[HN Gopher] A beginner tries PCB assembly (2020)
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       A beginner tries PCB assembly (2020)
        
       Author : Tomte
       Score  : 68 points
       Date   : 2022-08-22 10:53 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.earth.li)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.earth.li)
        
       | helsinkiandrew wrote:
       | If you don't fancy soldering, their assembly service is
       | astonishingly cheap even just a few boards.
       | 
       | If you choose your parts carefully (https://jlcpcb.com/parts) so
       | JCCPCB has them in stock and charges their low (reel quantity)
       | prices, assembly can be cheaper than purchasing the parts and
       | assembling yourself.
       | 
       | https://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/jlcpcb-assembly-...
        
         | buildbot wrote:
         | JCCPCB is amazing, and spooky fast. It's cheaper to use their
         | service than by pre-built breakout boards from sparkfun even in
         | many cases.
        
       | 0xbadc0de5 wrote:
       | Kicad is a fantastic tool. I've used it for several projects
       | ranging from microwave RF to ESP32 embedded. I usually use PCBWay
       | (since before they had ads everywhere) but have also used JLCPCB
       | with no complaints. Although in my experience, PCBWay has a
       | slight capability advantage.
        
       | swamp40 wrote:
       | The design looks fine and professional.
       | 
       | Some hopefully helpful comments: One trace is too close to board
       | edge. Try not to run traces between 0.1" header holes if you
       | don't have to. The vias might be a bit small for a simple board
       | with plenty of room.
       | 
       | We don't use slots for the power jacks, just holes and fill the
       | whole thing in with solder. Slots are a bit difficult for some
       | pcb houses. That's just a preference though.
       | 
       | We also use ENIG because the unleaded HASL builds up a film after
       | ~6 months. But if you aren't going to store the bare boards, HASL
       | is just fine.
       | 
       | Overall looks great!
        
         | wildzzz wrote:
         | We use lead HASL because gold plating can hide defects in the
         | nickel plating that can create poor solder joints because
         | solder won't stick to corroded nickel. The gold also can
         | embrittle solder joints which is bad for applications where
         | lots of vibration is a concern.
        
           | swamp40 wrote:
           | I didn't think you could use lead for anything but military
           | stuff? We have RoHS requirements everywhere.
           | 
           | The gold is so thin I would think you could see a nickel
           | problem, but IDK.
           | 
           | Most of our problems come from lead-free solder, it is very
           | brittle. I didn't know the gold could make it worse.
        
       | pjc50 wrote:
       | > Total cost for 10 boards, parts, assembly, shipping + customs
       | fees was just under $29
       | 
       | This is absolutely fantastic.
        
       | effnorwood wrote:
        
       | dghlsakjg wrote:
       | I use JLCPCB assembly service for a very minor side project.
       | 
       | It is absolutely amazing that someone like me without a formal
       | domain education in anything embedded, that taught themselves PCB
       | design on youtube, can have a factory in China make a viable
       | product.
       | 
       | While I sometimes run into issues with parts availability, it is
       | genuinely an incredible world we live in.
        
         | EddySchauHai wrote:
         | How much does that cost you per board?
        
           | sokoloff wrote:
           | There's some pricing breakdown and a short additional
           | commentary in the link from this comment:
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32566561
           | 
           | Tl;dr: less than $2/board.
           | 
           | I made some PCBs for Halloween costumes a few years ago. I
           | installed KiCad on Sunday, ordered boards on Monday, had them
           | in my hand in US east coast on Friday (paying for fast
           | shipping, of course). Even with the fast shipping, it was
           | around $4/board times 10 boards.
        
           | dghlsakjg wrote:
           | Depending on order volume (5-30) about $2CAD per board to
           | have them made and assembled.
           | 
           | Just looking at my last order I paid $30CAD for 30 boards to
           | be manufactured. Assembly was $140CAD, of which $115 was
           | component costs. So the various assembly fees end up being
           | about $25
           | 
           | So manufacturing and assembly costs for 30 boards came to
           | about $55CAD.
           | 
           | The big hitch is that this is using THEIR component library.
           | I think the assembly costs go up a bit if you want to provide
           | your own components.
        
       | robertlagrant wrote:
       | Wow, earth.li! I'm an ex-housemate of huggie.
        
       | bogantech wrote:
       | As of August they'll even do assembly on both sides even with
       | beveled edge connectors etc.
       | 
       | It's crazy what is available cheaply to hobbyists now!
        
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       (page generated 2022-08-23 23:02 UTC)