Prototype PCB 2

[OldFredBear]

Hello all,

I am in the middle of designing a circuit and am starting to look for a decent shop to run me some proto pcb boards (~2-10). The board will be no bigger than 3x3" and 2 layers.

Has anyone had good luck? Lots of online places....

Regards,
OFB

 

[SteveSmith]

We have had good 2 and 4 layer boards from Sierra and PCB Fab Express.

http://www.protoexpress.com/

http://www.pcbfabexpress.com/

Steve Smith, C.I.D.
Product Engineer
Staco Energy Products Co.

http://www.stacoenergy.com

 

[itsmoked]

I use this guy a lot. No complaints.

http://www.pcb4u.com/

I have also used

http://www.4pcb.com

over 20 times without a single problem but would say I don't like dealing with them.

 

[OldFredBear]

Thanks for the quick replies and opinions, appreciated. Keep them coming if any other experiences.

OFB

 

[itsmoked]

Cutting to the chase... Any of the 4 above are all you need if you want good boards on time. End of story!

However.... A couple of *prototype boards* is a different story.

All board places constantly run "specials" that are really cheap. They are essentially trolling for the first shot at some future product. It's their 'striking gold' scenario. They all see a prototype come in then a month later and order for 100pcs then two months later and order for 1000pcs that starts repeating every 2 months. JACKPOT! They realize that if they get the prototype there is a strong chance that when push comes to shove the customer knows their board works and just starts pushing the button. But I digress.

Just look at every site mentioned above and all the other sites, (til you get sick of it), until you find the one with the best prototype offer that works for you. Go with it.

If price is not an issue pick one of the 4 above and go with it. They are probably the 4 main shops in the USA.

 

[OldFredBear]

Thanks guys/gals.

OFB

 

[hrc]

If you dont need silk screen, solder mask, etc

http://www.barebonespcb.com

bout as cheap as I've seen em.

 

[zappedagain]

This is a great list...

When I'm in a real hurry I go with AP Circuits (

http://apcircuits.com/)

for quick prototypes (submit job Tuesday, it ships Wednesday and shows up Thursday morning; 2 layer, no soldermask unless you move to their 'plus' process). They are in Vancouver, Canada and always got things to me in the USA in a snap.

And I always liked that their contact e-mail was staffatbar@apcircuits.com until they went politically correct.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

If you only need 1 proto to play with and don't need soldermask, silkscreen, etc.,

http://www.PCBpool.com

seems to have attractive pricing. An example they give is 2-sided about 4" x 5" for <$25. Problem is, for fine pitch stuff, a soldermask is almost a necessity, and that adds another $25-$30 to the price.

Dan
Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com