UK PCB manufacturing

grim_reaper

Senior Member
I remember this being discussed a few months ago, but the search tools can't find anything given my probably inaccurate search terms...

The question is fairly simple; has anyone used 'Quick Teck' in the UK for PCBs?

They have an online quote form here and that says I can get a basic 40 x 40 mm board for ~£70 (same price area for 1 board or 20 it seems). Is that a good price?

(I haven't actually designed the board yet (and that's not my forte) so they may end up being bigger or smaller; the point of this research being whether I bother getting the boards made or just use similar boards from China!)

Thanks.
 

tony_g

Senior Member
https://oshpark.com/

this is who i use, they are an american company but the prices should work in your favor with the gbp to usd exchange rate.

i did also look at using china fab houses at one point but cost wise for small batches it was more expensive with "tooling fee's" ect.

my smallest board from them so far was 0.25 inch X 0.25 inch and that cost me 70c ( for 3 copies) with free international shipping (u.s to canada comes under international on their options for shipping).

board fab is usually 10 days or a little less and average delivery time seems to be 11 to 14 days for me, unless canada customs and border services decide to scrutinize everything coming in.


tony
 

Pongo

Senior Member
I like www.oshpark.com, it's good quality/service and inexpensive, but it may take a couple of weeks since they batch the jobs.

What I could really use is an equivalent of the "rent-a-coder" service to generate gerber files from drawn schematics. I've tried many pcb design packages and just don't do well with that part of the process. Bring back Brady tape!
 

premelec

Senior Member
@Pongo... you got masking tape? Black felt pen? Xacto knife? who needs Brady!? [I found some old 2X tape layouts in old files recently...] - I want something that takes a Jpeg of hand drawn image and turns it into a schematic AND PCB files... :) - if we have facial recognition why not this?
 

Hemi345

Senior Member
I like www.oshpark.com, it's good quality/service and inexpensive, but it may take a couple of weeks since they batch the jobs.
OSHpark is doing about a panel a day, so maybe you might have to wait a day or two for them to be panelized but not very long at all anymore. The last couple PCBs I ordered were on my door step in 2 weeks from the day I ordered them. The boards are excellent quality.
 

Pongo

Senior Member
OSHpark is doing about a panel a day, so maybe you might have to wait a day or two for them to be panelized but not very long at all anymore. The last couple PCBs I ordered were on my door step in 2 weeks from the day I ordered them. The boards are excellent quality.
Thanks for the update, that's good news!
 

Pongo

Senior Member
@Pongo... you got masking tape? Black felt pen? Xacto knife? who needs Brady!? [I found some old 2X tape layouts in old files recently...]
I still have a box of assorted Brady, but I'm not sure how sticky it is now lol

I want something that takes a Jpeg of hand drawn image and turns it into a schematic AND PCB files... :) - if we have facial recognition why not this?
Exactly! Why isn't there an app for that?
 

srnet

Senior Member
The boards for $50SAT came from China, the quality was certianly good enough, and the price was £8 for 10 boards (50mm x 50mm prices) delivered.

I went through a few revisions of the $50SAT board, so have plenty of spares, if anyone wants a sample to see what the quality is like, a SAE will get you one.
 

inglewoodpete

Senior Member
C'mon Brits! If there are PCB manufacturers in Australia's miniscule market then surely there are small-volume manufacturers in the UK.
 

grim_reaper

Senior Member
Thanks for all the suggestions guys; very helpful, as usual.

The basic conclusion I've drawn is that £80 is very expensive!
 

Dippy

Moderator
In UK? Loads, just require a little Googling over a coffee..

Two from memory.
PCBTrain.
Dialart/PCBPanel.
 

the old fart

Senior Member
I remember that tread, I think I started it.

I decided to design, print, UV expose, etch the boards myself.

Glad I did, and it wasn't that difficult.

TOF
 

Dippy

Moderator
Well, it depends what you want me old Fart. Can you do d/s with pth and resist?
I've done loads of s/s and have all the gear except cnc drill.
But a double-sided board with a 100 holes with pth and solder resist would do my head in.

If Grim wants a single-sided board with 3 holes then £80 may seem a lot, but a for a fancy double-sided board I think the price is fair -especially if you can squeeze multiple boards onto one panel.
 

tony_g

Senior Member
for double sided with plenty of tiny via's and smd parts i tend to take the easier route of getting them made by someone else.

if i only need a single sided board or a prototype larger board of what i need with everything on one side then ill etch it myself with the good ol' toner method :p
 

nekomatic

Member
Check out Fritzing http://fritzing.org for good free PCB design software with associated fabrication service - not UK, but Germany so no worries about import charges and low set up fees. The software can be used for breadboard and stripboard layouts too.

I've used Itead and had good results, also Proto-pic do a service for 10 boards up to 10 x 10 cm for a flat fee of £65 plus VAT, http://proto-pic.co.uk/pcb-prototype-manufacturing-service-10-boards/
 
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nekomatic

Member
Digging this one up because I've just come across http://www.ragworm.eu/ who are offering a UK-based PCB manufacturing service for what looks like reasonable prices, certainly if you only want a small number of small boards. Not as cheap as the Chinese of course but who is, and presumably these guys pay their tax here. And the PCB's come in groovy orange!

I haven't used them yet but may well do at some point, if anyone else has any experience I'd be interested to hear.
 

Buzby

Senior Member
I've used Ragworm, very good service and quick turnaround.
The boards are orange coloured, which make a change.
(They also supply a random freebie PCB as well. Mine was a Eurocard proto. )

Ragworm is part of stickleback, who I used for my Orrey PCB. http://www.doghouse.talktalk.net/pcb.jpg
 
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