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Ordering from china is inexpensive but it takes time. I can send a pdf to a local printing house in the evening, get the negatives around the noon while the PCB

Ordering from china is inexpensive but it takes time. I can send a pdf to a local printing house in the evening, get the negatives around the noon while the PCB is drilled. Then etch and mask it in about 2 hours and solder all the vias in next 3 or 4. (I wasn't able to get reliable plating.) Overall one day to have a prototype ready.

syedkarim 6y ago
Where are you getting this kind of turnaround? Is this in the US? I purchase a couple dozen protoboards a year and am constantly looking for US board houses, but they all have lot charges of at least $500 and take a couple days just to get a quote back.
- HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
  I use OSHPark for prototyping. I don't know where they send the boards, but they hit a reasonable compromise between cheap & fast: $5/sq inch for 3 boards. The quoting is immediate on their website. I usually have boards back in a week after ordering from OSH Park. For production quantities, I use JLCPcb (China) with Airborne for shipping (so it doesn't take a month to get here). Their quality is very good. Pay the extra $20 and get a stencil to make paste application easy. It's worth it. I think my last order of 50 board roughly 2.5x3.5" with a metal stencil came to about $70 total with an additional $30 for 3-5 day shipping via Airborne.
- uuidgen 6y ago
  In Poland I can get a board or 3 in a week but it will be expensive (about $150-$200 for a small one), normal, cheap delivery time is about 3 weeks. China is even cheaper but takes 4-8 weeks. That's why I made a lot of boards myself as described in my comment - I get film exposed at professional house that does it for offset printing, and this is pretty fast and cheap (about $3-$4). I pick it up myself. The rest is done with photosensitive 3M dry film and Chinese wet soldermask. Drilling on DIY CNC.
leoedin 6y ago
If you pay for fast delivery, a Chinese board can be in your hands within a week of ordering. Sure, it's not instant, but you can do something else in the mean time.
- Brian_K_White 6y ago
  What I usually do in the mean time is.... revise the board. Sometimes I get 4 revisions in the pipeline where 3 versions I haven't even received yet are already obsolete and go right from the mailbox to the trash.

syedkarim 6y ago

Where are you getting this kind of turnaround? Is this in the US? I purchase a couple dozen protoboards a year and am constantly looking for US board houses, but they all have lot charges of at least $500 and take a couple days just to get a quote back.

HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
I use OSHPark for prototyping. I don't know where they send the boards, but they hit a reasonable compromise between cheap & fast: $5/sq inch for 3 boards. The quoting is immediate on their website. I usually have boards back in a week after ordering from OSH Park. For production quantities, I use JLCPcb (China) with Airborne for shipping (so it doesn't take a month to get here). Their quality is very good. Pay the extra $20 and get a stencil to make paste application easy. It's worth it. I think my last order of 50 board roughly 2.5x3.5" with a metal stencil came to about $70 total with an additional $30 for 3-5 day shipping via Airborne.
uuidgen 6y ago
In Poland I can get a board or 3 in a week but it will be expensive (about $150-$200 for a small one), normal, cheap delivery time is about 3 weeks. China is even cheaper but takes 4-8 weeks. That's why I made a lot of boards myself as described in my comment - I get film exposed at professional house that does it for offset printing, and this is pretty fast and cheap (about $3-$4). I pick it up myself. The rest is done with photosensitive 3M dry film and Chinese wet soldermask. Drilling on DIY CNC.

leoedin 6y ago

If you pay for fast delivery, a Chinese board can be in your hands within a week of ordering. Sure, it's not instant, but you can do something else in the mean time.

Brian_K_White 6y ago
What I usually do in the mean time is.... revise the board. Sometimes I get 4 revisions in the pipeline where 3 versions I haven't even received yet are already obsolete and go right from the mailbox to the trash.