Homebrew PCBs

Has anyone used the folks for a PCB?

http://www.protoexpress.com/content/noTouch.jsp

I am thinking about trying their "No Touch" service as their price is very good. 

Chris

Chris wrote:
> Has anyone used the folks for a PCB?
>
> http://www.protoexpress.com/content/noTouch.jsp
>
> I am thinking about trying their "No Touch" service as their price is very good. 
>
> Chris
>   
I haven't used their "No Touch" service but I have used Sierra Circuits 
for some fairly high tech
multi-layer boards with good results.

I see that the "No Touch" minimums have dropped since the last time I 
looked: 5 mil lines and gaps,
10 mil holes with 5 mil rings. Nice. The only issue I see is you can 
only get HASL finish not ENIG
which makes working with small SMT parts tough.

Bruce

> 10 mil holes with 5 mil rings. Nice. The only issue I see is you can 
> only get HASL finish not ENIG
> which makes working with small SMT parts tough.
> 
> Bruce

Bruce,

I do not know what those specs mean, can you explain? I have a number of surface mount parts going on this board.  I have had good success soldering surface mount components on DIY boards and this will be my first purchased board.

Chris

Chris wrote:
>> 10 mil holes with 5 mil rings. Nice. The only issue I see is you can 
>> only get HASL finish not ENIG
>> which makes working with small SMT parts tough.
>>
>> Bruce
>>     
>
> Bruce,
>
> I do not know what those specs mean, can you explain? I have a number of surface mount parts going on this board.  I have had good success soldering surface mount components on DIY boards and this will be my first purchased board.
>
> Chris
>   
Hi Chris,

Most of the low priced board services I've seen limit line width and 
gaps to 7 to 10 mils and the minimum drill size to a 12 to 15 mil range 
with a 7 to 10 mil minimum annular ring which sets the minimum via size 
to the 26 to 35 mil range. A 10 mil hole with a 5 mil annular ring limit 
allows you to use a 20 mil via which allows for higher density routing.

HASL, Hot Air Leveled Solder, finish is quite common and works fine for 
through hole parts but produces an uneven surface. For SMT parts, you 
want a flat surface that can have solder paste printed onto it. One of 
the more common finishes used to passivate the copper and maintain a 
flat surface is Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold or ENIG. It's a non 
electroplated process the deposits a few, typically 3 to 10, micro 
inches of gold over a nickel base.

If you are forced to use a HASL finish, you can always remove the excess 
solder with solder wick and flux but it's a hassle and, if your iron 
gets too hot, you run the risk of lifting pads.

> Hi Chris,
> 
> Most of the low priced board services I've seen limit line width and 
> gaps to 7 to 10 mils and the minimum drill size to a 12 to 15 mil range 
> with a 7 to 10 mil minimum annular ring which sets the minimum via size 
> to the 26 to 35 mil range. A 10 mil hole with a 5 mil annular ring limit 
> allows you to use a 20 mil via which allows for higher density routing.
> 
> HASL, Hot Air Leveled Solder, finish is quite common and works fine for 
> through hole parts but produces an uneven surface. For SMT parts, you 
> want a flat surface that can have solder paste printed onto it. One of 
> the more common finishes used to passivate the copper and maintain a 
> flat surface is Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold or ENIG. It's a non 
> electroplated process the deposits a few, typically 3 to 10, micro 
> inches of gold over a nickel base.
> 
> If you are forced to use a HASL finish, you can always remove the excess 
> solder with solder wick and flux but it's a hassle and, if your iron 
> gets too hot, you run the risk of lifting pads.


Thanks for the response Bruce.  I was mostly concerned with the HASL finish spec - thanks for explaining that.  I will be hand soldering the board so that should pose a problem for me.  I do have one small, 100 pin QFP chip that it could cause a bit more effort but seeing as I have un-soldered and re-soldered that size chip on DIY boards, I should be able to handle it.

Thanks again for your help !

Chris

I have used the NO Touch Sierra Proto service many times for work.  We get all of our prototype projects done that way because its cheap and easy to submit gerbers online and then just wait for the boards to show up.  Easy-Peasy.
Matt





--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Chris" <lcdpublishing@...> wrote:

>
> 
> > 10 mil holes with 5 mil rings. Nice. The only issue I see is you can 
> > only get HASL finish not ENIG
> > which makes working with small SMT parts tough.
> > 
> > Bruce
> 
> Bruce,
> 
> I do not know what those specs mean, can you explain? I have a number of surface mount parts going on this board.  I have had good success soldering surface mount components on DIY boards and this will be my first purchased board.
> 
> Chris
>

Cool, I too will give it a try then

Chris

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "buckeyes1997" <buckeyes1997@...> wrote:

>
> I have used the NO Touch Sierra Proto service many times for work.  We get all of our prototype projects done that way because its cheap and easy to submit gerbers online and then just wait for the boards to show up.  Easy-Peasy.
> Matt
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Chris" <lcdpublishing@> wrote:
> >
> > 
> > > 10 mil holes with 5 mil rings. Nice. The only issue I see is you can 
> > > only get HASL finish not ENIG
> > > which makes working with small SMT parts tough.
> > > 
> > > Bruce
> > 
> > Bruce,
> > 
> > I do not know what those specs mean, can you explain? I have a number of surface mount parts going on this board.  I have had good success soldering surface mount components on DIY boards and this will be my first purchased board.
> > 
> > Chris
> >
>