PCB manufacturing

[syn08]

Following a discussion in the Pub, and as I am looking for a manufacturer for a new 2 layer board (10.5" x 3.2") that I designed lately, I've further analyzed, asked for quotes, etc... so here's a PCB manufacturing comparison for Canadians:

1. PCFabExpress:

2 pcs., green solder mask both sides, white legend, 5 days, includes shipping and taxes, $176.4 For 10 days, saving is only $5.

2. BarebonesPCB (that's the prototyping service from 4PCB in Colorado)

5 pcs (minimum order) no solder mask, no legend, next day shipping, includes shipping and taxes, $222.4

3. APCircuits in Alberta

2 pcs. (charges in even quantities) no solder mask, no legend, next day shipping, includes shipping and taxes $160. They have a preferred list of drill sizes, but offer to automatically adjust up the design drilling to the next preferred size, at no cost.

4. GoldPhoenixPCB

They seem to have an amazing offer for $99 for 100 sq. in. with two side green solder mask and white top legend, shipping included. I have sent them the design for a confirmation and a quote, 5 days later they didn't respond, so I don't know...


Bottom line, if I need two large boards for prototyping (for which I also have no incentive to insist on solder mask and legend) APCircuits in Alberta is still the best option.

If I need 5 or more large boards, BareBonesPCB is perfect. Next day shipping, and the very low price per board is balancing the courier and tax charges over the north border.

Generally, I need two boards for stereo designs (like the HPS preamps) and five boards for mono designs (like the YAP 2.1). Any other option I looked into (PCBInternational, Olimex, etc...) was (significantly) more expensive. Some companies in Toronto asked no less than $500 for two boards  . The only thing that could affect the options is GoldPhoenixPCB, if they care to respond and confirm the deal.

If solder mask and legend are mandatory then, short of a possible GoldPhoenixPCB offer, PCBFabExpress seems to be the best option.

EDIT: GoldPhoenixPCB confirmed the deal above. Payment by PayPal (+3.4%) 5 business days processing plus 3 business days shipping. They actually ship from Canada! I'll place an order with these guys and let everybody know the whereabouts. I'm very excited, this could be a real breakthrough in PCB cost managing.

[syn08]

Well, I'm extremely happy! Today, FedEx dropped the package at my door.

Grand total was CAD 130 (includes shipping, taxes, fees, etc...) for 3 boards, double sided copped, two side solder mask, top legend, HASL finished. They actually delivered 4 boards, all of an excellent quality (for the design rule I am currently using, min 20 mils trace). turn around time was exacly one week (considerably less than advertised, of five days processing plus three days shipping).

GoldPhoenixPCB is my new PCB house. Two boards without soldermask and legend, at APCircuits in Alberta, would cost CAD 150!

[andy_c]

I had missed your previous edit on this and didn't realize you had ordered from them.  What is that beast?

[syn08]

I had missed your previous edit on this and didn't realize you had ordered from them.  What is that beast?

HPS 4.3 - a minor update to my bipolar RIAA pre, this time in SMD. It will be built from the leftovers of the HPS 5.x series (I'm always ordering a few extra SMDs, just in case one flies for good from the tweezers). I'm so miserable that I'm sometimes spending 15 minutes on the floor, looking after a lost 1206, so almost no losses so far

GoldPhoenixPCB, at $1.3/sq. in. at the door, is hard to beat here in Canada. And apparently they always deliver some extra boards.

Next project in line is a bipolar high power amp. After the (not so successfull) VSOP, this is very simple, will deliver (hopefully) >600W into 4ohm (+/-80V), 1000V/uS, 6-8 pairs of ThermalTrak devices, 4MHz ULG for 60ppm THD20 at full power and a clever layout to support the above performances. And, of course, to finally publish on my web site the YAP 2.1 design, that was delayed for almost one year. This is pretty much the roadmap for 2010.

I also have on the board a preamp (fully remote controlled, I2S bus, PGA volume control, digital display, etc...) but for whatever reason I have very little appetite to fully engage into. I guess it's because of the very little signal processing involved, not much fun. I though really need  preamp, so maybe...

[stinius]

Ser fram også se hva du har kommet opp med.

[syn08]

Ser fram også se hva du har kommet opp med.

Litt tålmodighet 

[stinius]

BTW: I’m working on a new power amp (at the moment it’s only a sketch, pen and paper, don’t have a sim program on this laptop)

Bal constant power IPS, current feedback, FC, Hawksford cascode, buffer on the vas.
And the OPS are a sort of diamond with TT trannies.

Stein

[andy_c]

I had missed your previous edit on this and didn't realize you had ordered from them.  What is that beast?

HPS 4.3 - a minor update to my bipolar RIAA pre, this time in SMD.

I see from your HPS 4.3 post that the design and the Gold Phoenix boards were a success.  Congrats!  I'll have to try Gold Phoenix then.  They are the only place I've seen so far that allows adding heavy copper as an option without requiring a custom quote.  It's a bit spendy but doesn't seem at all out of line.

[syn08]

I have just ordered the AURA boards, $99/155 sq. in. plus 13% tax, shipping included. I'll get three boards (most likely four, as they ship usually one extra). I don't use the thick copper option, the 2.5A(average)/0.1"width/1oz. thick rule of thumb always worked for me.

A trace of 1 oz. copper, 0.1" width has 4.5mohm/inch lenght. In the AURA design, the rails are 0.4" width, allowing about 10A of average current. For a 0.4" width, that makes 1.1mohm per inch. I think 1mohm per inch is totally acceptable.

[andy_c]

Ah yes, I see.  So it looks like heavy copper may be unnecessary for an output stage board.

The other thing I was contemplating was to have the main filter caps be a whole bunch of snap-in types mounted on a board, instead of hardwiring with large cans.  That might be too much for the thin copper though, as the peak charging currents could get very high.  The idea would be to have a ground plane on one side of the board, and positive and negative planes voltage planes on the other, with a "panhandle" off the ground plane to form the amp's "dirty star" (the "clean star" being on the output stage board as discussed in the EMC thread).  I'll need to think about that some more.