On Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:12:16 -0000, you wrote:
>I have been a member of this group for some time and normally read all the posts. I design and build electronics, mostly with embedded controllers. I went thru the stage of making my own PCBs way back
>in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I ran a successful business selling electronic devices then and throughout the 1990s. I switched to commercially made boards around 1993 as it was cost and time effective to do so. I retired around 1998. For the few projects I did for my own interests I used ExpressPCB to do the boards. I am now getting back into business and have taken up EagleCad to do the schematics/board layout stuff. I have begun to use the services of one of the batch businesses, DorkbotPDX, to do my board prototypes. My
>boards are for the Arduino Mega and are 8.4 square inches in area. Dorkbot will make three of these for $42, for $5/sq in, which works out to $14 per board! They offer free shipping in the US and the turn-around is 9-10 days. The boards are two sided, PTH and silkscreening. BTW $10/sq in for 4 layer boards. Check it out
>here:
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>http://dorkbotpdx.org/wiki/pcb_order
>
>I have no interest in DorkbotPDX but am a happy user of their services
That's nice.
>
>So, my question is why would I want to make my own boards with all the attendant fuss and mess and then etch and drill them or CNC them? Do you get a better board? A faster turnaround? There is no product to order or store. Is it cheaper to roll your own? I guess I just don't get it. Is it a hobby thing?
You obviously don't, otherwise, you would.
I can do a 4 x 6 board for about 5 dollars in material or less. Double
sided, no plated through holes. It takes time to do it. I don't
count the cost of my time.
Dorkbot would charge120 dollars per board. Since I am developing the
board and adding features, at 120 per board, I would soon run out of
money.
My boards are not of commercial quality, but I've managed to live with
that.
I'm willing to put up with the "fuss" and "mess" because I get what I
want, done my way, and for a one or two project, it's fine. The cost
is acceptable to me, and I don't feel bad when I change my mind and
decide not to use a board, or have to redesign it. Easier to toss 5
dollars than 130.
when the designs stabilize (and some of this is due to vanishing
parts), then I may consider having a run of boards made, if the price
is acceptable.
You used to run a business, I don't, and don't need to treat a hobby
like a business.
Harvey
>
>I expect this post will cause some consternation and there will be quite a few replies. Then again, I may be quietly ignored.
Why would you think that I would somehow be alarmed that you'd pay 14
dollars for a PC board?
H.
>
>Vic
>
>Vic Fraenckel
>KC2GUI
>windswaytoo ATSIGN gmail DOT com
>
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