#PROTEL 99SE GENERATE DRILL DRAWING PLUS#

If you saw boards apart, you create a cloud of abrasive, irritating dust. I have done so in the past were Advanced Circuits had their '3 for $33' specials for like an 8' x 10' panel (note that this was 3 panels for $33 EACH), but times have changed. From personal experience, with board prices at 50 cents each, I would not 'depanelize' my own boards. The rules on multiple designs on one panel (not limited to 100mm x 100mm) are always changing.

It may also help Eagle with 'empty' copper layers - no, it does not result in a ring of copper around the board perimeter. This ensures that progress doesn't stop because they don't notice the board outline on a single layer. The second thing I do is to include the board outline on every Gerber layer. I don't know if this is ever read, but the details are there if anybody looks. I send a readme file listing the board size, layers, files names and so forth along with comments about odd features like unplated holes, milled slots and cutouts and things like no copper or silkscreen layers. I do two things with every batch of boards. If you don't include the files, they will assume you forgot to include them this will evoke an email discussion, slowing the process down.

#PROTEL 99SE GENERATE DRILL DRAWING PLUS#

A note explaining that the board has no copper plus the Gerber files for the empty copper layers and the boards were made with no questions asked. Copper would have interfered with that.Īs I said, Elecrow has been very accomodating. One of them is a 100mm x 100mm cover panel thst goes over a GPS antennna. I have 2 boards on my desk that I had made with no copper at all. If you are making more, this quickly becomes more expensive. If you are making only one batch of boards, this is about a wash with Elecrow. They price tbeir boards at $25 for 'urgent + shipping' for a batch of ten 100mm x 100mm boards. I asked DHL for the cost to return the boards - their answer was 'more than the cost of the original assembled boards.'

I had a stressful week or two waiting for the boards to arrive in China, shipped via USPS. They reworked the boards at no charge when I sent them back with known-good parts. I don't fault Elecrow for this as the chips were visually indistinguishable from the real thing. A Linear Technology I2C programmable oscillator chip would happily response to any and all messages on the I2C bus, no matter what address they were intended for. We were hit with counterfeit parts on this lot. The second batch of boards was 60 small SMT boards with a number of ICs. This was a batch of 25 through hole boards, so it wasn't too difficult to correct. Spell out the details for the orientation of all parts, even you you are certain it's obvious. They very consistently did not see it that way - every one was backwards. In my mind, it was clear that the mark on the package should go near the mark on the board. The first set of boards had 2 sip resistor packages.

The quality was excellent but not without problems. I have had Elecrow do turnkey assembly on a few boards. A batch of 10 boards is about $17 to ship, but you can add several more batches or other products to that shipment for little or no increase in cost. From Elecrow, you'll have boards in hand in 7 or 8 days. If you are using these services, I definitely recommend using DHL Shenzhen shipping. Both provided high quality boards I wasn't pushing the technology with 8 mil space and trace. I have recently had boards made by Smart Prototyping and Elecrow. Most boards don't have these batch numbers any more so I don't have any solid conclusions but I believe this to be true.

Boards from several of the vendors had the same format number, and a couple others had a different format. I was gathering evidence to support this theory by looking at the batch number put on each set of boards. Elecrow, Smart Prototyping, etc., arrange the panels I believe and the boards are made by the same factory. I believe that all of the low cost boards are coming from a couple different factories.

Protel 99se generate drill drawing