maybe asked a few times but is there a fab house that can prototype and populate the board??? i live in canada...
seeedstudio
cool thnkx...
Advanced Circuits, they are in Colorado, not China. Check out the video tour of their plant
Mark
wow, the video is impressive as well as comprehensive. Hope its true when I send them my design. any thoughts or experiences with their services??? I am going to send a design for prototyping tomorrow to do some testing...
One of my students has used them many times and recommended them.
I just designed my first card and sent it to them on Tuesday. I am having 10 boards made and its going to cost $300 I will have them by Tuesday of next week.
I designed the board using Eagle free version and made it the maximum size allowed for the free version. Their free FDM services allows you to check your board even before you commit to using their services. Once you have created the gerber files, you upload a ZIP file and it gives you a report of any errors. REALLY NICE. My board had 722 correctable errors and 5 non-correctable. I called them up and a tech worked through the 5 non-correctable and they all turned out to be OK anyway.
Mark
Seems pricey... May be I'll hold off for seeedstudio to come back from vacation since their turn around time is pretty quick too, once I have the design tested and finalized, I'll go with A.C...
Thanks for your input guys and if there are any other fab houses that do prototyping and population, please list them here, maybe I can get a comprehensive list together. I know that in the city I live, there is a fabhouse but still expensive (cost and time) compared to seeedstudio.
I see the Fusion PCB service has been removed from Seeed's online store - hopefully this is just to deter orders while they're on vacation, and not a sign that they'll no longer offer the service. It's still mentioned in their wiki. . .
Advanced Circuits, they are in Colorado, not China
What's wrong with China?
10 boards made and its going to cost $300
6 times more expensive
may be he is concerned about shipping...I would be too, the only exception I would find is seeedstudio...
Hi all,
Based on a recommendation (cost) I have just started using these guys (China)
Ian.
Ian,
Have you actually received boards from them yet?
If so, what was the quality? How was the price? How long did shipping take?
Still waiting on first shipment, as I've not long ordered. Should be here in 2 or 3 days I reckon.
A friend who uses them say their quality is not the very, very best but well acceptable. I've only ordered 5off boards, but it's still cheaper than anything else in the UK. To me it's all about the money!
PS. You can get an online immediate quote from them without ordering.......see their webpage.
So far the comms has been good......they picked some problems on my silkscreen layer the very same day I had made the order.
Their English speaking is pretty good.
Ian.
Never used them but was one i was looking at a while back. Seam to have so decent software for creating your PCB layout and its free. Forgot how the pricing was on the fab.
http://www.pcb123.com/
So for I've found that for small quantities of boards, ei. 1-9, $200-$300 for 5 boards is not unheard of from an american board maker.
As much as I am FOR keeping my money in the US, I can't see paying that much for a hobby piece.
If it was for a prototype that actually had a chance to make me some real money? Sure it would be worth it.
Just to make something that I might never make again? I'd rather pay a Chinese company $40.00 shipped to make me 5 boards.
Cheaper is better as long as there is a decent amount of quality. Can't have traces peeling off of a board even if it is a hobby piece... 
Just my 2 cents. :-X
ps,
BUMP!
;D
If i only wanted to get 5 boards i'd rather etch them myself. Allot cheaper in the long run. Plus its allot more rewarding.
If i only wanted to get 5 boards i'd rather etch them myself. Allot cheaper in the long run. Plus its allot more rewarding.
Personally, I would rather not use any board shop. I have been working on getting all the parts to build my own PCB mill. It just takes a (long) while to get everything when you are on a very limited budget. :-[