[sdiy] PCB manufacturers for SMD

[Matthew Smith]

Quoth Colin Hinz at 14/09/12 01:48...
...
> Cool! Thanks for that. How do they ship the boards out? Do they accept
> PayPal for payment?
>
> I did ask Laen about these boring logistical aspects recently,
> but haven't heard back yet.....and the website info's a bit minimal.

Busy man, not always forthcoming with answers.

Takes PayPal and Google Checkout (I think that was the other option - I 
always use PayPal,) ships via USPS in a flat cardboard mailer.

Depending on how many of what you order, and how the panel arrives from 
the fab, boards may or may not still be attached to each other. They 
will always have tabs from the panelization, which need to be snapped 
off and sanded - no big deal at all.

The huge advantage of the OSHPark system over the old e-mail the designs 
through is that you get a layer-by-layer preview. This has already 
helped me spot errors that I would otherwise miss, and shows up where 
silkscreen might get screwed up due to being too close to pads, vias, 
etc - something that I can't see in Eagle itself. (I think there may be 
a preview in Eagle 6, but there's no way I'm going to upgrade the Eagle 
Pro I've had for less than a year at *that* price.)

-- 
Matthew Smith

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