This feels like you asked claude how to make a PCB.
Designing and assembling my first PCB
91–98 of 98 posts
Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
the most annoying was stuff like resistors or capacitors. They tended to have huge minimum order quantities, there were hundreds of results for any kind of query and most of them were always out of stock. I wanted to stick to JLCPCB's platform so that I could order the boards pre-populated, but I didn't want to be stuck ordering far more components than the board actually needs. I always feel anger or something when…
Were the MOQ for the resistors a major contributer to cost? Usually they're super cheap so even buying 100 is not a crazy problem. Also most PCB assemblers will have a generic component library for common resistor and capacitor values and footprints, which they encourage you to use anyhow because it's less hassle for them (they're often not even charged per part). (And if you're assembling them yourself, then you can…
If you have dozens of different passives on the board, then a dollar or two to meet each minimum order quantity adds up quick.
Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB
#93Are there any low cost US based PCB mfgs? Part of me thinks we should support our local supply chains, or should I not care?
Nothing competes with JLC but circuit hub isn’t terrible
Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB
#94Are there any low cost US based PCB mfgs? Part of me thinks we should support our local supply chains, or should I not care?
I worked in a PCB shop in the Washington DC area making prototypes and small quantities for 25 years. We closed in 1998.
Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the past if you didn't live in the US, OSHPark was a great option. Local fabs were very expensive, had big setup fees and even the "maker" places charged more and you'd only get HASL. Meanwhile OSH gave you 3 with ENIG and the quality has always been excellent. They nailed the automation to make group buys cost effective. If you live in the US, it's free shipping and for breakout boards or smaller work, still a gr…
Right now it's several hundred dollars to get anything electronic out of the US and into the UK, unless you're a big enough company to be able to lawyer your way out of it. We'll see what 2026 brings, I suppose.
The UK has de minimis for a while yet, and PCBs are 0% import duty. The only thing you might get shafted by is Royal Mail's handling fee if it gets checked by customs. We're talking about hobbyist PCBs here, not production runs.
Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB
#96This feels like you asked claude how to make a PCB.
Maybe, but that's a good use of Claude IMO. How else would one learn--by googling? Claude does the annoying aggregation of data and distills into a list.
I can tell you where Claude wouldn't have been much use: if it didn't fire right up due to a short or voltage drop that might occur during reset propagating through circuit. You're on your own at that point and gotta break out the multimeter.
Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB
#97Nice 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…
> So no via is necessary; just connect directly to that pin on each layer (kicad probably did this for you automatically). This trick works with all thru-hole pins.
Note that without a plated through hole (vias are small plated through holes, those designed for component legs are bigger) the solder will only adhere to one side. For mounting large components where vibration may be a problem this will make the pad weaker & more likely to lift off. A plated through hole lets the solder flow through & bond to pads on both sides. So you sometimes do need plated through holes.
Otherwise I agree. These days 4-layer boards are so cheap it's often worth just dedicating an entire layer to ground, and one to power. E.g. Signal, ground, power, signal. All your ground connections become vias. Most of your power connections are vias to a lower inside plane. Your signal traces are available to probe & rework easily. You get a bit of distributed capacitance from the power & ground planes.
Re: Designing and assembling my first PCB
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's kind of the problem though. jlc/pcbway aren't just "cheaper", for anything 2 or 4 layer that doesn't require special coatings, thickness, or finish such as gold fingers, it's just so cheap and fast that it makes no financial sense to buy locally. You'd pay several hundred percents more to get the boards maybe 1-2 business days earlier. In addition, china is where all the world's pcbs are made, even for commerc…
But, holyshit, the tariffs when ordering from JLCPCB from the U.S. this year have been astronomical.
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