On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 2:11 PM, Paul <
paul@...> wrote:
>
> More power to you, it's a really great idea to have someone on the
> ground as an "interface" between Europe/USA and the Chinese PCB makers
> although
That's what I do. I speak Chinese so you don't have to. I check
boards thoroughly and give a report on each one. This saves you a lot
of time and money. And I'm there to make sure the fabs do a great job
every time.
>I do have a great Chinese friend in HK who is into specialist
> electronics manufacturing and who helps me out.
I'd be interested in talking to him, as I don't have good contacts for assembly.
> How about a sideline in supplying some PCB materials for us homebrew
> hackers? Pre-sensitised board is expensive here and solder resist
> laminate film is expensive and very difficult to find in small quantities.
I'd really love to. One issue is freight. Fibreglass is extremely
heavy. Freight for a few boards can often end up more than for the
boards. For another issue, see below.
> What kind of costs for a solder paste mask? (I saw somewhere you can
> supply them)
I was selling laser-cut stainless frameless solderpaste stencils of up
to A4 in size for USD25. I have stopped doing that for the moment
though, as I really really have to concentrate on getting web ordering
of PCBs going. (And 90% of that is the back-end processing, not the
customer-facing stuff).
If you'd like to make your own solderpaste stencils, it's not hard:
http://lowpowerlab.com/blog/2013/02/11/diy-smd-metal-stencils-the-definitive-tutorial/I think everyone should try that. (Felix is another customer of mine :-) )
> Do you miss the Fosters?
LOL, Fosters is megaswill, I never drink it. I brew my own beer :-)
That's what this group is for eh, making your own?
Mitch.