PCB manufacturers?

[JingleJoe]

I'm sure this has been talked about before but I can't seem to locate the thread.
Where do people get thier PCBs made? I know one can make one's own PCB with toner transfer methods however I don't have enough money to buy a laser printer which acctually works for that (never buy brother brand laser printers).

[roglok]

I'm building most stuff on stripboard, but I had some PCBs made by this small company here in Germany:

http://platinenbelichter.de/

They are nice people and I never had any problems with the quality of their PCBs. They also do the drilling for you at €0.20 per 10 holes. I don't know if they are exactly cheap, but it's all handmade and personally I wouldn't do the work for less

[elmegil]

I haven't had any manufactured (I haven't yet grokked eagle in the slightest for the PCB side, much less in fullness), but I have a few links I've collected...

http://www.pcb-pool.com/ppuk/index.html?PHPSESSID=c3b1157c9fe87bbea3091e36c2760224

http://batchpcb.com/forums.html/Home

http://iteadstudio.com/store/forums.html?main_page=index&cPath=19_20

http://dorkbotpdx.org/wiki/pcb_order

http://pcbcart.com/

http://www.pad2pad.com/

And then a summary of several

http://www.ladyada.net/library/pcb/manufacturers.html


I have NOT USED ANY OF THESE SERVICES. They are in my list to check out some time, but this is not any endorsement. I have no idea which would be convenient to the UK either, but it's a place to start....

[bubzy]

i use a HP laserjet 2300

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ctg/HP-LaserJet-2300dn-Workgroup-Laser-Printer-/78058773?_refkw=laserjet+2300&_pcatid=561&_pcategid=1245&_dmpt=UK_CamerasPhoto_Printers_Printers_JN

as you can see they arent really bank-breakers and i use a "compatible" toner cartridge too for about £16.

just a thought as with one of these you can bust out pcbs whenever you want as opposed to the waiting and eventually more expensive process of having them professionally manufactured.

[bod]

i use http://www.tecbridgecircuits.co.uk/ who are UK based but use chinese plants. they have a handy online calculator as well, but from my experience with a few of the other services, batchpcb, pcb train, tecbridge are very competitive and the guy who runs it, henry, is a sound bloke and very helpful if you have issues or questions about the board files if its your first time, but the sparkfun tutorial will tell you everything you need to know about eagle cad and preparing stuff for fabrication.

min run is 3 and works out roughly £80 for most modules ive done (100mmx80mm), 10 are about £120, but if you order a rerun of something its considerably cheaper!

[ashleym]

Here is one colleagues at work use (we are in London but the company is German)

http://www.pcb-pool.com/ppuk/index.html

There is some software to help you with the layout. A bit like front panel designer. I havent used it but only through lack of creativity.....

[xpmtl]

i've used iTead lately and i'm pretty happy with the results. Only drawback is you have to order 10 boards as a minimum. That being said, in the end, it's still cheaper than one proto board elsewhere...

[Dougster]

I like Olimex and Gold Phoenix.

I don't like E-Teknet.

Prototron is good, but a bit expensive. (Of course, if I need something right away, they're in the same city I am...)

The Canadian guys are very good, but don't go by their web cart, email them for a quote...

[JingleJoe]

Thankyou for all the information chaps I will consider getting one of those printers when I acctually have money

[Boogdish]

I've used BatchPCB, Itead and OSHpark (aka DorkbotPDX) for doing prototypes (testing a layout before trying to sell it as a kit or presenting it to the general DIY community).

Itead is the cheapest, but it's not a quick turn around, and if you made a mistake you will have 10 screwed up boards sitting around instead of 1. BatchPCB is a bit more expensive and the turnaround is comparable to Itead, though they had good customer service when there was a problem, they've also always sent me a couple more boards than I actually ordered. OSHpark was the last one I used and I think I will continue to use in the future, the price is a little higher than Itead, but lower than BatchPCB and turnaround was faster than both of them.

I've only ever used Goldpheonix for doing big runs, and I have no complaints.

[frijitz]

I still like the bare-bones special from Advanced. One day manufacturing turnaround and two days shipping.

http://www.4pcb.com/barebones-pcbs.html

Ian

[marvkaye]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned ExpressPCB. They do quick turnaround for prototyping, pricing seems fair considering their service, and their bundled PCB layout software is pretty easy to learn... nowhere near as complex or complete as Eagle, but OK for doing simpler layouts only with manual routing. I've used them for a number of projects and have never been disappointed. FWIW.

<marv>

[mahjo]