Is there some way for BatchPCB to be a little more visible wrt to what’s happening with panels in process?
For example, the panel with my board, “1297”, has been “processing” for a couple of weeks now. If I click “More” on the status monitor I see how full the current panel is and, as of now, that panel 1289 shipped Mar 1 but I’m curious to know where in the process “my” panel is.
If they only just shipped 1289 and I’m waiting on one 8 panels further on, what is the wait time going to be? Can BPCB or their supplier give an estimate of delivery?
We do receive panels out of order quite frequently. This is out of our hands, we send them out in order, but the manufacturer doesn’t always send them back that way. When we receive a bulk amount of panels from the manufacturer they tend to follow in order, but sometimes we get a few strays that come early… I can see how the status monitor can be confusing, we are currently working on a new site that will eliminate this confusion. As always, if you have any questions email us support@batchpcb.com
Blackfin:
Is there some way for BatchPCB to be a little more visible wrt to what’s happening with panels in process?
For example, the panel with my board, “1297”, has been “processing” for a couple of weeks now. If I click “More” on the status monitor I see how full the current panel is and, as of now, that panel 1289 shipped Mar 1 but I’m curious to know where in the process “my” panel is.
If they only just shipped 1289 and I’m waiting on one 8 panels further on, what is the wait time going to be? Can BPCB or their supplier give an estimate of delivery?
As I posted in another thread, it’s safe to assume 3-4 weeks turn around from the day your board enters “processing” till you get it. At least thats what it is for me. I average about 21-24 days. It’s a little long (would prefer 2 weeks) but for the deal its not so bad.
Blackfin:
Is there some way for BatchPCB to be a little more visible wrt to what’s happening with panels in process?
For example, the panel with my board, “1297”, has been “processing” for a couple of weeks now. If I click “More” on the status monitor I see how full the current panel is and, as of now, that panel 1289 shipped Mar 1 but I’m curious to know where in the process “my” panel is.
If they only just shipped 1289 and I’m waiting on one 8 panels further on, what is the wait time going to be? Can BPCB or their supplier give an estimate of delivery?
As I posted in another thread, it’s safe to assume 3-4 weeks turn around from the day your board enters “processing” till you get it. At least thats what it is for me. I average about 21-24 days. It’s a little long (would prefer 2 weeks) but for the deal its not so bad.
Awesome info, good to know… I was hoping that it would have a 30 day turn around time.
It’s been 6 weeks in processing for me on panel 1509. I am used to waiting with BatchPCB, that’s OK for the price, but I really dont understand how the processing step can be THAT long. Standard cheapest lead time is like 2 weeks, isn’t it?
It would be great if there was a status matrix that showed the statuses for a range of orders starting with the last panel shipped and ended with the panel currently being panelized.
For each panel it could show the dates the panel was panelized, sent for processing and shipped. That way if a panel was sent back out of order we could see that later panels had been shipped without having to ask you.
I have only had one problem in using BatchPCB, when apparently the fab house messed up a panel, however, I never saw the results of the mess up because BatchPCB notified me there had been a problem and resent it for processing. It took a little longer than usual but I appreciated that I was notified and that they straightened it out without my having to do anything but wait.
It appears my order was failed by the manufacturer. That sort of thing happens, but the resulting treatment is that my order is just resent, with the same fab delay. Given the 2 weeks additional delay that SFE support told me about, that makes it 8 weeks in production.
I have to be clear here: I deeply respect SFE’s work and BPCB is a nice alternative to expensive fab houses.
But this will be my last order here. I have nothing against a month delay given the price. I’m OK to pay less for more production time, but it has to be a RELIABLE time with, say a week of margin, or two. Not five.
And yes, I’m aware SFE did not guaranty any production time, and my project is really not time critical. But the FAQ speaks of 3 weeks, and that delay has almost tripled in my case. That is really a lot too much for me.
They are cheaper (10 off 5cm x 5cm boards for $9.90) and make the boards in under a week. Airmail postage can take three weeks, though, unless you pay quite a lot of money for shipping via DHL. Boards I ordered 10 days ago are on their way to me.
[Edit]
They turned up this morning (2 August), I actually got 11 boards. Four days to make them and and a week for postage for boards that cost me $0.90 each is very impressive.
Quality is quite good, and the one I’ve just assembled and tested works OK.
