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PCB Manufacture in UK

Hi All ,

Lately I came across an american service called ExpressPCB , that has its own CAD software and after laying out the PCB , you can use the software itself to order board manufacture. The software can be used to generate BOM and specify Part number from Digikey. This is brilliant seamless process. Also it is fine tuned for hobbyists. The pricing is fabulous. The only problem is the shipping cost for outside america is very expensive.

So I was wondering if there are similar services in UK? Feedback from anyone who has used such a service for hobbies would be appreciated?

BR Rate

Reply to
ratemonotonic
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Argh! Just Say No!

I can't begin to tell you how evil and ill-advised it is to let yourself get locked into a vendor this way. The proprietary software is /okay/ but it's just that - proprietary. You have no significant number of other users working to help the world build library parts, so every project is a fresh adventure. And migrating to the real world involves 100% reentry from scratch.

If you shop around even casually, you'll quickly find the same sort of prices being offered everywhere on PCB fabrication. Free software, e.g. EAGLE, will do your layouts and give you standard gerbers ready to send to anyone. Etc, etc.

There are other vendors with a similar business model, doing mechanical parts of various sorts. Stab, burn, bury!

Reply to
larwe

Use something like Eagle or Free version if your board is small. Then good PCB houses will take your files direct or require Gerber files.

Project Pooling of jobs onto a larger panel is quite common. You could like on Eagle's site () for vendors that take Eagle files direct.

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is common one (also known as Beta Layout).

Done it this way for years on prototypes and very small volumes.

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Paul Carpenter          | paul@pcserviceselectronics.co.uk
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Reply to
Paul Carpenter

I always use Eurocircuits "Plot & Go" service. Very quick and good quality.

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n

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John B
Reply to
John B

Hmm, the calculator needs IE5 or greater, FF3 and opera don't work Think I'll stick with Olimex

martin

Reply to
Martin Griffith

Hmm, just had a look at that site and (reminded about a recent thread here) it tells me on entry to the price calculator that the browser (Firefox / Mozilla 1.7 on solaris) is not supported. That's one company I won't be dealing with then.

I was just about to post that it had been several years since I found a website that did that :-)...

Chris

Reply to
ChrisQ

And I had an exchange with their UK salesman about it over a year ago...

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John Devereux
Reply to
John Devereux

Its much better to buy a PCB CAD packahe that suits your level of needs than just take a free package that is poor.

There is loads of PCB CAD packages both free and paid for.

Got mine off ebay for just a few pounds.

Reply to
Roger_the_Dodger

He writes his own software and then buys it from himself!

Leon

Reply to
Leon

Or as they say on slashdot

  • Write own PCB software * Buy from self * ... * PROFIT!
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John Devereux
Reply to
John Devereux

A bit like the underpants gnomes

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Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

To be fair, if you dismiss the error message, you do get the price calculator, but whether it works or not is another matter. It's probably a trivial something in the web page code that looks for > ie revision, but it does make the company look a bit silly.

If you are in the Oxford area, you could try Chiltern Circuits in Princess Risborough (on the web). May not be the cheapest, but they are local enough for me to be able to drive over and discuss any special requirements. It's something I like to do with all suppliers, but not easy if they are hundreds of miles away...

Regards,

Chris

Reply to
ChrisQ

Even sillier was their site registration requirements. After tediously filling everything out, they wanted me to fax their Belgian head office, with a form marked with our "company stamp" :)

Thanks, but I get everything from China now. Much cheaper for anything over ~3 days, because even their 1 day super fast cost is less than a UK 10 day cost.

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John Devereux
Reply to
John Devereux

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