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Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

seeedstudio.com

11–20 of 53 posts

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#11
post #7

Since I've ever only done rather simple boards: when would you actually need 16 layers? How complex of a component are we talking about when it would be feasible to use that many layers?

Anything with RF sensitivity can benefit from isolating ground layers. You can use layers for managing thermal effects. Vertical isolation of signal groups to reduce cross-talk. Horizontal space restrictions.

And then of course, signal count and density. Many FPGAs have a thousand or more pins.

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#12
post #7

Since I've ever only done rather simple boards: when would you actually need 16 layers? How complex of a component are we talking about when it would be feasible to use that many layers?

Modern BGAs will often need that many layers just to break out all the signals.

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#13

I've had over 8000 PCBs produced through Seeed, including 4000 assembled PCBAs, and I'm generally pretty happy with them. I can run a global electronics business out of my apartment because of Seeed. We did have one major production issue where a critical part was substituted for an out of spec part without authorization and without anyone at Seeed knowing about it. [1] That was very frustrating. But once I came up w…

The fact that you can send drawings to be fabricated and get hard goods in the mail days later has been true for years. You could have been running a global electronics business from home for fifteen years now. So what do these guys add over players like pcbexpress, or the innumerable Chinese shops?

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#14
post #7

Since I've ever only done rather simple boards: when would you actually need 16 layers? How complex of a component are we talking about when it would be feasible to use that many layers?

Google something like "bga escape routing" -- I found one chip that needed 12 layers pretty quickly.

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#15

I've had over 8000 PCBs produced through Seeed, including 4000 assembled PCBAs, and I'm generally pretty happy with them. I can run a global electronics business out of my apartment because of Seeed. We did have one major production issue where a critical part was substituted for an out of spec part without authorization and without anyone at Seeed knowing about it. [1] That was very frustrating. But once I came up w…

The fact that you can send drawings to be fabricated and get hard goods in the mail days later has been true for years. You could have been running a global electronics business from home for fifteen years now. So what do these guys add over players like pcbexpress, or the innumerable Chinese shops?

The small batch multi-layer boards haven't been as affordable. Also, many of the board houses won't work with small batches for anything above 4 layers. Now this isn't an issue when you're running a full business (assuming said business is large enough to have the capital to invest in a large enough order of boards).

This is great if you're running a small prototyping lab or doing some one-off or freelance work, since it'll be much easier to get these multi-layer boards in small enough batches.

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#16

I've had over 8000 PCBs produced through Seeed, including 4000 assembled PCBAs, and I'm generally pretty happy with them. I can run a global electronics business out of my apartment because of Seeed. We did have one major production issue where a critical part was substituted for an out of spec part without authorization and without anyone at Seeed knowing about it. [1] That was very frustrating. But once I came up w…

The fact that you can send drawings to be fabricated and get hard goods in the mail days later has been true for years. You could have been running a global electronics business from home for fifteen years now. So what do these guys add over players like pcbexpress, or the innumerable Chinese shops?

I think a key benefit here is the fast and cheap PCBA service over just making the boards (yes, lots of places make boards).

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#17

I've had over 8000 PCBs produced through Seeed, including 4000 assembled PCBAs, and I'm generally pretty happy with them. I can run a global electronics business out of my apartment because of Seeed. We did have one major production issue where a critical part was substituted for an out of spec part without authorization and without anyone at Seeed knowing about it. [1] That was very frustrating. But once I came up w…

The fact that you can send drawings to be fabricated and get hard goods in the mail days later has been true for years. You could have been running a global electronics business from home for fifteen years now. So what do these guys add over players like pcbexpress, or the innumerable Chinese shops?

That's true. To be honest they're not different in principle. They used to have amazing customer service, where I had a very good relationship with the guy on their end (we emailed each other pictures of our cats). But that person no longer works in that role and I no longer have the time to email often, so lately my customer service experience has been pretty basic.

I'm sure there are many services you can use that would let you do this. The only other time I've had PCBAs made in China was through GoldPhoenix and I was very unhappy with the quality of soldering.

All I can say is Seeed has worked for me.

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#18
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that you can send drawings to be fabricated and get hard goods in the mail days later has been true for years. You could have been running a global electronics business from home for fifteen years now. So what do these guys add over players like pcbexpress, or the innumerable Chinese shops?

The small batch multi-layer boards haven't been as affordable. Also, many of the board houses won't work with small batches for anything above 4 layers. Now this isn't an issue when you're running a full business (assuming said business is large enough to have the capital to invest in a large enough order of boards). This is great if you're running a small prototyping lab or doing some one-off or freelance work, sinc…

The prices do seem lower. A 100mm^2 6-layer board is half the price at seeed compared to pcb express.

Re: Fusion – One-stop prototyping service for PCBs

#19

I've used their service in the past when it was limited to 4 layers and have always been very happy with it. I had to find a new source for my last 6-layer board that was much more expensive.

pcbcart.com has always been my choice for chinese PCBs. They have really good capabilities compared to budget board houses.

I've never heard of them, but they look pretty competitive on pricing above 4 layers.

The benefit of the budget board houses is when you need a small run of boards for prototyping. OSHPark is great when you want a few 2layer boards under say 6 sq inches. DirtyPCB is great for 2 or 4 layer boards under 15sq inches (10cmX10cm size). You can get ten 4-layer boards at 10cmX10cm for $50, where as pcbcart has that for $250

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