OSH Park - PCB Fab

[Chi_Boy]

So I tried OSH Park for the first time.  If I knew having boards made was that easy, I never would have fooled with etching.

Of course, I don't have the boards back yet, so I may sing a different tune later.

Now, I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but is OSH Park also good for short / medium runs?   I read about the 150sq inch thing, but minimum order is 1500 square inches ("as long as each is ordered in a multiple of 10 boards").  I'm just not clear if that would cost $150 or $1500. 

Regardless, who do you guys use to make boards for group buys and that sort of "production"?

Thanks,
George

[jkokura]

It's $150, and that only works in batches of 10, so a 1.5 square inch board would get you 100 copies for $150.

Jacob

[Chi_Boy]

The "batches of 10" part is screwing me up.  I think I'm understanding though.

Say my board is 10 square inches exactly.   I would have to order 20 boards (2 batches of 10) to meet the 150 sq-in minimum.  Those boards would cost $1 per sq-in, or $200 total for 20 boards.

The normal pricing is $5 per sq-in for 3 copies, so that equates to $1.66 per sq-in of board.  The other deal is $1 per sq-in, so you save $0.66 per sq-in by ordering in quantity.

Makes me wonder more what other services are out there.

[jkokura]

There are other services, and in some cases they're a better deal. However, if you're prototyping, chances are high that you don't NEED more than 10 copies of something because there's a risk that it won't work as anticipated. So, if you KNOW something works, there are better services depending on your need.

Really, the question is - how many do you want and for what purpose?

Jacob

[Chi_Boy]

The only purpose would be to sell a few copies here.  Just to make use of all the effort to make a nice board.  I mean, it can take several evenings of fiddling and polishing to come up with a nice board.  Seems like a waste of time to only make 1 copy for myself.   

After doing some more reading, it sounds like $1/sq-in is actually pretty good considering the reported high quality from OSH Park.   I don't plan to open a business selling PCB's, so considering the minimal effort required to have a board fabbed and the benefits, OSH Park is looking like a nice option.   

[jkokura]

As a guy who's doing it, I recommend one of two things for you...

1. Get the 3 copy run from Oshpark, and sell the two copies you don't need. You can easily recoup ALL the cost from people who are willing to try. Try recruiting BEFORE you order if you'd like. Because of the 150 square inch minimum for the 10+ copies, it makes it a little challenging.

2. Get a 10 copy run from Seeed Studio or iTead or other such place. Usually it's cheaper per PCB. Going this route, you'll end up with more copies, so be sure that either they will sell, or you can sell a few for the cost of ordering all of them.

Keep in mind that it's MUCH easier and MUCH faster to get PCBs from Oshpark, especially in the states. Free shipping, fairly quick turn around (for PCBs) and reasonable rates from a place that only needs you to upload a .brd file - bonehead simple to make an order in minutes. Other places require gerbers, and more time, take longer to get you PCBs in your hands, and often cost for shipping.

Jacob

[Chi_Boy]

Jacob,

Thanks for your help.  I have some more reading to do, but his was exactly what I was looking for.

George

[bajaguy]

OSH park boards are the bees knees! I just got my first order through, and the turn around time on them was way shorter than I expected. It's also nice that Sunstone is local

Bob

[madbean]

OSH has really got their shit together. The efficiency is amazing...turn-around times seem a bit quicker now than they were a year or so ago. madbeanpedals would not have nearly as many projects if it were not for cheap prototyping!!

[DuctTapeRiot]

OSH boards are also lead free, and are ENIG (gold plated) finished.  And are actually manufactured in the US

[bajaguy]

Just got my relay board protos back yesterday, and was impressed as always. 10 days from eagle files to boards in hand.

I wish the government could be that efficient

Bob

[pk1802]

Do you guys know of any board fab house where I could just get one prototype board? Even if OSH Park is a better deal for 3 boards, I would feel like I am wasting boards if the project doesn't end up working out on the first go.

[irmcdermott]

If you get the three and it works, offer to sell the other two and get your money back?

[pickdropper]

Do you guys know of any board fab house where I could just get one prototype board? Even if OSH Park is a better deal for 3 boards, I would feel like I am wasting boards if the project doesn't end up working out on the first go.

There are plenty of places out there that will do a single prototype board, but generally you will pay more for that one board than you will pay for 3 boards from OSH Park.  Part of what has made places like Batch PCB and OSH Park successful is that prototyping through them is so much cheaper than through most standard board houses.

[pk1802]

Do you guys know of any board fab house where I could just get one prototype board? Even if OSH Park is a better deal for 3 boards, I would feel like I am wasting boards if the project doesn't end up working out on the first go.

There are plenty of places out there that will do a single prototype board, but generally you will pay more for that one board than you will pay for 3 boards from OSH Park.  Part of what has made places like Batch PCB and OSH Park successful is that prototyping through them is so much cheaper than through most standard board houses.

You guys are probably right. Hopefully my boards would be good enough to offload to anyone interested.