3 ms·

so 100x100mm pcb, 2 layers, x5, manufacturing costs - £1.56 12-16 business day delivery - £4.18 7-9 days - £9.25 4-6 dhl standard - £15.58 I think 30pcs protob

by rytis 6y ago

so 100x100mm pcb, 2 layers, x5, manufacturing costs - £1.56 12-16 business day delivery - £4.18 7-9 days - £9.25 4-6 dhl standard - £15.58 I think 30pcs protoboard for £9.90 with next day delivery from amazon still beats the custom made pcbs. And I don't need to spend time making sure my pcb design is 100% bug free... Again, speaking from the hobbyist point of view.

foldr 6y ago
I’m also speaking from the hobbyist point of view. There’s obviously nothing wrong with using protoboard if it works for you. Here’s why I don’t. First, virtually none of the components I want to use are available in DIP packages. E.g., there are many great, very cheap, ARM Cortex microcontrollers that just don’t come in DIP packages. Second, I have fewer problems with mistakes when I use PCBs. The EDA software checks that my board matches my schematic, so I only have to worry about errors in my schematic. And it’s not that difficult to make small corrections to a PCB with bodge wires if one or two connections are wrong. I’ve certainly made PCBs with errors, but I’ve never made one with so many errors that it was entirely unusable. Third, the end result is a nice, neat, durable PCB, rather than an ugly tangle of wires. And other people can easily make one using your gerbers. Fourth, you can use switching regulators and other layout-sensitive components. For these reasons, I’d encourage any hobbyist to take advantage of the incredible service provided by Chinese PCB fabs. You can do so much more with a custom PCB than you can with protoboard.
- JAlexoid 6y ago
  To be fair - you're already in advanced stages, when you're looking into ARM MCUs. PIC10F is $0.55 at Mouser. You can make a programmer for it with an USB-RS232 cable and few other cheap components. That is what I call beginner cheap. Even assembler for it is dead simple.
  - foldr 6y ago
    Even for PIC and Atmel, you have much more choice if you're ok with QFN and TSOP packages. The ARM microcontrollers aren't actually so much harder to use than the Atmel ones. I remember thinking that it was going to be much harder the first time I tried it, but if you stick with one of the popular ranges (e.g. STM), then the dev tools are good and there's lots of help available online.
  - numpad0 6y ago
    Don’t you need 12V VPP/MCLR line for PIC?
    - JAlexoid 6y ago
      I don't remember. Unused them in automotive applications, so they might need them.

by rytis 6y ago

foldr 6y ago

I’m also speaking from the hobbyist point of view. There’s obviously nothing wrong with using protoboard if it works for you. Here’s why I don’t. First, virtually none of the components I want to use are available in DIP packages. E.g., there are many great, very cheap, ARM Cortex microcontrollers that just don’t come in DIP packages. Second, I have fewer problems with mistakes when I use PCBs. The EDA software checks that my board matches my schematic, so I only have to worry about errors in my schematic. And it’s not that difficult to make small corrections to a PCB with bodge wires if one or two connections are wrong. I’ve certainly made PCBs with errors, but I’ve never made one with so many errors that it was entirely unusable. Third, the end result is a nice, neat, durable PCB, rather than an ugly tangle of wires. And other people can easily make one using your gerbers. Fourth, you can use switching regulators and other layout-sensitive components. For these reasons, I’d encourage any hobbyist to take advantage of the incredible service provided by Chinese PCB fabs. You can do so much more with a custom PCB than you can with protoboard.

JAlexoid 6y ago
To be fair - you're already in advanced stages, when you're looking into ARM MCUs. PIC10F is $0.55 at Mouser. You can make a programmer for it with an USB-RS232 cable and few other cheap components. That is what I call beginner cheap. Even assembler for it is dead simple.
- foldr 6y ago
  Even for PIC and Atmel, you have much more choice if you're ok with QFN and TSOP packages. The ARM microcontrollers aren't actually so much harder to use than the Atmel ones. I remember thinking that it was going to be much harder the first time I tried it, but if you stick with one of the popular ranges (e.g. STM), then the dev tools are good and there's lots of help available online.
- numpad0 6y ago
  Don’t you need 12V VPP/MCLR line for PIC?
  - JAlexoid 6y ago
    I don't remember. Unused them in automotive applications, so they might need them.