4 ms·

I know of no super-fast cheap fabrication option. Turn-around for any of the low-cost/two layer fabs is >2 weeks. That’s significant if it’s a hobby and you wa

by new299 7y ago

I know of no super-fast cheap fabrication option. Turn-around for any of the low-cost/two layer fabs is >2 weeks. That’s significant if it’s a hobby and you want to do a project in a weekend, or iterate over a design quickly.

justwalt 7y ago
I’ve never used JLCPCB for anything too intense, but turnaround has always been 5 days on the high end in my experience. Is it different if you require more layers or more sophistication?
- zaarn 7y ago
  JLCPCB always requires atleast two weeks for shipping in my experience. And I'd rather test out 2-3 designs on a single day if possible, especially iterative designs. That isn't possible without DIY PCB etching.
  - sokoloff 7y ago
    I typically get orders from JLCPCB in 6 or 7 calendar days from the time of submission, using DHL for shipping to the east coast of the US.
    - zaarn 7y ago
      yeah, but i'm not on the east coast of the US but in Europe. Either way, even a 2 day turnaround would be too much for iterative prototyping or even testing out some ideas.
weaksauce 7y ago
the board I did I got in less than a week. maybe it was an one off event but it was pretty fast... i want to say it was 3 or 4 days.
bacon_waffle 7y ago
I guess it's down to what qualifies as "fast" and "cheap" - I tend to use dirtypcbs, mainly out of habit, and they're usually well within 2 weeks to my door in New Zealand via DHL shipping. OSH Park is in the US and claims under 12 days to ship with their standard option, their 5 business day option doesn't look too expensive. There are probably other competitive options available. For my hobby stuff, I feel like even if the board fabrication were instantaneous it wouldn't affect my project start-to-finish time very much. The time designing boards, making mechanical bits, and developing software are dominant, and my hobby time comes in little bursts, often several days apart. It would also take me longer to design a board for home manufacture and to do the assembly, since my hypothetical home fab won't produce reference designators, solder mask, nor vias. Anyway, I'm not meaning to talk down at folks making their own PCBs, but more wondering if there's some missing information or niche there.
the-dude 7y ago
Eurocircuits, 3 working days, 100x80mm, € 55 edit : 2 working days, € 137
abrugsch 7y ago
while still not "in a weekend" I've had cheap service PCB's from AllPCB in under a week order to door. it does help to have the "ready for shipping" point not fall on a weekend though. I think my record was 5 days from submitting my gerbers to them hitting my doorstep but i suppose everything aligned exactly though (and needless to say, that was using fast shipping like DHL. Allpcb aren't crazy cheap like they were though - for a while it was $5 for 10x prototype boards (under 100mm^2 area) with free DHL. But they've been gradually been increasing their prices and they don't work out as competitice as the other main prototyping offerings)

by new299 7y ago

justwalt 7y ago

I’ve never used JLCPCB for anything too intense, but turnaround has always been 5 days on the high end in my experience. Is it different if you require more layers or more sophistication?

zaarn 7y ago
JLCPCB always requires atleast two weeks for shipping in my experience. And I'd rather test out 2-3 designs on a single day if possible, especially iterative designs. That isn't possible without DIY PCB etching.
- sokoloff 7y ago
  I typically get orders from JLCPCB in 6 or 7 calendar days from the time of submission, using DHL for shipping to the east coast of the US.
  - zaarn 7y ago
    yeah, but i'm not on the east coast of the US but in Europe. Either way, even a 2 day turnaround would be too much for iterative prototyping or even testing out some ideas.

weaksauce 7y ago

the board I did I got in less than a week. maybe it was an one off event but it was pretty fast... i want to say it was 3 or 4 days.

bacon_waffle 7y ago

I guess it's down to what qualifies as "fast" and "cheap" - I tend to use dirtypcbs, mainly out of habit, and they're usually well within 2 weeks to my door in New Zealand via DHL shipping. OSH Park is in the US and claims under 12 days to ship with their standard option, their 5 business day option doesn't look too expensive. There are probably other competitive options available. For my hobby stuff, I feel like even if the board fabrication were instantaneous it wouldn't affect my project start-to-finish time very much. The time designing boards, making mechanical bits, and developing software are dominant, and my hobby time comes in little bursts, often several days apart. It would also take me longer to design a board for home manufacture and to do the assembly, since my hypothetical home fab won't produce reference designators, solder mask, nor vias. Anyway, I'm not meaning to talk down at folks making their own PCBs, but more wondering if there's some missing information or niche there.

the-dude 7y ago

Eurocircuits, 3 working days, 100x80mm, € 55 edit : 2 working days, € 137

abrugsch 7y ago

while still not "in a weekend" I've had cheap service PCB's from AllPCB in under a week order to door. it does help to have the "ready for shipping" point not fall on a weekend though. I think my record was 5 days from submitting my gerbers to them hitting my doorstep but i suppose everything aligned exactly though (and needless to say, that was using fast shipping like DHL. Allpcb aren't crazy cheap like they were though - for a while it was $5 for 10x prototype boards (under 100mm^2 area) with free DHL. But they've been gradually been increasing their prices and they don't work out as competitice as the other main prototyping offerings)