Synth-DIY Yahoo! Groups Archives

Thread

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-26 by James Stevens

An even better option is barebonespcb.com - no affiliation, just a happy customer.

Only a $25 lot charge and 50 cents per square inch. Minimum order of only 1 piece - perfect when you want to try something out and 2 is 1 pcb too many. Also, they ship the next day.

I've been very pleased with the boards I received from them. Same specs as below - no mask or screen.

James

Also check out their "2layer BARE pcb", basically PCBs with no solder
mask or silk screen..and it is at even lower prices..$40 lot charge
plus 60 cents per square inch..

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-26 by Steve

A reminder from the moderator - check the Links section of the site.
And add good links like this to it! I just added this one myself, but
I see a lot more good links go by on the list, never to be seen again.

Steve

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "James Stevens" <jstevens@c...>
wrote:

> An even better option is barebonespcb.com - no affiliation, just a

happy customer.

>
> Only a $25 lot charge and 50 cents per square inch. Minimum order

of only 1 piece - perfect when you want to try something out and 2 is
1 pcb too many. Also, they ship the next day.

Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-27 by mikezcnc

100sqinx$0.50+$25= $75 comparing to the other guys. Indeed, this is a
much better fab house and one doesn't need a legal department to talk
to them. They can go to 6 mils which is also better
Their pricing is clear and web site is great. I am impressed by their
business practices. It appears that htey created that link for
people like me who appreciate simplicity. Their main link
is:http://www.4pcb.com/services.htm I alos noticed that they have
sales people in plenty of states. Mike

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "James Stevens" <jstevens@c...>
wrote:

> An even better option is barebonespcb.com - no affiliation, just a

happy customer.

>
> Only a $25 lot charge and 50 cents per square inch. Minimum order

of only 1 piece - perfect when you want to try something out and 2 is
1 pcb too many. Also, they ship the next day.

>
> I've been very pleased with the boards I received from them. Same

specs as below - no mask or screen.

>
> James
>
>
>
> Also check out their "2layer BARE pcb", basically PCBs with no

solder

> mask or silk screen..and it is at even lower prices..$40 lot charge
> plus 60 cents per square inch..
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-27 by Ron Amundson

I tried them Advanced PCB (www.4pcb.com and www.barebonespcb.com ) years
ago, and got so frustrated I gave up. I talked to some friends in Boulder
about them too, and they did not have nice things to say about customer
service either, but they did say that when you finally get a board, it is
well done.

Back then, they had great deals too, but everytime you needed something in a
hurry, inevitably, your gerber would be corrupted, your email would be lost,
your phone call never got recorded, and on and on. From an outsiders
viewpoint, it almost appeared they managed shop floor loading by delay
tactics. I don't think I ever got a successful board processed from them.
Yet the same gerber files sent to other vendors were just fine.

On a positive note, my sw guy has had good success with advanced pcb a year
ago. He was so excited with the pricing, we tried again. After 3 days of
messing around with down servers, lost emails, and headaches, my pcb
designer gave up, and payed another firm twice as much. Granted, their
barebonespcb website is new, they may have fixed a lot of internal problems.
I sure hope so.... as their prices are great, and the quality is pretty good
per others I've talked too.

Now as far as the outfit in Canada, AP Circuits. One client got boards in 72
hours including passage through customs. From what I've been able to gather,
AP Circuits really has a handle on all phases of the business, but their
prices are a little higher. I guess in this case, one gets what they pay
for. For a home project, Advanced PCB is probably a good choice. For a time
critical development project, DIY, or even AP Circuits seems a better
solution.

Ron

RE: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-27 by Scott Thompson

I used them but had made the mistake of putting text on the copper layer, which I expected to be flipped around and wasn't because they said that normally text should be right-reading. Since it was a bare-bones PCB, I knew that there wouldn't be any silkscreen which is why I placed the text in the first place--knowing that it would be right-reading if you looked at the component side of the board. Well, it cost me a few bucks but my second time around with them worked out fine when I got the hang of submitting the proper artwork.

All in all, I plan on using these guys again and again for my double-sided bare-bones PCB work because I just don't dare make double-sided boards at home.

Peace,
Scotty

----- Original Message -----
From: mikezcnc
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 1/26/04 8:46:55 PM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

100sqinx$0.50+$25= $75 comparing to the other guys. Indeed, this is a
much better fab house and one doesn't need a legal department to talk
to them. They can go to 6 mils which is also better
Their pricing is clear and web site is great. I am impressed by their
business practices. It appears that htey created that link for
people like me who appreciate simplicity. Their main link
is:http://www.4pcb.com/services.htm I alos noticed that they have
sales people in plenty of states. Mike

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "James Stevens" <jstevens@c...>
wrote:
> An even better option is barebonespcb.com - no affiliation, just a
happy customer.
>
> Only a $25 lot charge and 50 cents per square inch. Minimum order
of only 1 piece - perfect when you want to try something out and 2 is
1 pcb too many. Also, they ship the next day.
>
> I've been very pleased with the boards I received from them. Same
specs as below - no mask or screen.
>
> James
>
>
>
> Also check out their "2layer BARE pcb", basically PCBs with no
solder
> mask or silk screen..and it is at even lower prices..$40 lot charge
> plus 60 cents per square inch..
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-27 by Ted Inoue

Just a counterpoint. I've used those guys a couple times for small
prototype runs and have had great interactions with them. I submit
my files, they get back very quickly, provided helpful tips and got
my boards turned around faster than promised.

They could very well have had problems years ago, but for the last
two years, they've been excellent.
Also, their freeDFM service was very useful to help prevent stupid
screwups. Not perfect but once I tweaked things, it worked great.

I have no financial involvement with them other than being a very
happy customer.

-Ted

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Ron Amundson"
<ron_amundson@h...> wrote:

> I tried them Advanced PCB (www.4pcb.com and www.barebonespcb.com )

years

> ago, and got so frustrated I gave up....

RE: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-27 by ron amundson

>Also, their freeDFM service was very useful to help prevent stupid
>screwups. Not perfect but once I tweaked things, it worked great.

I tried it out, but it said everything was fine. What were the errors in
picked up on? It would be good to hear some real reports of how effective it
is.

I'm glad they are doing better, like many companies, all go through growing
pains as they expand, and mistakes do happen.

Ron

_________________________________________________________________
Scope out the new MSN Plus Internet Software � optimizes dial-up to the max!
http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us&page=byoa/plus&ST=1

RE: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-28 by Scott Thompson

I've had mixed results with the FreeDFM service. I've submitted the exact
same file multiple times and one time it will catch a trace too close to a
pad, for example, and the next time it says that everything is fine with my
circuit.

I don't trust the FreeDFM service, but use it to try and locate big errors.

Best,
Scotty

> [Original Message]
> From: ron amundson <ron_amundson@...>
> To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: 1/27/04 3:41:11 PM
> Subject: RE: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes
>
> >Also, their freeDFM service was very useful to help prevent stupid
> >screwups. Not perfect but once I tweaked things, it worked great.
>
> I tried it out, but it said everything was fine. What were the errors in
> picked up on? It would be good to hear some real reports of how effective

> is.
>
> I'm glad they are doing better, like many companies, all go through

growing

> pains as they expand, and mistakes do happen.
>
> Ron
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Scope out the new MSN Plus Internet Software � optimizes dial-up to the

max!

> http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us&page=byoa/plus&ST=1
>
>
> Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Bookmarks and files:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> Homebrew_PCBs-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

2004-01-28 by Leon Heller

----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Thompson" <electronguy@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 1:07 AM
Subject: RE: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Newbie question - Cheap Prototypes

> I've had mixed results with the FreeDFM service. I've submitted the exact
> same file multiple times and one time it will catch a trace too close to a
> pad, for example, and the next time it says that everything is fine with
my
> circuit.
>
> I don't trust the FreeDFM service, but use it to try and locate big
errors.

The DRC facility built-in to Pulsonix, the design software I use, works very
well. The free demo of Gerb Tool from Wise is quite good, now that they have
removed a bug that was giving errors on one of my boards.

Leon
--
Leon Heller, G1HSM
Email: aqzf13@...
My low-cost Philips LPC210x ARM development system:
http://www.geocities.com/leon_heller/lpc2104.html

Re: Design rule check software..

2004-01-28 by Dave Mucha

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Scott Thompson"
<electronguy@e...> wrote:

> I've had mixed results with the FreeDFM service. I've submitted

the exact

> same file multiple times and one time it will catch a trace too

close to a

> pad, for example, and the next time it says that everything is fine

with my

> circuit.
>
> I don't trust the FreeDFM service, but use it to try and locate big

errors.

>
> Best,
> Scotty

Everybody - stay in your seats... I'm hi-jacking this thread...

If we loosly group this free (or for fee) software type into general
categories of say,

"will find obvious and stupid mistakes"

"will often find many mistakes"

"will find most mistakes"

"nothing gets past this software"

My questions are about what do you use ? and what pitfalls do you
see with it ?

Also, if you know of a package other than what is listed, can you
give us the link ?

I added a folder in the links area for 'design rule check software'

Dave