Home › Forums › Electronic Discussions

Where to have custom printed circuit boards made...

Wed, 06/09/2010 - 21:09 — N6WN - Dan

Consider making them yourself... Copper plated boards, developer, mask etc....or see:

http://www.pcbexpress.com/

http://www.expresspcb.com/

http://landpatterns.ipc.org/default.asp

‹ Reference information ESPN Uses iPads for live broadcasts ›
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 13:03 — AF6IF Dmitri

... and how to make those boards

If someone wants to make a PCB for a project but isn't sure where to begin, I may be able to help. These days I usually order my PCBs from either Sierra Proto Express, or from Advanced Circuits. They have good prices on boards up to 4 layers, and if your project calls for it they can do many more layers. In my experience it is worth to pay $150-200 for several professionally made boards. Most importantly these boards will have plated holes, which is not very common if you make a board in your kitchen.

Some PCB houses offer their own layout packages, but IMO they are locking you and your design into their services. I use everything from free Eagle (up to 2 layers) to commercial Eagle (more layers) to a very much commercial PADS. Altium/Protel are marked in my book as "run away and don't look back."