards up to 10x10 cm, so if you have a 4 x 4 cm design you could make a "panel" out of 4 boards and get 40 PCBs for the price of 10.

[FiveseveN]

The pour also aids in manufacturing since you don't have to etch away all that surface. Not a big factor if someone else is making them, I guess.
The unfilled "chunks" appear if the area has openings that are too small for traces to form, and your software will fill them if it has an option for "orphans" or the like.

[Ice-9]

I keep meaning to try JLCPCB's component populating service.. anyone try it?

Yes I have used it, but be pre-paired to design your boards for 0805 as included basic component from there 'included' lists don't have a surcharge per component but others like many 1206 components come with  a $2 surcharge per value.

[cloudscapes]

I keep meaning to try JLCPCB's component populating service.. anyone try it?

Yes I have used it, but be pre-paired to design your boards for 0805 as included basic component from there 'included' lists don't have a surcharge per component but others like many 1206 components come with  a $2 surcharge per value.

Is that the basic vs extended components?

I just ordered a board from them with SMT 0805s. all basic components.

1206 is too big for me. I'm likely to go 0603 in the future.

[cloudscapes]

got my JLCPCB test pcbs back. It's just a little cmos lunetta slew/filter thing I'll use for my synth.



Overall happy with the result. Ordered on the 22nd and cost $30 canadian for 5 board (which is the minimum order). Would have gotten them yesterday but there was a delivery issue. Quality seems fine, no parts crazily out of alignment (a couple are a few degrees off but its hardly noticable). Reflow looks fine. There was a bit of dust on the boards but nothing an air can can't fix.

Things I didn't like. They added a code at the bottom, the random-looking string of numbers. And the smallest hole at the very top and very bottom is something they added, probably a fiducial hole for tooling. I think I saw an option somewhere when I ordered to make my own, so that might be on me. The holes look slightly charred on the inside though. Been ordering PCBs from a lot of places for 10+ years and that's the first time I see this kind of charring. It's not oil or dirt.

When you upload the SMT design in your order, there's a web applet that previews the SMT placement based on your files. I could not get this to work. It always showed my SMT parts completely out of alignment no matter what I tried. When I contacted them, they said my files were fine and to submit it anyway. I searched around on the web and it sounds like it's a universal problem with their preview. It just doesn't seem to work for a lot of people, dating back at least 8 months. So that's kind of disappointing to have to "leap of faith" your order.

Still good enough for my needs if I need many boards made. I'll probably be using them again.

[patrick398]

Things I didn't like. They added a code at the bottom, the random-looking string of numbers.

On the order page there's a 'remove order number?' checkbox, it cost an extra £1.50 to remove it. Alternatively if you put 'JLCJLCJLC' on the silkscreen layer somewhere you can decide where they put the order number, so you can hide it on the bottom of the board or under an IC or something.
For PCBs i don't mind it being there, but for faceplates i usually hide it on the bottom, except when i forget and can't be bothered to export the gerbers again, so i just pay the 1.50

[Ice-9]

These are the boards I had made last year, the missing components are the one's I wanted to fit myself.

[rankot]

What is your experience with panelized PCBs? Do all those companies charge more for panelized PCBs, or not? Like this, for example:

[italianguy63]

What is your experience with panelized PCBs? Do all those companies charge more for panelized PCBs, or not? Like this, for example:

It has been my experience with Elecrow, that if you can draw it, they will manufacture it.  Their pricing is based on total width x total height.  So, the more rectangular the layout, the more efficient your pricing is.  They don't charge extra if you draw it like that.

MC

[rankot]

It has been my experience with Elecrow, that if you can draw it, they will manufacture it.  Their pricing is based on total width x total height.  So, the more rectangular the layout, the more efficient your pricing is.  They don't charge extra if you draw it like that.

MC

OK, I'll try to send them an e-mail to clarify this.

[soggybag]

I'm looking at JLCPCB. I've used Eagle and OSHPark. If I wanted to get a board with assembly is there a library of parts you can load that's compatible with parts offered by JLCPCB?

[vigilante397]

Unfortunately no. They have an online library that shows what parts they have available, and you can download it as an excel spreadsheet, but they don't have a CAD library for you to download.

https://jlcpcb.com/parts

[deadastronaut]

^ yeah bummer, i looked at that too....if they added all there parts as a cad lib that would be ideal for us and them too.........been using jlc now, much quicker ...

As for panelling, i saw a vid of a kid who made a small pcb, and panelized it into 9 and was charged exactly the same as the small pcb...hmmmm...

[vigilante397]

As for panelling, i saw a vid of a kid who made a small pcb, and panelized it into 9 and was charged exactly the same as the small pcb...hmmmm...

I have my 3PDT boards and tube socket boards panelized but I let JLC do it. They charge a couple dollars "engineering fee," but I still get 120 boards instead of 10 and it costs me $7 instead of $5. With JLC if your board is less than 5cm in either dimension you can fit more than one on a panel. I've noticed some PCB sellers (most notably PedalPCB) have designs that are exactly 5cm x 5cm, so they can fit 4 on a 10 x 10 panel.