Designing and assembling my first PCB • Hacker News Board

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#81

Post by LoganDark » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:21 PM UTC

jhogendorn wrote: post #80

LoganDark wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LCSC has been my problem. It's built into EasyEDA, but most search results aren't in stock, and most of the rest have high minimum order quantities. I needed a lot of different resistor, capacitor, etc values so each and every one needed me to go through that search.

Yes, you need to design for what jlc stocks as basic parts to retain your sanity. Dont just slap down a 1206 resistor and call it good, jlc prob has no stock in that size in that value, but they probably have it in 0603. Once you get a handle for whats basic or very common extended parts, that sort of thing gets a lot easier. You kind of have to work backwards, ie if i need a diode i see what jlc has in basic and mak…

I wasn't trying to choose a footprint/etc ahead of time. I would need, say, a 3.3KΩ resistor, and I would not filter for anything else other than the resistance yet, then I would choose a listing that I could use and that had a reasonable footprint and etc.

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#82

Post by RetroTechie » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:27 PM UTC

enzo05814648 wrote: post #25

Nice board, looking forward to seeing your next one. A little feedback, helpful I hope: A "via" is basically just a wire stuck right through the whole board top-to-bottom. (Okay, it's not really a wire. They drill a hole and then chemically grow a layer of copper that fills the hole.) You can connect the copper pattern on any layer(s) to that "wire", so it's often used to route a signal from one layer to the other. B…

For a simple-enough design, I'd just route the signals as on a 2-layer board. Play around with placement & orientation of parts to minimize overall trace length. If you have some A-B duo with many connections between them: place those first & then put the other parts.

Then fill the remaining space with power planes. GND on one side, most-used supply voltage on the other side.

That way you reduce/avoid the need for blind (or worse: buried) vias.

Another trick: route signals roughly east-west on one side, roughly north-south on the other side, and use a via where you change direction. Many early (complex!) computer mainboards were done that way on 2-layer boards (often using through-hole IC pins or passives as via).

You shouldn't really need 3+ layers unless you get into high density stuff like many-ball BGA parts & the like.

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#83

Post by duped » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:27 PM UTC

krapht wrote: post #17

1024bits wrote: post #5

JLCPCB is often the manufacturer of choice with DIY PCBs, and the reputation is well deserved. I recommend them as well, have never had an issue with what they've made. It's a bit pricier for a one-off board given the MOC, so it's preferable to do some sort of group buy if you can.

Slight tangent: a long time ago when I was into this hobby, Oshpark was usually the go-to instead of JLCPCB. What happened to them? Macrofab too if anyone's used them.

Oshpark is more expensive and doesn't do assembly. Their only value over JLC is "not in China."

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#84

Post by dmvvilela » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:45 PM UTC

i suck at welding

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#85

Post by BlackRabbit1 » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:52 PM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #73

It's always cool to see people discover KiCad and the amazing world we live in now where a hobbyist can come up with something that can masquerade as a commercial offering. The transition to SMD and having the "fab" do the assembly was another hurdle for me. Now I tend to consult LCSC Electronics at the same time I am designing my circuit: checking availability and price of the various components I am proposing to us…

[dead]

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#86

Post by BlackRabbit1 » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:52 PM UTC

dsign wrote: post #15

PCBs are very neat, but that shipping time is a boomer when you are prototyping and you really don’t know what you are doing.

You need a project pipeline. I always have 3-4 of them running because of the waiting times.

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#87

Post by BlackRabbit1 » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:53 PM UTC

goodpoint wrote: post #53

1024bits wrote: post #5

JLCPCB is often the manufacturer of choice with DIY PCBs, and the reputation is well deserved. I recommend them as well, have never had an issue with what they've made. It's a bit pricier for a one-off board given the MOC, so it's preferable to do some sort of group buy if you can.

Their shipping costs are too high.

Not if you limit yourself to 5pcs.

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#88

Post by lefra » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:58 PM UTC

cozzyd wrote: post #31

lefra wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some still do, but they'll only send to businesses, not to individuals. What's annoying for me is Digikey and friends insisting on only delivering with express carrier. I'd like to have a cheaper, slower option.

USPS is def an option for Digikey... (not that I use it since they don't deliver to our loading dock)

Good for american hobbyist I guess. It's not an option where I live unfortunately (orders above 75€ have free shipping though).

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#89

Post by edg5000 » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 3:11 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #52

Retr0id wrote: post #2

It's incredible how cheap it is to get custom PCBs made at prototype scale these days, even ones with advanced features. It feels like we're living in a golden era of custom manufacturing.

It's a loss leader by JLBPCB to get the high-volume contract. Or so said the head of OshPark eight years ago.[1] There does seem to be a willingness by Chinese manufacturers to deal with small-volume makers and sellers. Look at the minimum order quantities on Alibaba. That's supposed to be a wholesale market, but often wholesale starts at 2 units. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/PrintedCircuitBoard/comments/9bt5ed...

Their PCB service must be a loss leader, but their assembly service might be profitable. What's also a loss leader is their default configuration. Want .2mm vias? That's another 30$. Want to assemble both sides? More fees. So it gets more profitable for them not just with volume, but also with designs that require the add-on fees.

Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB

#90

Post by ryandrake » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 3:21 PM UTC

MSFT_Edging wrote: post #61

dhosek wrote: post #11

OK, so people are ordering a custom PCB from China for a one-off? Whatever happened to making them at home? I remember my brothers doing this in the bathroom sink with a board coated with copper¹, some special markers to draw the circuit on the board and chemicals to wash off the extra copper. I’m guessing they might have used our dad’s electric drill to put some holes in the board as well, but looking at the article…

I knew someone who destroyed three surface pro keyboards with chemical etcher. I've got a cat and live in a carpeted apartment. I prefer to keep most projects "dry" for that reason.

LOL tell them you're not supposed to dip keyboards into it!