Can anyone refer me a PCB maker?

[anilva]

I am trying to make few audio PCBs for my own use. I have a couple of PCB layouts in the form of postscript files and JPEGs.

Can anyone refer me to a known PCB maker, who can make small quantities of these (say 3-4 PCBs each) from these files. One of them is double sided.

I am based in Bangalore.

Kaushik, Linuxguru...anyone else..please help.

Cheers.

 

[iaudio]

Anilva, send a PM to capt. Rajesh. He may be able to help you out.

 

[anilva]

Anilva, send a PM to capt. Rajesh. He may be able to help you out.

Thanks. I was expecting answers from Bangalore folks. No suggestions?

 

[linuxguru]

I am trying to make few audio PCBs for my own use. I have a couple of PCB layouts in the form of postscript files and JPEGs.

Can anyone refer me to a known PCB maker, who can make small quantities of these (say 3-4 PCBs each) from these files. One of them is double sided.

Hi Anil,
You can Laser-print the artwork from postscript files and jpegs in 2:1 ratio and have 1:1 films made from these. Om electronics on S.P. Road can probably make single-sided PCBs using the laser-printed printout itself.

If you want higher-quality, double-sided PTH boards with solder-mask and silkscreen, you should try to do the layout using a tool that can generate Gerber files (for photo-plotting) and Excellon files (for CNC drill data). Eagle PCB is one such layout tool, for which there is a free version with size limits and a paid version without limits.

Orion PCB in Bangalore and Caddline Systems in Chennai make excellent DS PTH boards from Gerber/Excellon files. Pricing will be in the range of Rs.1 to 2 per sq.cm., depending on volume, for DS PTH with soldermask. They can do small quantities (4-10), but the per piece pricing may be correspondingly higher. There are also additional NRE (one-time) charges for photo-plotting on film and setup, in the range of Rs.1k-2k for a 100 sq.cm PCB.

Orion can fabricate designs with about 12 mil clearance (metal-to-metal) and Caddline is much finer at about 6-8 mil. I generally play safe and give at least 15 mil or more clearance everywhere. It also pays to leave edge space of 2 to 5mm or more on all sides - the PCB slicing accuracy is not that great at Orion, which does all the PCB cutting manually (it depends on the skill of the operator).

 

[kaushik]

OM guy is good option , needs 5-6PCs

If it is an amp why not make the pcbs at home ..with laser iron method , assemble it ,then layer silver coated , copper wires on tracks to give better conductivity.
Once all tested cover the track side with epoxy spray

if u need PCBS that have SMD components like DAC i can get it done via a guy i know MOQ=5

cost 8-6mil spacing types go 170Rs /board of 20x20cm size

my advice to all
- if it is a experimental project dont waste money ordering 5-6 pCBs
end result may not satisfy you
- audio grade pcbs are made with thicker copper the will cost more

 

[anilva]

Hi Anil,
You can Laser-print the artwork from postscript files and jpegs in 2:1 ratio and have 1:1 films made from these. Om electronics on S.P. Road can probably make single-sided PCBs using the laser-printed printout itself.

If you want higher-quality, double-sided PTH boards with solder-mask and silkscreen, you should try to do the layout using a tool that can generate Gerber files (for photo-plotting) and Excellon files (for CNC drill data). Eagle PCB is one such layout tool, for which there is a free version with size limits and a paid version without limits.

Orion PCB in Bangalore and Caddline Systems in Chennai make excellent DS PTH boards from Gerber/Excellon files. Pricing will be in the range of Rs.1 to 2 per sq.cm., depending on volume, for DS PTH with soldermask. They can do small quantities (4-10), but the per piece pricing may be correspondingly higher. There are also additional NRE (one-time) charges for photo-plotting on film and setup, in the range of Rs.1k-2k for a 100 sq.cm PCB.

Orion can fabricate designs with about 12 mil clearance (metal-to-metal) and Caddline is much finer at about 6-8 mil. I generally play safe and give at least 15 mil or more clearance everywhere. It also pays to leave edge space of 2 to 5mm or more on all sides - the PCB slicing accuracy is not that great at Orion, which does all the PCB cutting manually (it depends on the skill of the operator).

Siva,

Thanks for the info. I want to do a Double Sided PCB with PTH on Glass Epoxy with audio grade thickness (70 micron is it?). This is not a experimental PCB but a well proven and tested amp layout. I will need 4-5 boards for myself. The spacing is not at all a problem and it will definitely be in excess of 15 mil. There are no ICs - just resistors, caps and transistors.

Since this is a double sided PCB, I do not want to do the laser printer method. I can do that for single sided boards, but am not sure I have the patience to etch and drill the board. Used to do it in my earlier years, but not now.

What I have is 1:1 Postscript of 2 sides of PCB along with solder mask and silkscreen. There are no gerber files for this. The board is not designed by me, but given to me by a generous person. I will check with Orion guys. Do you know anyone there?

Thanks once again.

Cheers.
Anil

 

[anilva]

OM guy is good option , needs 5-6PCs

If it is an amp why not make the pcbs at home ..with laser iron method , assemble it ,then layer silver coated , copper wires on tracks to give better conductivity.
Once all tested cover the track side with epoxy spray

if u need PCBS that have SMD components like DAC i can get it done via a guy i know MOQ=5

cost 8-6mil spacing types go 170Rs /board of 20x20cm size

my advice to all
- if it is a experimental project dont waste money ordering 5-6 pCBs
end result may not satisfy you
- audio grade pcbs are made with thicker copper the will cost more

Thanks Kaushik. The laser printer method is good, but I do not have the patience to etch and drill. One more thing is that this is a double sided PCB, which is probably difficult to do by myself.

The spacing is not at all critical. I can have in excess of 15 mil spacing. The board is a proven one and is not experimental. I want to get 4-5 of them done for myself. The board is for a audio amp, therefore may require extra thickness.

Give me a reference you know, I can have a conversation with them.

Cheers.

 

[ukjeyaraj]

Wowww.. This is real DIY stuff. I dont understand anything other than "PCB". Best of Luck Anil..

 

[captrajesh]

Anilva, send a PM to capt. Rajesh. He may be able to help you out.

Just saw this post. The person that I'm engaging to do my project says that B'lore & Chennai guys are no good. He gets it done in Ahmedabad; says their quality is far superior. Don't know the nity-grities though.

 

[linuxguru]

What I have is 1:1 Postscript of 2 sides of PCB along with solder mask and silkscreen. There are no gerber files for this. The board is not designed by me, but given to me by a generous person. I will check with Orion guys. Do you know anyone there?

You can check with Mahesh at Orion ([email protected]) if they can work with Postscript files - perhaps they can convert it to Gerber files. However, without CNC drill files (location and diameter of each hole), it will be time-consuming and error-prone to enter the CNC information for each drill location from the the postscript layout files alone.

I've done DS PTH PCBs this way in the past with 2:1 artwork printed on paper using a pen-plotter, which was later photo-reduced to 1:1 film, so it is feasible in principle, though it is not the preferred design-flow today in the industry, which is now mostly CAD/CAM-based from layout all the way to manufacturing.

Caddline at Chennai can probably enter the layout into a CAD toolchain if they're given the printouts, for an additional charge.

 

[linuxguru]

... without CNC drill files (location and diameter of each hole), it will be time-consuming and error-prone to enter the CNC information for each drill location from the the postscript layout files alone.

Update: I checked with Mahesh at Orion, and he says that they do manual drilling for small volume orders (say up to 20 boards), and they will not need the CNC drill files for such orders.

This means that postscript artwork may be sufficient, as long as the pad and drill locations are clearly visible. You may need to take a photocopy of the solder-mask/pad-master and mark it (by pen) with drill diameters for each pad to guide the drill operator. You would need to keep the number of different drill sizes to a minimum (say 2..5) to avoid drill-changes and simplify the task for the drill operator.

 

[anilva]

Update: I checked with Mahesh at Orion, and he says that they do manual drilling for small volume orders (say up to 20 boards), and they will not need the CNC drill files for such orders.

This means that postscript artwork may be sufficient, as long as the pad and drill locations are clearly visible. You may need to take a photocopy of the solder-mask/pad-master and mark it (by pen) with drill diameters for each pad to guide the drill operator. You would need to keep the number of different drill sizes to a minimum (say 2..5) to avoid drill-changes and simplify the task for the drill operator.

Siva,

Thanks for the help and effort. I was traveling and hence could not reply earlier. I will get in touch with Mahesh. There are only discreet components and no ICs. The drill diameter is not critical at all, as long as they take standard MFRs and Caps. Let me check with him and come back.

Cheers.

 

[anilva]

Thanks Siva. I spoke to Mahesh and he has agreed to do the double sided pcb for me based on postscript files I sent. I am sure he will do a good job.

Thanks once again for the help. I was at my wits end on this one.

Cheers.

 

[kaushik]

can we get set of your PCBs at suitable price , just incase you wanted to share.

 

[anilva]

can we get set of your PCBs at suitable price , just incase you wanted to share.

Kaushik,

The pcb I am attempting is a pretty unique design on a experimental basis. This will not mean anything to others. Btw the person who gave me the pcb design has not given permission to me to share this outside my personal requirement. Sorry.

Cheers.