[time-nuts] PCB costs and suggestions for suppliers

[Attila Kinali]

On Tue, 8 Jul 2008 17:49:42 +0100
"David C. Partridge" <david.partridge at dsl.pipex.com> wrote:

> I'm looking to get a PCB made up for my frequency divider circuit.   I'm
> based in the UK.   So far the best price I've found is about 160 Euro plus
> tax and delivery for one 5" (127mm) by 3.5" (88.9mm) 4-layer board (from
> PCB-Pool).   As I've not had a PCB made up in the last twenty odd years, I
> don't know if this is typical, or whether I should be able to get a better
> price.

The price sounds reasonable, depending on what options you choose
from. The cost of a PCB is mostly dependend on the smallest feature
size, which not only includes track width, but also the spacing
between tracks or pads. Also keep the number of different sized
holes at a minimum (the number itself isn't very much important
unless you have 100s of them).

Also keep in mind that most of these PCB services use some
unspecified FR4 whith very varying quality. Ie you should either
design for tracks without specific impedance or choose a better
base material.

			Attila Kinali


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It is the unknown we fear when we look
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