Alternative PCB Manufacturer to JLCPCB ?

[srnet]

Can you specify in the order to contact you if a fault is detected, before proceeding with the remainder of the order?  Or to simply cancel the entire order if there is a problem with any of the boards?

They used to allow you to do this, you could submit the a set of boards in an order for approval and when approved you would get an email to pay for them. If one failed their checks, you were told what the problem was and could re-submit the corrected board.

Now, although clearly they have to do these checks anyway, you have to pay for all the total order in advance and when they do their checks (done anyway remember) they refund the cost of the a board that fails. Hence the double carriage charge problem.

The old method used to work just fine, you would be notified any problems in a couple of hours, and you could sort them out.

 

[srnet]

" . . . reviewer for distances & clearances . . . "

That's what running DRC (Design Rule Checking ) does.

I know, I have been using DRC (on Eagle) for years as well and it does miss things sometimes.

[septillion]

I know, I have been using DRC (on Eagle) for years as well and it does miss things sometimes.

KiCad user myself but that's not simply because you didn't set up the DRC rules according to the specs of the fab house? Default DRC rules are pretty generic but they may not be correct for every fab house.

[6v6gt]

Incidentally, I've just noticed that the name of at least on PCB manufacturer mentioned in this thread allpcb.com (A-L-L-P-C-B.com) is filtered out if the user is not signed in. See: https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=723772.0

[srnet]

KiCad user myself but that's not simply because you didn't set up the DRC rules according to the specs of the fab house? Default DRC rules are pretty generic but they may not be correct for every fab house.

Not as simple as that.
I have had boards rejected for something that passes DRC but does not 'look' correct.
I had one panelised board rejected as it was too small for the V score machine, there is a minimum dimension here of 70mm, which at the time was not mentioned in their capabilities (not checked recently).
The point to be made here, is that they check the boards anyway, generating the refund probably costs them more in system time than accepting a corrected board.

[srnet]

Well my 5 PCBs were accepted by JLCPCB, so all that gerber and DRC checking is worth it.

However they now seem to have a new money maker, you submit the Gerbers, the price is shown and you pay for the order. When they then check the boards they add 'supplementary' charges.

In this case there were additional charges because 3 of the boards consisted of multiple small boards requirng use of the Vgroove cutter. In a change the cost of the cutting is now not included in the 'special board' pricing. So a board that has been $5 for a few years is now around $11. There did not appear to be an option to cancel the order, I only saw an option to make the extra payment.

[6v6gt]

I'd also much prefer to know in advance exactly what I have to pay for something, especially if it is supposed to be a "standard" product.
But that industry looks very competitive and I guess that hobbyist quantities of special boards is not where they make their big money. Also, "upselling" is a phenomenon which known here as well, In such a way, incidentally, which make the Chinese attempts at it look quite tame.
Anyway, it is good that the risks are mentioned in this thread, identifying where hidden charges could appear.

I have to play a bit of a balancing game when ordering. The transport cost is high relative to the product cost so I have to batch my orders. However, over a certain limit here (about $70 including shipping) import duties and, worse, the one-off administration costs of collecting those import duties, kick in heavily, This delicate balance can be messed up if additional charges appear for the product. If the order would be huge, which for me it never is, the cost per board (delivered) would, once a gain, be cheap.

[jlcpcb]

Hi ,

Here is Daisy from jlcpcb . To improve our service , the"Payment Before Review" function is updating and it's in final testing phase . and we will reopen it soon .
During this period , if you need, just send the file to our support and they will help check your file  .

Due to exchange rate fluctuations  prices will fluctuate. Once down ,our website will make update at the same time .

Thanks for your feedback again . 

[srnet]

Glad to see you are fixing the review option.

I do appreciate that prices will fluctuate, but currently you have a situation whereby your site quotes a price for a board, which the customer accepts, and then pays.

But then you come back and add suplementary charges ?

[jlcpcb]

Basically, all the prices are based on the online calculator, but there are some exceptions. For different designs and some special process, there might be extra cost occur during the file review process, which can not be calculated by the online.
Here are the cases that might bring you extra cost : https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/62-what-cases-will-be-charged-of-extra-cost.

[srnet]

I must complement JLCPCB, the boards I ordered on the 20th January have just been deliverd by DHL to my house in the UK. 

7 days from order through manufacture and delivery.