Prototype boards and small runs.

[flanagan0718]

Hey all,
So I had the pleasure of ordering a set of proto boards from OSHpark recently. Still love them and they do offer a fantastic and quick service. I am wondering if any of you order from OSHpark still for the 3 board proto set. Is there another fab house that you use for this? Thanks everyone!
-Mike-


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[jimilee]

I do not, I use JLCPCB. Way cheaper.


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[flanagan0718]

I do not, I use JLCPCB. Way cheaper.


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What is their turnaround time like? Are they USA based? Not that it really matters to me.


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[jimilee]

They are not US based, they usually have them ready in about a week. Shipping is what takes a little bit of time. Maybe another week or so, depending on your shipping preference.  The quality is great, I don't remember if Brian switched to them, I know Robert at pedalpcb does.


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[madbean]

I use JLCPCB. For prototypes, you can generally get 5 boards for $2 (for the first one) then it's a few dollars more for every subsequent one. This is provided they are under 100mmx100m, which cover all 1590B and most 1590BB projects. 4-layer is more.

Shipping is the bear. I pay for DHL 3-day service. But, it won't be too bad if you don't have a lot of boards to order - it goes purely by weight. The last order I did was something like $120 for shipping, but that was like 500 PCBs.

[derevaun]

I still use OSH Park for the odd board. Their integration with Eagle is nice, and I like the After Dark boards. Plus, they're nearby, so it's fast once the board is done.

Paying by board area often led to me trying to make a layout too compact, so it's refreshing to be able to spread out and just make the board fit the end-use instead.

I don't fab a lot of boards, and I don't need 5 any more than I need 3, so I think OSH Park still makes sense. Also, having 3 of a mistake is roughly 0.6 times the pain of having 5.

All that said, I've used JLC the last couple times and it's probably the better choice overall. Except, After Dark 

[flanagan0718]

It looks like I will give JLC a try. I've heard good things but haven't tried them. I used to use elecrow which were great for larger runs but it took for ever to show up. This last time I used OSHpark but it seemed expensive and took longer than I remember.

It's also been a bit since I had to get anything from a fab house. Any tips for using JLC? Does it interstate better with different software?


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[jessenator]

It's also been a bit since I had to get anything from a fab house. Any tips for using JLC? Does it interstate better with different software?

I have yet to try anything but Eagle, but just something I've noticed with it is it doesn't use every layer.

I recently converted some footprints (the ones I use the most) to have the value print on the top layer, and the names on the bottom—thanks to KR Sound for the inspiration. The only trouble was that JLC doesn't use Eagle's tValues layer at all (at least that's where Eagle 9.x puts >VALUE variables, it seems). It was a simple fix to just select everything there, and move it to tPlace layer which did work.

Clearly JLC favors refDes over val. Brian, you're vindicated 

The nice thing about JLC is their real-time upload and preview, so that wasn't a costly mistake. It's super easy to manage everything you upload before you put in an order, and you can keep files for later (and not order them). So it's very handy to basically check your work before you actually order it. Once you have an account, while signed in, you can use their gerber viewer to better inspect everything.

They must have a streamlined system (using fewer bits of CAM data?) or something, because I don't know why US based fabs don't have something similar. It's incredibly nice, as I've said.

Anyhow, that's about as much as I'm familiar with. Haven't tried kicad or diptrace, etc.

Also found an Eagle DRC file specifically for JLC which nets a few nice things like minimum distance to board boarders and a few other things. I know Eagle is EOL, but I may or may not have found a way around that. Who's to say?

I might try a dirt simple board in kicad just to see what happens.

[Passinwind]

Hey all,
So I had the pleasure of ordering a set of proto boards from OSHpark recently. Still love them and they do offer a fantastic and quick service. I am wondering if any of you order from OSHpark still for the 3 board proto set. Is there another fab house that you use for this? Thanks everyone!
-Mike-


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I use Oshpark for little daughtercards a lot, to me that's their sweet spot. Digikey's DKred service is comparable as long as you don't need slotted pad holes. IME both withstand multiple rework cycles a bit better than the standard JLCPCB boards, which IME are just fine otherwise. DKred tend to throw in a bonus board or two routinely, but my most recent order was for four boards and I actually received nine.