EEVblog #241 - Circuit Labs PCBs from New Zealand

Many people asked to see the PSU PCB's from Circuit Labs in New Zealand.
Here is an in-depth look, compared with the same board from ITEAD Studios

[EEVblog]

@DFCad1 The price difference depends on whether it's lose board, or a panel. CircuitLabs charge the same for both. PCBcart charge differently. For the loose board Circuit Labs is about 3 times the price or something like that, but for the panel it's only a 60-70% price difference. Could very likely get the panel cheaper from another Chinese supplier if desired.

[EEVblog]

@MinecraftTechnic For the assembly, yes, but surely not for the blank PCB manufacture??

[EEVblog]

@dmjita Sorry, No idea. Maybe ask in an Arduino forum, they get all their boards made in Italy.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Silver doesn't look so nice after the PCB has been on the shelf for a while - give the boards a coat of flux if you're not going to use them for a while. Also avoid touchinig the exposed silver as fingermarks can tarnish quickly.

[TheHuesSciTech]

Circuit Labs/PCB Zone now support a choice of Gold or Silver finish, and Green/Red/Black/Blue solder mask. Both for a tiny premium (like, $3 extra on a 5cm x 5cm board).

[RandyLott]

@EEVblog It looks very crisp! I've tried to do the same, but I got rough edges. Maybe a bit of experimentation will do me good.

[EEVblog]

@googacct There was one shot where I used the video editor to do the zoom, other than that I need one hand free. Getting an external zoom controller soon.

[MetalPhreakAU]

Here's a tip for Itead/Seeed Studios in regards to the numbering they put on. It's actually done by their outsourced board house not them directly, so they can't do anything about it even if you request it. Now, if you have to have it somewhere, you don't want it on your front panel side. They *ALWAYS* put the code on the top layer silkscreen. If you flip/mirror your board gerbers so the bottom is now the top, you don't get the code on the front!

[EEVblog]

@fingerboy18 It's a script in Altium that converts a bitmap image into a tracks.

[harrysvensson]

Just a tiny heads up, both of your links in your description are pointing to some phony websites now.
Much has happened in 11 years ;)

[EEVblog]

@antoniopetito many answers to this questions. Basically, because it's good practice, for both noise and in this case voltage drop reasons on the return ground path. Plus it's simply easier on the layout too, no need for tracks, just flood fill it all.

[EEVblog]

@antoniopetito Ironically, that Silicon Chip article you refer too is in fact my 3 part PCB Design tutorial that was published in there!

[SteveKarg]

@dmjita I have used PCB-pool Beta Layout several times and sometimes they ship from Ireland and sometimes from Germany. Their pricing is good for prototypes, delivery time is good, they offer a free laser cut stencil for surface mount parts, and for small boards they give you extra boards for no additional cost. They also work with your circuit design in the native layout file format (many design products are supported) or with Gerber layers and drills. You can also watch your PCB being made.

[crenn]

I was thinking of prototyping a new board I'm designing (still a month away from finalising the first design) with ITEAD, I'm now reconsidering because of the quality and delivery differences, still means I'd pay more, but for that bit extra, looks like it's definitely worth going with the Circuit Labs service.

[deathventure]

Been getting boards from Silver Circuits lately. They are based in Malaysia, so far, they've been showing superior quality in comparison to stuff I've outsourced to China. There was a batch of boards that was set for 2oz copper, and they sent us something in the manner of like 1.5oz, but they fixed the problem immediately. Unless the US actually gets something at a decent price, we'll be sticking with outsourcing. There's no reason for a small board to cost 20x more here.

[EEVblog]

@TerminalJack505 Yes, I know. I'd prefer to have a compact camera adapter though, so I don't have to use a computer to record.

[EEVblog]

@yanava Yes, I am nit picking, and said as such I believe. There is nothing wrong with either board. I prefer the silkscreen on the NZ board.

[envisionelec]

I've been using MyroPCB for 10 years. I think I've had a total of 6 bad boards (shorts) out of thousands. None were electrically tested. They do assembly - and it's very good quality. Also, shipping times are 3 Days to the US. I can get 2 Day turn and have boards the same week.

[agilly]

I have to say good things about PCB Zone... I'm new to the getting a PCB profesionally made and Richard at PCB Zone checked my PCB AND told me if I had any errors on my PCB (all i forgot to do was output a NC Drill File and Outline the board)

EXCELLENT reply times, Huge help to me being a newbie, and Loving your blog Dave :-D

[EEVblog]

@LukeeeeBennettPlus What do you have in mind?