b_w_:
James-I am very excited by the potential of your service. I have been using BatchPCB for a couple years now but have always stuck to through hole components in my work. Your service will make many things easier and I will now be able to order a larger number of pcbs. Ive finally had some time to redesign a board using SMT parts. Ive gone through the steps to get it ready for your service and have a few questions/comments about it.
The site seems pretty limited at the moment and didnt allow for uploading files or providing an estimated price. I assume this is because the database isnt online yet. I did what I could and what it would let me do worked fine although it was a little touchy about me staying logged in.
The tutorial and various scripts could do with some streamlining. Something similar to how BatchPCB has you run 1 script and the CAM job. Combining the various scripts together somehow and modifying the CAM job to include the .pads file would make things a little smoother at the beginning.
I am a little unclear about the multiple design thing. My intention was to design up 2 maybe 3 small pcbs (the current one is under 1" square with only 54 pads) and arrange them as I could in the space I could work with in Eagle (havnt ‘gone pro’ yet) so that the file I send to Gold Phoenix would have 3 of pcb1, 1 of pcb2 and 1 of pcb3. After sending it off to Gold Phoenix they would panelize the various pcbs so that in the end I would have a full panel of say 27 of pcb1, 9 of pcb2, and 9 of pcb3.
–While I would have 1 panel, it seems that for your service I would submit 3 different sets of files corresponding to each separate pcb. Is that correct or would I somehow have to send you the file for the whole panel?
–Does this incure additional cost or setup charges for the 3 different pcbs in the single panel?
–Under my rough estimate I would have about 45 total individual boards, each well under 200 pads… does that mean I get stuck with a $450 bill or is there some price range between a quantity of 10 and a quantity of 50 or would 45 boards be ‘close enough’ to 50 to count?
Finally I guess the big question is when do you plan to throw open the doors? I understand a lot of chips have to fall into place but is there any chance you might be going by this upcoming March?
Thank you so much and I look forward to giving your service a shot.
Brian Evans
Cal State Long Beach
Brian,
I’ll try to answer your questions the best I can at this point. Because we are not up and running, some of the items you asked have not been totally addressed at this point.
The uploading of files is at a point to where we are divided about the proper procedure. For the moment…all files will be emailed to us directly. This is mainly because our forwarding bot has a mind of it’s own. Also we are asking for much more than required at this point. We will trim the fat off the requirements after the first few months.
I haven’t had any complaints about a user having problems with staying logged in. I’ll check on that.
I was working on the dynamic pricing the last time I was working on the website. I haven’t totally ironed out all of the bugs to the process. The website was put on the back burner to finish the expansion to the shop before the new equipment arrives.
We know the tutorials could use some streamlining. You are right on that count, and we will try to streamline the process further, but we just haven’t had the time.
Theoretically, what you have listed would be three different jobs. Because the service is new, we will (for now) take it all as one job. Also…try to make sure your panel is at a size we can deal with. (if it is oversized, we will cut the panels to a smaller group before proceeding if needed)
We have a specific size that is limited by our reflow oven. This will change in the future, but for now we are limited to 8 7/8 inches by 11 inches (225mm x 280mm).
There would be three set’s of files, one set for each board layout. (this is the problem with the different boards on the same job #). But for now …as long as the demand is low…we will work with customers who want to roll multiple jobs into one. (We guarantee this will change eventually).
To answer your questions directly:
For now…you would only incur one setup fee for the whole job (we may extend your job numbering system for jobs like this 001A,001B,001C, etc).
You do not have to send the panel (matrix) layout. Just each individual board files. Please compress the files into a zip file. We are actually located real close to Nowhereville, Alabama…and do not have high speed internet at this point. We will be installing satellite internet service in the first few months.
The price changes dynamically with the amount of boards ordered. Here is your breakdown.
$25.00 setup fee, $5.13 per board (minimum) or $0.03 per pad (if over 200)
Which totals up to : $255.85 (based on under 200 pads and not including shipping back to you).
I know this post has dragged on…
We are desperately trying to get everything done…it has been like pushing chain, mainly because of the season.
We have a shop that is being expanded for the new machinery, working on the website, and doing a lot of dicussion with business owners about the service. It leaves little time for sleep. 
We should be up and running by March of 08.