Where is the best place to get a multi-project PCB made?
I have a number of PCBs that I have designed and would like to get made. I have 14 separate designs that I have merged into one 100sq in panel using Gerbmerge. Everywhere I have tried to get a price from wants $30-$40 extra per design. I don’t see why it should cost more if I have different designs compared to the same design repeated x times to fill the panel.
I read in some posts from a couple of years ago that Gold Pheonix allows 5 designs in a panel for a single $30 multi-project fee, however they quoted me $30 per design extra. Maybe limiting my panel to only 5 designs would mean I only pay $30 extra?
Has anyone had a multi-design panel made recently where they didn’t have to pay a fee per design?
You might take a look at [ITead Studio or [Seeed Studio.
They only permit one design per board, but 10 copies of board up to 5 cm x 5 cm are less than $15 delivered, or 10 copies of a board up to 10 cm x 10 cm are less than $30 delivered. At these prices, it may make sense to un-bundle your boards.](http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/fusion-pcb-service-p-835.html?cPath=185)](http://iteadstudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=19_20)
Thanks. I’ll take a look at those too. That might work out cheaper, and quite a few extra copies.
I just got an email back from GoldPheonix detailing their special price requirements more clearly.
“our limit max panel size 14.5”X10”,… ,and we limit 6 projects/panel”
Sounds ridiculous that they limit the number of designs. You could always connect the different boards with on or two wires, then the whole board would in fact be one project/design.
Do you want them to cut out each of the 14 designs, or are you ok with getting one panel that you have to cut out? If you’re doing the cutting I can’t see that it should make a difference.
I did something similar a while back when I made a 1" diameter round board. I copied it into a 2x3 array and just sent that file. I didn’t ask for it to be cut apart. I also didn’t ask if it would be extra and had no trouble from the board house. I used Sunstone’s PCBExpress proto service.
My most recent project was through pcbpool, and I was pleased. The first batch had some soldermask alignment issues which caused problems with my fine pitch QFN parts, but they re-ran them and got me replacement boards pretty quickly. You also can’t beat their free stainless steel stencil, either.
NicholasY:
I just got an email back from GoldPheonix detailing their special price requirements more clearly.
“our limit max panel size 14.5”X10”,… ,and we limit 6 projects/panel”
I had the same issue. I offered to pay more to put 7 different PCB designs on a panel, but they would not budge. I have no idea why they would put this limitation, since they don't seem to care how many total PCBs are on the panel...
So how do they define a project? If the ground plane for all boards are connected, is the whole panel a single project?
I specifically said when I requested quotes that I didn’t require the boards to be depanelized or scored. I was happy to cut them apart myself. However, the responses came back the same, that they would charge a multi-project fee.
I’m not sure how adding a couple of traces or a ground plane would work. I am only using the freeware version of Eagle, so am limited to 80 x 100mm. The only way I found to make the larger composite was with GerbMerge.
Looking at the pricing, I am planning to get the individual boards made by iTead. The pricing will be about the same, but I get 10 copies of each board, with 5 passing e-test.
Can you do all the boards as a single PCB and then cut them yourself?
[Advanced Circuits has a “$33 Special”…4 boards of up to 60 sq. inches for $33 each. For an additional charge of $50, you can do multiple designs, step & repeat and so on. If all you designs fit within 60 sq. inches, this may be an option. The price would be a total of $192 plus shipping.
Note that this prices does not include de-panelizing. Not matter how you do it, cutting the boards apart is a nasty job. I have used a band saw which works but the amount of hazardous dust created is immense. A better alternative is shearing the boards apart using a sheet metal sheer but realize you must cut all the way across the panel to do this. At least one dimension of your boards must be the same. You’d get 5 copies of each board this way (the “special” special is one free board with an order of 4).
If your boards are less than 5cm x 5cm, ITead or Seeed will be about the same price for nice stacks of 10 boards.](http://www.4pcb.com/index.php?load=content&page_id=130)
I put 3 different and separate designs in a single gerber file. Seeedstudio made them no problems.
Agree though that cutting them apart yourself is a PITA. I think I gave myself RSI using a box cutter and steel ruler.
If you are going to cut them yourself, give yourself plenty of space between designs, and preferably move any mounting holes inwards. I think I left ~3mm, and it was OK if i didn’t make any mistakes while cutting, but a bit more leeway would have been nice.