videogamer555 wrote on 2022-02-13, 02:36:
SquallStrife wrote on 2020-10-13, 03:13:You're right, $7 is pretty expensive for a production run of five 4-layer PCBs. Surely out of my reach. […]
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videogamer555 wrote on 2020-10-12, 21:08:(PCB factories do NOT make these at cheap prices for small quantities).
You're right, $7 is pretty expensive for a production run of five 4-layer PCBs. Surely out of my reach.
$7 is a "special price" it says. That's just to sucker you in to using their service. Most of these companies give you a good deal on your first order (like for the first few boards of your first order) but if you order more than a certain amount of boards in your first order, or later you place a second order, those additional boards of your first order (or all of or your entire second order, regardless of how many boards were in your first and second orders) will be a LOT more expensive, like $100 per board for even a 4inch by 4inch board. Of course if you buy in quantity (like you are an actual electronic product manufacturer) the price will be lower, but you need to like buy 1000 boards to even start to get a reasonable quantity-based discount. Like if you buy 1000 boards it will cost you only $90 per board instead of $100 per board, but of course the entire order will then cost you $90000!
There are NO services that I found in my research that cater to hobbyists with hobbyist prices, like $10 per board for ALL boards that you buy. For that, you will need to buy your own PCB etching kit.
I order from JLCPCB once or twice a month. Their boards are always $2 for 5 for the small size 2 layer or $7 for 4 layer.. It isn't a "special", it is the normal price. 🤣
I've even ordered full size Amiga motherboards from there for around $10/each when they email out their yearly deep discount coupon.
Last few orders I made.. fyi, last one includes parts with assembly and a SMT assembly coupon code that they automatically put in your account once a month.
They are the cheapest place to order from overall, for both PCB's and assembly service. PCBway and AllPCB are other sites that are decently priced, and on the US side Oshpark will do small runs for ok prices as well.
Ironically, here's the OpenLaserMouse PCB that I ordered last year. (ball to laser tank mouse conversion for Amiga)
