PCB manufacturing service - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: akis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 am
content: My designs are all through hole because I do not have the equipment, experience, eye sight and knowledge to work with SMD.Once I have finished a design and it works on the relatively large PCB, is there a known service that someone would take that design and convert as much as is possible to SMD and then manufacture it for me?

author: fcb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 10:51:50 am
content: you probably need to split the project into (a) the design of the SMD board and (b) the buildHow many units are you after? and how complex is the design?

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 11:11:10 am
content: .. or check out a local technical college, university, hackerspace etc and hire / offer hands on learning to a student.I've got a lot of project help that way. It's a win-win

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 12:15:22 pm
content: Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 amYou don't need much to start. And what you need is rather cheap, compared to hire someone to create an SMD design for you. Of course you can move up to more complex packages and more expensive tools later.Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 amAt least some basic experience is easy to get and also rather cheap. Run through a few of these (random picks from eBay):eBay auction: #131115594190eBay auction: #251500726752eBay auction: #291092396373Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 amWelcome to the club. Yes, it is a problem. But not as bad is it first looks if the issue is e.g. "only" age related. There are many tools to help. It doesn't have to be a $$$ Mantis.However, you have to try what works for you, e.g. maybe a head magnifier, maybe a jeweler's lope (I can't stand them). Or even maybe a stereo microscope (not as expensive as a Mantis, but still ...)Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 amCan be obtained from youtube and applying to the training kits.https://www.youtube.com/user/SolderingGeek/videosScroll down to their 6 and 7 year old videos. Note, they are doing it by the book. For a quick prototype not supposed to last 20 years you can give yourself a bit of leeway.Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 amSure, you could hire an engineering company to redo the design for you. Maybe you find a cheap one in China. But I doubt that it will be cheaper than starting with SMD on your own.

author: Precipice
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 01:36:11 pm
content: Sure - this is bread and butter stuff, and far more welcome than the more usual "I have an idea, can you make it for me, we'll pay you from the profits when we sell a million" customersDon't be overly scared of SMT, though - decent glasses and a lot of light will get you a fair way, and after that, well, there are plenty of options - including subbing the job out.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 01:50:45 pm
content: Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 amUnless if your eye sight is very very bad, I would say this is very doable and not too expensive. All you need to start is a good magnifying glass and a good solder iron tip and a plenty of tacky flux. Watch youtube videos like this oneand practice.I made a similar switch about a year ago and it was actually fun.

author: akis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 04:22:11 pm
content: My eye sight is not that bad, I even void wearing glasses when I solder. It is true however that a lot of light helps.So I have decided to listen to the suggestions and get those cheap ebay kits and try.I have also decided to go modular. Break the design down to mostly independent parts that I can manufacture and use/reuse separately. What currently happens is that I build 70% of the board, discover problems with some area, have to throw the board and most of the components away and start again.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 04:38:39 pm
content: Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 04:22:11 pmWhat kind of problems? Design error during development/prototyping or assembly errors of a good design?If prototyping, have your considered using a prototype boardhttp://martin-cibulski.de/atm/mount_controller_2/mc_2_prototype_board.jpg? (you can get breakout adapters for SMD ICS). If assembly errors, do rework?

author: akis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 05:56:27 pm
content: Schematic errors most of the time and about 20% PCB design errors due to rushing and being lazy. Easy to sort out, but it means a new PCB. In the meantime the previous PCB has 2-3 modules on it already built, all to be thrown out. It is completely home made projects where I am the only user, maybe two/three users in the future, so it is not as bad as it sounds. I have a small workshop downstairs where I fabricate two sided PCBs. I can make a two sided PCB in 3 hours including 1 hour for etching and 30 minutes for drilling.

author: lewis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 06:18:02 pm
content: Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 10:47:26 amYes, we do that!But it's not difficult to do yourself, just a matter of programming your CAD package with the components you need. The manufacturing is not too tricky either, if it's small volume then you can place the components by hand under a large magnifying glass and reflow solder in a toaster oven. Larger volumes you can outsource to a company with a pick and place machine.It's not economical to get someone to re-engineer if you're going to be making one or two of something. But if you're making 100's or even 50's, the cost and time savings can be significant.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2014, 06:39:25 pm
content: Quote from: akis on August 09, 2014, 05:56:27 pmI think this explains why you prototype using pcbs. I don't have PCB facility downstairs so I develop on a proto board and when it works I do the layout , send to fabrication, wait a week or two for the PCB to arrive and then assemble it. Because of the long turn around time I put more effort into verifying the layout and in most cases (so far always) they work in first iteration.Yes, if you make your own PCBs it makes sense to develop in pieces but you can still try to patch a bad PCB to work.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2014, 02:53:30 pm
content: One advice if you are going SMD, get one of those resistor/capacitors kitshttp://amzn.com/B006G0ILS6Compact, easy to locate values and can be refilled.