Which PCB manufacturer to use ?[Solved]

If you have had a good experience with a PCB manufacturer, could you please recommend one.

Preferably the kind of PCB manufacturer that...
-accepts orders of 1 or 2 PCB's (I don't need 5 or 10)
-is located in Europe
-accepts PayPal

cinnamonBunny:
Preferably the kind of PCB manufacturer that...
-accepts orders of 1 or 2 PCB's (I don't need 5 or 10)

It's always a good idea to have some spares, or are you so super confident of your soldering skills that you never make a mistake, and that all your components are always in top condition? Because that's the main reason to default to 10 pcs, especially for small PCBs.

This has been covered many, many times.
Have you searched this site to see what has already been discussed?

Try PCBWAY.com. China based. Website is easy to use, prices are low, and quality is good. Be prepared for a long ship time, and a significant time zone / work difference.

Unfortunately you can't make 1 or 2. You have to make 5 minimum. But when you consider that the difference between making 5 and 10 might amount to as little as a couple of dollars, and their prices already being rock bottom, consider doing it anyway. Unless its huge (like a PC motherboard), I don't think you'll find anyone that will make just 1 for you. And if you do, I can pretty much guarantee the cost will be much much higher than making 5 at a place like PCBWAY.

Just checked them out. The only shipping they offer is DHL, that ought to be fast, all over the world.

wvmarle:
Just checked them out. The only shipping they offer is DHL, that ought to be fast, all over the world.

No, there's a pull down with many choices. You can, for example, choose "E-Packet" for about 1/2 the price, and a much longer wait. DHL? Depends what you mean by fast. I've ordered things via DHL from China to the USA many times. If you're lucky it could be under 2 weeks, but it can be longer. And that's in addition to the build speed which you also can choose. Again, speed comes at a premium. Best thing to do with them is order several different boards together and ask the compile the shipping. Often a DHL price of $30USD will only go up a very small amount for multiple orders.

This site:

instantly compared a lot of difference PCB manufacturers.

You are probably not going to save any money by just making 2 boards at a time compared to making 10 due to startup and handling costs.

-accepts orders of 1 or 2 PCB's (I don't need 5 or 10)
-is located in Europe

I don't know anyone like that. 10 boards from China for ~$30 (including postage via DHL) still seems like a really good deal to me (and common), unless they're very small boards (in the US, you can get 3 boards from OSHPark for $5/sqin, which is good for small boards, and not so good once you get to about Arduino-sized...

larsgregersen:
This site:
https://pcbshopper.com/
instantly compared a lot of difference PCB manufacturers.

It does list a few European manufacturers.

I tried an 80x80mm board, double sided, 5 pcs, all default settings: EUR 15-25 incl. shipping from China; EUR90-100 from Europe. At the higher end of the China price (faster shipping) it takes mere days longer than a local production.

Eurocircuits: https://www.eurocircuits.com/
Famous Europe PCB manufacturer, high quality but much expensive than China PCB manufactures

OSHPark https://oshpark.com/
US PCB manufacturer, you can get only 3 PCBs.

Seeed Studio Fusion: Fusion PCB Manufacturing & Prototype PCB Assembly - Seeed Studio
The most recommended China PCB manufacturer, only $5 for 5 PCBs, the same price for 10 PCBs.

It depends on you :slight_smile:

Thank You for your tips, everybody ! pcbshopper.com turned out to be a useful website, so thanks to whoever mentioned that. There are also a number of other things to consider than just cheap price, when picking a PCB manufacturer, like how much customs and taxes you need to pay and how much you are forced to pay "extra" for express delivery with DHL or similar, because there is no cheap option for delivery. (I'm not in a hurry to have the board).
A lot of people have suggested Chinese PCB manufacturers, but sorry, I just can't get it how they can make 10 PCB's on a fraction of the cost of 1 PCB from somewhere else and assumingly without a noticeable drop in quality / reliability.

I guess I'll give Eurocircuits a try, since they are located relatively close to me. They aren't the cheapest PCB manufacturer in the world but certainly not the most expensive either. (And I don't need to waste natural resources for 9 PCB's worth.)

cinnamonBunny:
I just can't get it how they can make 10 PCB's on a fraction of the cost of 1 PCB from somewhere else

Let me turn that around: I don't really understand why those EU based PCB manufacturers can charge so high prices and not go out of business.

PCB manufacturing is cheap. It's a really cheap process. Cheap fibreglass board; thin layer of copper on both sides (that probably costs more than the fibreglass part); some photographic processes (all fully automated); some chemicals to etch away the copper (which I expect will be recovered, it's an expensive material); add lacker and a silkscreen; some holes and cutting; that's it. By and large the Chinese companies will use the same machines and the same boards as their European counterparts.

USD 4.9 for 10 boards, USD 0.49 a piece, of up to 100x100 mm is a good price. If mass produced, that price drops significantly - half or less of that amount, depending on the number and actual size and so.

cinnamonBunny:
Thank You for your tips, everybody ! pcbshopper.com turned out to be a useful website, so thanks to whoever mentioned that. There are also a number of other things to consider than just cheap price, when picking a PCB manufacturer, like how much customs and taxes you need to pay and how much you are forced to pay "extra" for express delivery with DHL or similar, because there is no cheap option for delivery. (I'm not in a hurry to have the board).
A lot of people have suggested Chinese PCB manufacturers, but sorry, I just can't get it how they can make 10 PCB's on a fraction of the cost of 1 PCB from somewhere else and assumingly without a noticeable drop in quality / reliability.

I guess I'll give Eurocircuits a try, since they are located relatively close to me. They aren't the cheapest PCB manufacturer in the world but certainly not the most expensive either. (And I don't need to waste natural resources for 9 PCB's worth.)

Well its your decision, and your money. Just understand that when people here recommend a business, 99.9% of the time its because they have used that business and been happy with the results. I've used PCBway on some fairly complex 4 layer mixed signal boards, with good results. As for natural resources? You could do folks here a favor by ordering the extra boards, and offering them to others who may want to build what you are making. And natural resources? If you pay 1/2 the cost you're willing to pay, there are several reputable international charities that would appreciate the donation, and use it to serve real humanitarian needs.

You've already made up your mind, and its your money. But the one I recommended (pcbway.com) will do as little as 5, and also offer inexpensive "E-packet" shipping for about 1/2 the cost of DHL, as long as you don't mind waiting a month.

As far as the cost different of boards between china and home. It may have something to do with labor cost. 5 dollar a day versus 80 dollar a day. You are having someone take the order and loading into the process and then you need someone to package it and ship. I will not even talk about government rules and regulations when it comes to chemical.