5 ms·

Many PCB services offer SMD assembly as well, though the pricing is quite high for prototypes. PCBWay e.g. quotes over 300 USD for a single board with 2400 part

Many PCB services offer SMD assembly as well, though the pricing is quite high for prototypes. PCBWay e.g. quotes over 300 USD for a single board with 2400 parts, though that price goes down quickly when ordering more (e.g. when ordering 50 they will only charge 20 USD per board).

mhb 5y ago
JLC offers SMD assembly and it's cheap. But maybe they didn't stock the LEDs he wanted to use.
- stavros 5y ago
  Do you know of a tutorial on how to do assembly with KiCAD/JLCPCB? I've designed a few PCBs and tried to do assembly once, but IIRC my biggest problem was figuring out which parts they had that I could use and how to send them the info.
  - duped 5y ago
    Their parts library is available for download and search https://jlcpcb.com/parts https://jlcpcb.com/parts They have instructions on how to generate the BOM and placement files as CSV too https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bom-and-centroid-file-from-kicad https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bo...
    - stavros 5y ago
      Ah, I'll try again, thanks!
  - bb88 5y ago
    Here's one from JLCPCB themselves. https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bom-and-centroid-file-from-kicad https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bo... I did it for a board and it turned out pretty good. Make sure there's a pin 1 marker on your footprints so that in the preview (which they show in the submission process) you can make sure the parts are all aligned (and they will double check as well). The parts are here: https://jlcpcb.com/parts https://jlcpcb.com/parts Basic parts are free to use at just the assembly cost. Extended parts add an extra $3 processing per bom item (not per part). Basically as far as I can tell their parts are the same as LCSC.com. Also, Phil's lab has a long video on assembly from start to finish from Kicad to JLCPCB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5phi3nT8OU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5phi3nT8OU
    - stavros 5y ago
      Fantastic, thanks for that! Especially the video will be a big help, and if I never solder a 8050 resistor again it'll be too soon.
      - mhb 5y ago
        Do you use a plumbing torch for soldering those 8050 resistors?
        stavros 5y ago
        I have to, and my board has to be huge to boot. It's a royal pain, these 1m by 3m PCBs have got to end.
    - stavros 5y ago
      For anyone who stumbles across this later, here's a KiBot project file that will automatically export the JLCPCB-compatible BOM/CPL file: https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.kibot.yaml https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.k... It does this from a field on each part in the schematic called "JLC" containing the part number. The only thing I'm unsure of is whether the "footprint" column needs to be edited manually later, though.
      - bb88 5y ago
        When I did it, the rotations were weird for me. I was thinking CW and they were CCW I think. Simple to fix. Just keep uploading the CPL till it looks right.
        stavros 5y ago
        Ah, I didn't realize that's what that did, but they looked right with the KiBot config above. I'll double check though, thanks! EDIT: Yep, the config above produces parts the right way.
alana314 5y ago
Is there anyone here that would assemble something like this for cheaper? I don't have a reflow station but am making something similar and would pay someone to do a prototype (hopefully less than $2400). Based in Los Angeles.

mhb 5y ago

JLC offers SMD assembly and it's cheap. But maybe they didn't stock the LEDs he wanted to use.

stavros 5y ago
Do you know of a tutorial on how to do assembly with KiCAD/JLCPCB? I've designed a few PCBs and tried to do assembly once, but IIRC my biggest problem was figuring out which parts they had that I could use and how to send them the info.
- duped 5y ago
  Their parts library is available for download and search https://jlcpcb.com/parts https://jlcpcb.com/parts They have instructions on how to generate the BOM and placement files as CSV too https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bom-and-centroid-file-from-kicad https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bo...
  - stavros 5y ago
    Ah, I'll try again, thanks!
- bb88 5y ago
  Here's one from JLCPCB themselves. https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bom-and-centroid-file-from-kicad https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/84-how-to-generate-the-bo... I did it for a board and it turned out pretty good. Make sure there's a pin 1 marker on your footprints so that in the preview (which they show in the submission process) you can make sure the parts are all aligned (and they will double check as well). The parts are here: https://jlcpcb.com/parts https://jlcpcb.com/parts Basic parts are free to use at just the assembly cost. Extended parts add an extra $3 processing per bom item (not per part). Basically as far as I can tell their parts are the same as LCSC.com. Also, Phil's lab has a long video on assembly from start to finish from Kicad to JLCPCB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5phi3nT8OU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5phi3nT8OU
  - stavros 5y ago
    Fantastic, thanks for that! Especially the video will be a big help, and if I never solder a 8050 resistor again it'll be too soon.
    - mhb 5y ago
      Do you use a plumbing torch for soldering those 8050 resistors?
      - stavros 5y ago
        I have to, and my board has to be huge to boot. It's a royal pain, these 1m by 3m PCBs have got to end.
  - stavros 5y ago
    For anyone who stumbles across this later, here's a KiBot project file that will automatically export the JLCPCB-compatible BOM/CPL file: https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.kibot.yaml https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.k... It does this from a field on each part in the schematic called "JLC" containing the part number. The only thing I'm unsure of is whether the "footprint" column needs to be edited manually later, though.
    - bb88 5y ago
      When I did it, the rotations were weird for me. I was thinking CW and they were CCW I think. Simple to fix. Just keep uploading the CPL till it looks right.
      - stavros 5y ago
        Ah, I didn't realize that's what that did, but they looked right with the KiBot config above. I'll double check though, thanks! EDIT: Yep, the config above produces parts the right way.

alana314 5y ago

Is there anyone here that would assemble something like this for cheaper? I don't have a reflow station but am making something similar and would pay someone to do a prototype (hopefully less than $2400). Based in Los Angeles.