JLCPCB SMT Assembly Service - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 07:44:22 am
content: JLCPCB have finally launched the SMT assembly service for those outside of China.I placed an order yesterday, so I shall use this thread to show how things go.Limitations are:- SMT assembly limited to one side of the PCB only. If you have components on the other side you must assemble these yourself- You cannot supply parts yourself, they must come from the JLCPCB component library which is a subset of components from LCSC- SMT assembly only - no TH parts- Unlimited number of basic components can be placed, but a maximum of 10 different types of "Extended" parts can be placed. Basic components look to be mainly standard passive parts.The only problem I faced when ordering is the list of components that was in the Extended parts spreadsheet didn't match up with what was available when ordering. I originally designed the board with a BME280 sensor on it, switched over to the Sensirion SHT31 which was in the Extended parts database. When ordering, this part wasn't an option so will need to be assembled at my end.If everything goes OK then PCBs might be in my hands in a week or so, so it should be interesting to see how it pans out and what the quality of the assembly is like.I think the components accounted for around $60, so the actual assembly cost was around $24 on the 10 PCBs.

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 08:46:18 am
content: How did you get past the first screen where you upload your gerbers?The next button does not work for me.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 09:01:43 am
content: Quote from: tglev on September 06, 2019, 08:46:18 amWere you able to select all the PCB options and see a preview of the PCB?

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 09:22:57 am
content: Yes, that page worked as normal.Was also able to select quanties, panel the pcb and so on.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 09:33:22 am
content: Quote from: tglev on September 06, 2019, 09:22:57 amSo you managed to select the side to be assembled?After that, you should be able to click "Next" to begin uploading the BOM and CPL files

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 09:37:18 am
content: That last part, where you can turn SMT assembly switch to "on", is completely invisible for me on the page.It also does not show up after adding the gerbers.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 09:55:06 am
content: Are you signed in to your account?

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 11:15:48 am
content: Yes

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 11:33:08 am
content: Quote from: SteveyG on September 06, 2019, 07:44:22 amI'll be interested to see how this goes.I guess they will not buy in parts that are not in their standard stock?How is this company for just supplying bare boards? Are they reliable?

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 11:44:02 am
content: Quote from: DTJ on September 06, 2019, 11:33:08 amThey won't buy parts that aren't in their stock and they won't accept parts supplied externally by the customer.I have found them quite reliable for just bare boards, have been using them for a while and the PCBs are great quality. Especially for their low price point.

author: 48X24X48X
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 12:24:45 pm
content: Can I use my own KiCad library but still use the parts from their list or it is strictly using their EasyEDA software only?

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 12:36:52 pm
content: You can use your own library.What I have understood is that you can select which component goes where during the order process.

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 12:59:19 pm
content: I think their parts catalog is a bit too limited for me right now. I just checked one of my recent projects:They have STM32F072 but only LQF, I want QFNThey have just one ISSI LED driver in their list and not the one I need.They do have the LEDs I want, though

author: mskeete
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 03:15:18 pm
content: Just finished placing two PCBA orders.The first was easy, just a few passives.On the second one, all the IC's were out of rotation (90 degrees one way or the other) compared to proteus.I had to edit the placement file and reupload a few times until it looked right.I'll post a pic of what turns up in the post

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 03:52:20 pm
content: What browser did you use?

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 04:29:06 pm
content: Quote from: mskeete on September 06, 2019, 03:15:18 pmI had the same issue, but it got corrected during the audit.

author: DBecker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 06:02:30 pm
content: They have a good selection of STM32 parts in their "basic" collection. There are more in their "extended" range, but for many it would cost less to upgrade rather than pay a setup fee.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 06:19:03 pm
content: Watching this thread avidly. I've got a design on hold waiting for this. I've carefully picked parts from their parts library so I can low ball the turnaround cost.

author: DBecker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 06:51:33 pm
content: Is there any easy way to search only for 'basic' (no setup fee) parts using their search engine?What is the matching process from my BOM to their list?

author: mskeete
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 07:23:03 pm
content: Quote from: ddavidebor on September 06, 2019, 03:52:20 pmFirefox. Yesterday I tried Firefox and ChromeWhen back to using Firefox but deleted all my JLCPCB cookiesI was also in contact with support so maybe they fixed it for me

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 07:54:21 pm
content: I'd like an option to show only the 'basic' components.I thought some AVRs would have been in the basic range, but no. All Microchip micros seem to be extended.Another good reason to learn STM32Edit:Is there a downloadable spreadsheet somewhere listing all the basic parts?

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 08:12:32 pm
content: Quote from: voltsandjolts on September 06, 2019, 07:54:21 pmYou can search for basic parts by clicking the checkbox when actually placing the order but not when searching on the main page. I will ask for the option to be added to the general search too.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 08:13:20 pm
content: Quote from: bd139 on September 06, 2019, 06:19:03 pmMine will be a few days extra as I chose the ENIG option, but I'll report back as soon as I have news. I'll also be uploading a video as soon as the PCBs arrive.

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 08:30:57 pm
content: Here's your choices for 'basic' (no extra setup charge) microcontrollers:STM32STM32F030F4P6TSSOP-20STM32F030C8T6LQFP-48STM32F103C8T6LQFP-48STM32F103CBT6LQFP-48STM32F103RCT6LQFP-64STM32F103R8T6LQFP-64STM32F103RBT6LQFP-64STM32F103RET6LQFP-64STM32F103VET6LQFP-100STM32F103VCT6LQFP-100STM32F103VBT6LQFP-100STM32F103ZET6LQFP-144STM32F107VCT6LQFP-100STM32F405RGT6LQFP-64STM32F407VGT6LQFP-100STM32F407VET6LQFP-100STM32F429ZGT6LQFP-144STM32L151C8T6LQFP-48STM8STM8L051F3P6TRTSSOP-20STM8L101F3P6TSSOP-20STM8L152R8T6LQFP-64STM8S003F3P6TRTSSOP-20STM8S103F3P6TSSOP-20STM8S105C6T6LQFP-48STM8S105K6T6CLQFP-32STM8S207R8T6LQFP-64STCSTC15F2K60S2-28ILQFP44STC12C5A60S2-35ILQFP44STC89C52RC-40ILQFP44TIMSP430F149IPMRG4LQFP64

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2019, 06:56:25 am
content: Quote from: voltsandjolts on September 06, 2019, 07:54:21 pmI got feedback that this is getting added to the web page now.There is also a bug at the moment whereby you can only place a total of 10 extended parts, even if they are all the same item. This will be fixed also.

author: Fire Doger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2019, 09:41:42 am
content: Quote from: voltsandjolts on September 06, 2019, 07:54:21 pmYes, someone uploaded in the other thread. Couldn't find it in their site...Quote from: thm_w on September 04, 2019, 11:13:49 pm

author: 48X24X48X
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2019, 09:47:11 am
content: Quote from: tglev on September 06, 2019, 09:37:18 amI'm seeing the same thing. Maybe it's currently enabled for a small pool of customer? Like after a limit, they switch it off?

author: Fire Doger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2019, 10:12:16 am
content: Quote from: mskeete on September 06, 2019, 03:15:18 pmRotation depends on how parts come in the reel tape (last pages on most datasheets) and EDA libraryThere is a chineese AD library for supported parts and a guidehttp://club.szlcsc.com/article/details_963_1.htmlhttp://club.szlcsc.com/article/details_1569_1.htmlRotating parts from random libraries is one factor that drives smt assembly tooling cost high.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 09, 2019, 07:40:56 am
content: For anyone that didn't have the SMT assembly option available, apparently it has now been made open to all customers. I think it was still in testing phase before

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2019, 08:25:04 am
content: Thanks for the summary video. Covers everything nicely. Interested to see the results.I'm busy frobbing my design at the moment to get as much in the basic library as possible. Think I can actually get it all in there with some creativity. Also motivation to throw something together with STM32 rather than AVR. Should benefit from decent GDB support then as well.

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2019, 11:28:49 am
content: Is there anyone that knows how to export the BOM and CPL files from autodesk eagle?The ones I managed to export are in the wrong format and are not accepted.Any help is appreciated!

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 09, 2019, 12:30:48 pm
content: Quote from: tglev on September 09, 2019, 11:28:49 amYou may need to export then re-organise it in excel. Did you get the columns in the right order?

author: tglev
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2019, 02:31:08 pm
content: Quote from: SteveyG on September 09, 2019, 12:30:48 pmThe issue with eagle is that the exported files are txt files without extension. This means they arent even close to csv or xlsx files

author: sixtimesseven
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2019, 03:31:20 pm
content: Just FIY:pcbway.com offers assembly service and they will buy your parts or use provided parts.I got 10 boards from them last month which I used to test them and I was very happy with the results. About 35 SMD and 15 THT parts, 30$ for the assembly. They supplied the parts and charged just about digikey prices. Assembly / setup cost was 30$ + their normal pcb cost plus shipping.

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 12:45:06 am
content: Quote from: sixtimesseven on September 09, 2019, 03:31:20 pmSo $30 set up cost plus $30 for all 10 boards to be assembled or $30 each?Thanks

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 05:54:06 am
content: Quote from: DTJ on September 10, 2019, 12:45:06 am30$ for 10 boards.I can also confirm that PCBWAY component pricing is pretty much the exact same as the supplier they buy from (and they're more than happy to buy them from LCSC, same company as JLCPCB).

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 11:12:43 am
content: If DHL can do their thing, I might have it by Friday...

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 11:41:33 am
content: "Solder Paste Printing" -> They're not bothering doing a stencil

author: SMTech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 01:19:49 pm
content: Quote from: thinkfat on September 10, 2019, 11:41:33 amIf they scale this offering up to the extent they already do with with small batches and one offs of bare boards, it puts them in the rather small niche where solder jet printing is probably actually cost effective, reducing waste of both paste and stencil materials and removing the need to either store or re-manufacture a stencil every time someone actually re-orders. Up until fairly recently however those jet printers were so expensive it was quite difficult for a lot of places to easily justify having one as even proper stencils are fairly cheap with decent lead times (1000's of stencils just to cover the purchase price delta between jet and conventional printing machines)

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 02:01:03 pm
content: Quote from: ddavidebor on September 10, 2019, 05:54:06 amThe $30 for 10pcs is only valid for up to 50 SMT parts, it seems. If you go beyond that, the price is going up rather steeply.

author: mskeete
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2019, 01:27:23 pm
content: Quote from: mskeete on September 06, 2019, 03:15:18 pmThe first two boards I ordered have arrived.Just one IC to be soldered manually.Soldered a few headers and did a quick test with the ST-LINK utility.All OK so far

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 13, 2019, 01:37:28 pm
content: Mine are also in. A fairly simple board, so not a huge number of parts to place. I'll record a short video later with some microscope images.There was a bug at the time I placed my order which limited the maximum number of placed extended components to 10, instead of 10 different types of extended parts. It means I've got a few SMT parts to place, but first impressions are good.

author: jmsigler
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2019, 03:00:00 am
content: Anyone know why they won't do 6 layer boards? Seems like they should effectively be the same as 2 or 4 layer (although maybe the 6 layer is done in a different fab?).

author: mrpackethead
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2019, 07:43:35 am
content: its looking not bad is it

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 14, 2019, 09:42:26 am
content: Quote from: jmsigler on September 14, 2019, 03:00:00 amAt the moment AFAIK, they are tagging these prototype orders onto their already established commercial production lines. Since all of those commercial PCBs are 2 or 4 layer in green they can pool the designs.I guess if the orders increase sufficiently, other options will be open as there is no specific limitation on the assembly process - the pick and place machines work fine on all colour PCBs and PCB technologies.

author: milordy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 14, 2019, 08:00:02 pm
content: Does "Review Parts Placement" work correctly?I just circuit for forehead, and at the time of final viewing the components is not in the correct position, but if I remove two components, the position is almost correct.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2019, 08:26:14 pm
content: Quote from: thinkfat on September 10, 2019, 02:01:03 pmyou can try leaving the part count field empty in the quote table, they will automatically quote you based on the number of pads instead of parts, it's going to be more economical in most cases (where you have a lot of smd resistors / caps).

author: mskeete
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2019, 03:39:07 am
content: Quote from: milordy on September 14, 2019, 08:00:02 pmMy first 4 boards were fine in the Review Parts page.My 5th board (uploaded Thursday/Friday) just wouldnt display properly.Tried many things while waiting for support to get back to me (expecting a response on Monday)Just now, i tried editing the x,y positions of the first item in the placement file. Changed the numbers thou even though i knew it was meant to be in mmEverything displayed except the first item.Next, i moved that item to the middle of the file (with the correct x,y numbers in mm) and everything displayed fine.Made no sense to me so generated the files again and left the first item where it was in the placement file and it still displayed properly.I can only conclude that something was fixed on their end while i was testing the files again.I'm using a Perl script to convert the placement file from Proteus to the required BOM and CPL files so i cant see what manual error i could have made when trying previously. So, try again, it might work now.Some other people also had problemshttps://easyeda.com/forum/topic/SMT-Assembly-Wrong-components-placement-a8d4fb943cf340eeb9309faca7340b23

author: milordy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 15, 2019, 04:47:45 am
content: Post in the forum link of this script to proteus please.I used altium, I was first generating BOM and CPL manually, and it was wrong, there was time that on the site jlcpcb did not even look like designator, even though everything is according to this tutorial (https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/81-how-to-generate-bill-of-materials-and-component-placement-list-from-altium), then found a script in a forum (http://club.szlcsc.com/article/details_10024_1.html) and was able to correctly display the designator, but positioned it looked wrong. I also tested on proteus, and did not have good results doing it manually, maybe with script help.

author: mskeete
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2019, 08:27:49 am
content: Quote from: milordy on September 15, 2019, 04:47:45 amThere's no link as it's something I wrote myself last week just as the service was being opened up to more users.I've attached the file. Rename from .txt to .pl and then run it from the command prompt (you'll need Perl (version 5) installed) with the name of your proteus PKP file.It will create two new files in the same place.You can upload the generated files straight away but I prefer to edit the BOM file and put the LCSC part numbers in.That saves time in the long run if you have to go back and forth a bit between screens. e.g.Only tested with my relatively old version of Proteus (7.8 SP2). Newer versions of Proteus allow you to do it a different way.There's also a few rotation angle 'hacks' in the script for a few of the packages (around line 35). Every time I find a package that doesn't preview correctly, I update that section.Let me know if it helps

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2019, 04:57:48 pm
content: When I upload the gerbers and then my BOM and CPL, the tooling stops/fails to select parts from the library after 22 different components (IE different values). I need to select a lot of components manually. When I hit the search button the proper value component is found, but the package isn't, so that needs some clicking. A real pain as I need to repeat each time after correcting some rotation issues.If I add some optional SMT order codes, only the components with the order codes are there, nothing else.I contacted JLCPCB support, and they said it's a bug they are working to solve. Their support is fast and very friendly. Hmmm....

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2019, 12:22:16 pm
content: I have modified the existing Eagle ULP file to generate the placement file for SMD components.It now creates a BOM and a CPL file (as CSV), which work [for me, today] for JLCPB's SMT service.I added an optional section where components can be defined (value + package combo) to offer rotation offset and optional order code abilities (line 25 onwards).You will find the ULP file here. The board doesn't allow .ulp files, so please rename the .txt to .ulp.Let me know what you think.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 20, 2019, 03:34:26 pm
content: I've put my findings here:

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2019, 09:56:32 am
content: I've added an option to the CPL and BOM creation ULP.It's now possible to add an attribute to a component, named "MOUNT" and to set the value to "NO".That component will then not be in the CPL/BOM files (obviously, only SMT components make it to these files as it's for SMT production).Attached is the updated .ulp (again as .txt) and some printscreens showing where and how to add the attribute in Eagle.I'd like to receive your feedback.

author: steenerson
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 21, 2019, 10:26:32 pm
content: Thanks stoepie, I used the first ULP you posted and it worked great! I didn't try anything special with attributes/codes, just ran it as-is and then manually fixed rotations. I'll try the new one next time.At first every part was showing up in JLC's viewer with an incorrect offset, all looked misaligned by the same x+y amount. The coordinates were all correct in the generated CPL file so I spent an hour tweaking my gerber files thinking something was causing 0,0 to be detected incorrectly, but in the end I just had to fix the rotations and somehow that fixed the alignment too.I found that the site autofills the search field in the part selector with whatever the part value in Eagle is set to, so setting values to the part number is useful for some parts. It also splits up the same part with different values into separate lines, so I was able to populate a subset of some parts by appending 'DNP' to the values.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2019, 12:04:48 pm
content: Hi steenerson, thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear it works for you as well.I had similar placement issues, and after simply re-sending the same data things worked. I think JLC has some issues to iron out.Adding DNP to a value is also a clever way to not process parts (Do Not Process?). Clever.-David

author: sokoloff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2019, 01:34:15 pm
content: Do Not Populate.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2019, 01:42:39 pm
content: Or Do Not Place...

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2019, 08:29:39 pm
content: So... I did a board that did not have the SMT's on the Top but on the Bot. And... the ULP didn't work,Tried a bunch of things to discover that the top side needs 'Top' and the bottom side indeed needs 'Bottom' instead of 'Bot'.Attached is the corrected version (rename from .txt to .ulp again)..Sorry folks.

author: juwi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 07:30:19 am
content: Well, I am a bit frustrated right now.I think a lot of you have seen components out of stock. Nevermind, they will restock you might have thought...Official answer to this question:ME:ads1262 is out of stock as you said, so it is now available right now dear , sorry for thatwhat do I have to do to get it re-stocked?would you please answer this ?SUPPORT:dear, i need to apply for ads1262 to get restock, waiting the approval from our manager. so it will take some times.ME:but it is possible?SUPPORT:can you jog our memory by email if no response by end of this week ? i can not guarantee it but up to our managerFor those who are not that well in asian communications,no answer means NOAny further questions on that matter where left unanswered for many days up to now (still unanswered)So - if a part is out of stock - you wont get it. And if it is now in stock and sells out - there is no restocking whatsoever.Seeing this it is quite sassy to claim to have 30k parts, if you count mosfets, there is a LOT out of stock...and with other parts too...That really makes it less worth, for you cant even design to their library...best regardsJulian

author: Fire Doger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 11:49:59 am
content: Quote from: juwi on September 23, 2019, 07:30:19 amhow many hundred pcs did you order?

author: mskeete
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 12:55:36 pm
content: I'm also hoping they restock certain parts.I emailed them and suggested they add a "notify me when back in stock" button but I doubt that's going to happen

author: juwi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 02:52:39 pm
content: Quote from: Fire Doger on September 23, 2019, 11:49:59 amThe actual order was about 50,which is half of max possible. So the question how many hundred with a service limited to One hundred absolute is a bit...Best regardsJulian

author: cyberfish
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 03:13:36 pm
content: A bit strange that they don't have any connector in stock, basic or extended. Not even USB connectors.

author: Fire Doger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 05:30:58 pm
content: Quote from: juwi on September 23, 2019, 02:52:39 pmThere is not max possible...Reel from TI is 2000 pcs (info from digikey reel price)It's an expensive part with probably very low demand and 3 months Lead TimeIt doesn't make sense for their business model to stock expensive parts that don't sell. They are 7$ more expensive from digikey (for whatever reason), other than their assembly offer I can't see why to buy it from them...Even digikey has only 1k pieces (probably they got 1 reel and sold 1k in tapes from it).LCSC is not the place to buy parts with Unobtainium, it's for generic cheap parts because their location is closer to the source.

author: juwi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 09:12:38 pm
content: That was an example. And actually yes, you can't order more than 100 assembled boards.So how does your argument make sense in a product (assembly, 5-MAX100) where they offer a library and have no stock on, dunno, 30-40% of the items?The product is especially for LOW quantity assembly. So their stock has to match this.AnywayI got a mail back today, regarding the mosfet drivers I also asked for, they told me to look for what they have in stock and Design by that.As I did this and ran into the issue that the stock of the fortier mosfet driver went from 1700 to zero in one day, I was not very pleased with the answer.I called them back and with a lot of misunderstanding I seem to have understand the following answer:Sorry, we are working on a software solution for the frontend to order out of stock parts.I personally give my understanding of that about 3 out of 10 that I got her answer right.so, at last there seems to be hope. We will see.they actually added components, Ws2812 leds are now present, only chips where few days ago.and the two boards they assembled arrived today and I like the quality of their assembly.We'll see.yoursJulian

author: Fire Doger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 05:41:28 am
content: Then I guess they are really on edge to offer max quantity, big runs doesn't bring them money?I guess their library includes what has been programmed and addressed at least once in their assembly line.I can't find something wrong on their side other than marketing bs.And I don't find them comparable to anyone else to give them a rating.They use only their pcb, and only their parts. That's puts them in a different category of assembly services which has its pros and cons...And ofc the low price is a result of doing their thing like robots and don't offer good support... I don't find it bad, it's more like an other option in the market...

author: OwO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 06:18:03 am
content: More like the only option if you don't want to waste lots of money and also don't want to solder 200 passives by hand. JLC SMT is one of the reasons I stayed in China in the first place, and it enabled me to prototype 10s of different designs a month while not getting back injury. It's good for what it's for - soldering passives for prototypes. Don't use it for production or expect to do zero soldering.

author: spongle
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 12:07:44 pm
content: Quote from: OwO on September 24, 2019, 06:18:03 amSo how do you use a stencil to put down the rest of your parts?If your answer is "you don't" then no thanks, I'll just build it properly in one reflow.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 12:42:09 pm
content: On a few boards I've developed, I can get 200+ parts done bij JLC and then I have to manually add a dozen or so. I don't have any problem with that.Some simple components should be basic components but aren't, which is frustrating.

author: OwO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 01:07:12 pm
content: Quote from: spongle on September 24, 2019, 12:07:44 pmI generally design my boards so that all JLC unsolderable parts are on one side. For the few parts that are on the same side as the passives I just tin the pads and use hot air. I generally avoid using a stencil for prototypes unless there are a lot of parts to solder because I find it wasteful.

author: spongle
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 01:41:40 pm
content: Quote from: OwO on September 24, 2019, 01:07:12 pmWasteful of what? A stencil from JLC adds like $5 to your order if you have it trimmed to fit in the box with your PCBs.I'd rather not alter my designs to fit the constraints of some half baked PCBA.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 07:26:18 pm
content: Quote from: spongle on September 24, 2019, 12:07:44 pmYou could design a stencil with cut-outs around already placed parts.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 07:37:32 pm
content: How would you then apply the paste?

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 06:37:02 am
content: With a spatula.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 06:50:41 am
content: An 0805 size spatulaFor those few components that I can't get from JLC, I will apply some solder paste with a syringe, add the components and use my hot air pencil.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 10:31:07 am
content: Quote from: stoepie2002 on September 25, 2019, 06:50:41 amThe spatula only needs to be smaller than the stencil.For 0805's you'd just solder them with a soldering iron

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 11:17:12 am
content: Not if other JLC-pre assembled parts are sticking thru the stencil cut-outs you suggested!Putting some paste on pads with a syringe, putting the parts in that, and using hot air is way faster and much nicer than soldering by hand.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 12:03:21 pm
content: Quote from: stoepie2002 on September 25, 2019, 11:17:12 amCan't work out the difficulty, unless you're missing my suggestionYou can't assemble using a production paste screen squeezee, but this is prototype assembly.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 12:42:51 pm
content: This was your suggestion:Quote from: SteveyG on September 24, 2019, 07:26:18 pmParts would be sticking thru the cutouts and you wouldn't be able to put solder on the board using a spatula any bigger than an 0805.My boards are typically compact and that odd component that's missing would have many surrounding components sticking thru your cut-outs... you still don't understand? If so, I give up.

author: SMTech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 12:46:32 pm
content: His suggestion, crazy tho' I consider it, is I think actually spread across the two near identical threads. For complex parts not fitted by JLC you would cut out the footprints a bit like rework stencils, so a tiny stencil with just that device aperture on it, how feasible this is would depend greatly on layout and how accurate you needed to be, it would certainly be very fiddly.

author: juwi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 09:02:38 pm
content: just tin the pads and apply flux, then put the part on and give it a heat gun warmup. For bgas skip the tinning part if its a enig PCB and just apply flux.Works perfekt.Best regardsJulian

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 26, 2019, 12:26:02 pm
content: Quote from: SMTech on September 25, 2019, 12:46:32 pmAgreed, it depends entirely on the layout, but these are prototypes anyway - unless it's a BGA device you don't even need a stencil for 95% of typical footprints. They can all be reworked with hot air as you would do on any repair.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2019, 01:03:59 pm
content: Possible yes, but slow, when doing a board with many components. I then prefer a stencil. Or SMT assy service(back on topic).My boards will arrive on Monday, and I will post a mini review.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2019, 05:42:28 pm
content: My first SMT assembled boards arrived.The quality is top notch.I made the names only 25mil, where JLC says they should be 32 mil. Even at 25 it looks great.

author: cyberfish
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2019, 10:06:08 pm
content: Thanks for the photos! They do look very good. Did you use any 0402 passives? Also, were you able to figure out the load capacitance for the YXC crystals? Their datasheet says it's encoded in the part number, but without a mapping table.Quote from: stoepie2002 on September 27, 2019, 05:42:28 pm

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2019, 06:13:37 am
content: I did not use any 0402's. They're marginally cheaper than the 0603's I used, but I wanted to be able to easily rework/modify the board if needed. 0603 is easier, IMHO. Also, since I have most values in 0805 and 0603 and nothing in 0402.... (except a reel of 100nF's)Very good question regarding the load capacitors. It had me wondering as well, and then I decided to throw 22pf's against theC70567 YXC crystal(click).I already soldered in the missing parts (on just one board) and tested it to find everything works. The exact frequency isn't critical in this application. I will test (temperature cabinet) if it works (starts) over the entire temperature range. I did a quick test (hot air and freeze spray) and am not too worried.DHL was faster than they said they would be and I didn't mind at all!The boards arrived within one week of ordering. I find that truly amazing!

author: DBecker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2019, 04:17:38 am
content: I've been trying to work through generating fabrication files from Kicad in a way that can be automated and clearly documented.Right now the sticking point is an automated way of getting part rotations correct.At a guess, Kicad footprints generally are using the IPC-7x51 standard. Parts are oriented so that pin 1 is on the upper left, or on the left for two pin parts. Rotation from that base orientation is CCW e.g. a +90 degree rotation puts pin one on the lower left.JLC seems to be using the EIA-481-D standard, or perhaps the IEC61188 standard.The EIA-481-D standard would explain why my SOT223 parts are 180 degrees wrong, and my SOIC parts are 90 degrees off, but I'm not sure if it is consistent with my diodes (including LEDs) being reversed.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 01, 2019, 07:06:58 am
content: Quote from: DBecker on October 01, 2019, 04:17:38 amI think it may have more to do with how the parts are supplied on tape, but I understand there will be a function soon on the website to allow rotation of parts to be easily managed.

author: SMTech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2019, 07:36:05 am
content: This and manufacturer specific packages that don't really have a name or using a name for that package that is barely recognizable (looking at you Altium) are the things that make automated quotation and conversion of centroid files to manufacturing data more difficult. There's a lot of work there to cover everything as you essentially need to add all the data manipulation tools the SMT software might add and offer them in your web frontend. Limiting whats on offer to a stocklist certainly helps tho, if they made that list graphical like a mini datasheet, you'd be able to fix your data to match theirs.

author: DBecker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2019, 10:58:41 am
content: Quote from: SteveyG on October 01, 2019, 07:06:58 amThose standards cover how parts are delivered on tape, and how to consistently describe a difference from the nominal orientation.I've seen references on datasheets before, but have always ignored them as "someone else's problem".I did quick survey of a few datasheets and found only EIA STD 481 listed. Unfortunately that's the standard that is the least predictable e.g. parts changing orientation between SOP and TSOP.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2019, 11:07:35 am
content: Exactly the reason I put the 'correction table' for orientation inside the ULP to create the BOM and the CPL files.This enables me to add component corrections (based on value and package type) and to have that available for my future designs.In my previous job I developed fairly complex electronics products on multilayer boards, and I was also responsible to get the products 'production ready'. IE make sure it can be built, see to proto testing and spec verifications, EMC/CE, vibration test, documentation, alignment procedures, mechanical specifications, etc etc.Besides all that, we had someone who was was dedicated to source the parts (with procurement) and making sure all parts were properly available in Cadstar and on the SMT assembly line. That was a fulltime job. This bit is never easy, so getting this right between yourself and a Chinese board/SMT house will be work. So be it.

author: GreggD
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2019, 06:45:27 pm
content: I have sorted many of the parts in the Excel file to make it much more convenient to use.Hope you like it. "jlcsmt_parts_library_4.zip" 1.4MBhttp://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=35614263837265853771

author: avion23
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 08, 2019, 01:51:28 pm
content: Quote from: GreggD on October 07, 2019, 06:45:27 pmWow thanks! That's actually useful

author: n0mjs710
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 06, 2019, 02:33:00 am
content: I realize this thread is a bit stale, but... I've been trying for several days to get even the simplest board to populate in parts in the viewer. I use Eagle 7.7. The Gerbers work fine. I'm to the point of making a test board with 4 x 0805 resistors on it. I've used the (thank you!) excellent ULP script posted here, and hand built the files for my test board... Everything appears to work flawlessly, but now parts show up in the viewer during the final stage.Has anyone tried to get a board assembled recently? Yesterday, even running the demo on their site resulted in no parts populated in the image.

author: vad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2019, 03:52:19 am
content: Quote from: n0mjs710 on November 06, 2019, 02:33:00 amI had the same problem few days ago, and created support ticket. They advised to ignore the placement preview applet, and just submit the order. JLCPCB will take care of validating the placement and rotating components themselves.Here is the quote:“Hi Sir,Many thanks for your email.Pls note that currently there is some errors with our online applet so no preview of SMT placements.But the preview is jut for reference only. So pls no worries because for each SMT order our engineer will double check the orientation & polar of each parts making sure they are correct. If there is any issue of them we will let u know immediately. Pls don't worry about the preview and go ahead to submit order.Best Regards.Thanks and best regards.Tony Li“

author: n0mjs710
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 06, 2019, 04:31:52 pm
content: Thanks vad!I'd opened a ticket when I first saw it and, well, to be honest, couldn't really understand the answer, but it looked like a boiler plate "do it right and it will work". I tried again this morning and it works now. I guess they were working on it, or your ticket was more persuasive than mine. Either way, glad to have this service and this thread – without what I read here, I'd not be to the point of placing an order today!

author: danie1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2019, 08:18:13 pm
content: Does anyone know if there is any way of managing out of stock parts other than just waiting and retrying?I've emailed them to ask if it's possible to put the order in and have the boards wait until all parts are in stock or if they can give some indication of when parts will be available but no answer so far.The parts are available on LCSC so I'm surprised they are out of stock for SMT assembly - I assumed they can go grab them from LCSC stock but who knows what the actual logistics of the service are.Might be a bit of a faff if you have to wait for all parts in stock on a board with lots of different parts - some of the out of stock parts are just basic resistors but one is an IC that seems to go out of stock on LCSC for weeks at a time

author: danie1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2019, 01:28:13 pm
content: I got an email reply in case anyone else is wondering. They'll only assemble stuff that's in stock at the time of order and there's no way to get them to hold the pcb or part stock for you.They also said that one of the parts I'm waiting on (MAX31855) they "won't buy" - it's an extended part that's still listed in the parts DB and is in stock at LCSC. I dunno if they listed it by mistake or there's some temporary procurement problem. I love the idea of getting jlc to assemble a few boards for prototypes but it's not as useful if listed parts might never get restocked for some reason.

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2019, 05:51:44 am
content: When I upload the files it shows some of the components are missing for instance only 2 out of 5, 100 ohm resistors are shown in the LCSC parts list even though 5 designators are specified in the BOM.Anyone come across this ?cheers

author: danie1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2019, 10:04:55 am
content: Quote from: snoopy on November 09, 2019, 05:51:44 amI haven't come across it but one thought, is your BOM grouped so all the designators for the same component are on the same line or one line per designator? If the latter I wonder if you are running afoul of some unspecified line limit in their parser. All the BOMs I've successfully used are grouped and I've had some lines with 20+ copies of the same component.

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2019, 01:00:19 am
content: Quote from: danie1 on November 09, 2019, 10:04:55 amIt's a CSV file and multiple designators of the same component type are separated by commas

author: danie1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2019, 12:54:55 pm
content: Hmm, mine is CSV but multiple components of the same type are space separated:Code:Reference, Quantity, Value, Footprint, Datasheet, LCSC Part Number, Part NumberR7 R9 R20 R21 R10 R11 R12 R13 R18 R14 R15 R27 R28 R29 ,14,"10k","Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric","~","C25744","0402WGF1002TCE"

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2019, 02:13:06 am
content: Quote from: danie1 on November 10, 2019, 12:54:55 pmFor some reason it doesn't like if I specify the LCSC part number. When I eliminate this column all of the components are counted for but it doesn't automatically find a match to the LCSC column.EDIT: The missing components are not in the Pick and Place file. For some reason Altium is not dealing with the Variant properly.

author: Kentxu
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 13, 2019, 03:22:47 pm
content: Quote from: GreggD on October 07, 2019, 06:45:27 pmThanks for the spread sheet list of Basic Parts. Much easier than looking on the JLC page.Does anyone know of an Altium library of the Basic Parts?

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2019, 12:42:21 pm
content: Not sure if this has already been posted (doesn't seem to be):https://dubiouscreations.com/2019/10/21/using-kicad-with-jlcpcb-assembly-service/

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2019, 01:13:48 pm
content: I've been trying to place my first assembly order, and I can't for the life of me get the placement preview to work. It just displays the bare PCB with no parts on it.All the BOM parts have been matched & confirmed. The board is simple enough that there are no unselected parts.The BOM and CPL files look as follows (generated by the tool I linked to earlier):"Comment","Designator","Footprint","LCSC Part #""100nF","C1","C_0402_1005Metric","C1525""CEM9288","Q1","SOIC-8_3.9x4.9mm_P1.27mm","C180872""100","R1","R_0402_1005Metric","C25076""1K","R2","R_0402_1005Metric","C11702"Designator,Val,Package,Mid X,Mid Y,Rotation,LayerC1,100nF,C_0402_1005Metric,113.665000,-84.836000,90.000000,topQ1,CEM9288,SOIC-8_3.9x4.9mm_P1.27mm,106.426000,-84.963000,90.000000,topR1,100,R_0402_1005Metric,113.665000,-86.741000,270.000000,topR2,1K,R_0402_1005Metric,110.236000,-88.138000,180.000000,topU1,DW01,SOT-23-6,111.125000,-85.725000,180.0,topI can't tell whether it's a data problem or a rendering issue. I tried two browsers (Chrome and Safari), with identical results.I've emailed JLC support but thought I'd also ask here in case any of you have any ideas.

author: danie1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2019, 02:45:40 pm
content: I had a play about with your BOM & CPL and comparing them to mine and all I can conclude is the preview is really buggy.If I have less than 5 components in the CPL it will complain about missing "Rotation" in the cpl but with 5 it accepts it fine.If I have exactly 3 components in the BOM the components show up but are offset from their correct position.If I have 1 or 2 components in the BOM, they don't show up (or maybe they are offset off the screen, who knows!I couldn't get your BOM or CPL to work. I've uploaded my working BOM and CPL files if you want to try fiddling with them. Note my headings, column order and when fields are quoted seems to differ from yours but I did try copying to yours and they still didn't work...BOM:https://gist.githubusercontent.com/cs2dsb/5d1a9c116d87ef6e14e72c607210122a/raw/8a8ab6349df5067707ad016da14f6e9999e8cf25/bom.csvCPL:https://gist.githubusercontent.com/cs2dsb/5d1a9c116d87ef6e14e72c607210122a/raw/8a8ab6349df5067707ad016da14f6e9999e8cf25/cpl.csvI generated mine manually in kicad, I wrote up instructions for myself here if that's any use:https://github.com/cs2dsb/zcssr/blob/master/docs/generating_gerbers_and_fab_outputs.md. Any scripts or other files it refers to in there are in that repository somewhere.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2019, 03:06:04 pm
content: Thanks danie1, let me play with this further (and thanks for sharing your tooling/workflow).

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2019, 03:17:42 pm
content: Wait a minute, I just noticed that the BOM file only has four parts instead of five. It's missing U1. I wonder if this might be contributing to the problem.edit: Nope, fixing that by hand made no difference at all.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2019, 02:20:26 pm
content: JLC support got back to me saying, in effect, "check your files — there's probably something wrong with them." Turns out their support team don't have access to unsubmitted orders; I was hoping they'd just look at the pending order I referred them to and troubleshoot from there. Oh well.I sidestepped the problem by submitting a different, more complex, design. This renders in preview, but I am now hitting "The part C84635 is no longer sold, please refresh the page."C84635 is SS34, a basic part of which they have 11K in stock. I'd be willing to throw $3 at fixing this; however, choosing a different SS34 gives the same error. I am not really sure what's so special about this diode.

author: jonroger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2019, 03:01:49 pm
content: After I got my files formatted exactly like their examples, it worked fine. It's going to change my prototype designs - common parts placed by JLCPCB on one side, uncommon parts placed by hand on the other side.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2019, 04:25:22 pm
content: I've just placed my first order. The preview looks good, but I am seeing lots of "Cannot find this Pad in your PCB" messages in JLCPCB's DFM Analysis. The original & corrected part placement look identical.It sounds like thismightbe a useful tool if it can detect some placement errors. Not really sure what to expect from it or what I need to do to my Gerbers to get it to work.Any thoughts?(In case it matters, I use KiCad.)

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2019, 11:17:20 pm
content: Hm, and now practically all the passives I have in my test design are gone from the basic catalogue. I am talking 100nF 0603 ceramics, 1K & 10K resistors (in all sizes except 1206) etc.Most of them are still available as extended, though one part (a ferrite bead) I picked from the catalogue just a few hours ago is completely gone.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2019, 11:36:49 pm
content: And the quoted pricing is messed up. As in: component cost x component count x board count doesn't add up and isn't even consistent across different parts on the same board. Some parts are off by as much as a factor of ten.I'm guessing a bad software push that hopefully gets fixed before long?

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 12:06:08 am
content: Some parts have a MOQ.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 12:24:55 am
content: Ah, that explains the apparent price discrepancy. Thanks.Since I posted the last message, more parts have disappeared from the basic catalogue. There's no longer an AMS1117-3.3 in the basic catalogue and the STM32 part I chose a few hours ago has also gone extended.I wonder what's going on there.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 02:11:48 am
content: Is there a way to see a part's MOQ when browsing the catalogue? (I.e. without uploading a design that uses the part.)Also, one of the more expensive parts I tried using seemed to have an MOQ of 7. Isn't that a bit silly, given that there's no way to have seven boards made? (Only 2, 5, 10, etc.)

author: ve7xen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 02:37:49 am
content: There will be some waste with Extended Parts due to loading the tape into the machine. It's not clear exactly how this is calculated, but you will definitely have to buy more parts than are placed.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 02:39:53 am
content: I think that's completely reasonable. But it would be nice to see the MOQ upfront so that I can factor it in when deciding which parts to use on my boards.

author: steenerson
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 07:57:38 am
content: Some parts have a minimum quantity that shows up in their parts search, where it'll only show pricing for 50+ quantity etc. Other parts show pricing for 1+ in the parts search, but then on the screen after you upload the BOM and CPL files where you select components, you can click on a component detail and it'll say something like this:QuoteWhich as far as I can tell, it means if you order just 5 they adjust the unit price by a factor of 4 so that you pay for 20. The only place I see that note listed is in the part selection process which you don't see until you've uploaded the gerbers/BOM/placement files and it's kind of a pain to go back and change things.It's not usually a lot of money but it's annoying if you try to actually track BOM cost in spreadsheets and check your invoices against it.

author: OwO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 11:00:55 am
content: I can still see all the 0603 caps and AMS1117-3.3 in the basic library:https://www.sz-jlc.com/portal/smtComponentList.html(note "扩展库" means extended library), so I'll say it's the English version of their website that is broken. AMS1117-3.3 is listed as "very popular" so it's probably not going to be removed any time soon.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2020, 02:05:50 pm
content: I have to say that I find the formatting on the Chinese site so much more useable! And you're right, is still lists all the parts that have been disappearing on me. I've emailed JLC to let them know.

author: Spirit532
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2020, 06:13:26 am
content: I decided to try their service a few days ago, but my experience was cut short by the abrupt, and frankly stupid declaration that half the parts on a small board, all of which I've confirmed to be in stock and not "extended" at JLC, weren't available for assembly. The parts lookup system just didn't find anything.PCBWay had absolutely no issues with the same order and gave me a similar and in some cases lower prices on the parts, so I went with them instead.I think it'll keep being a service with very limited usability unless they get their parts stock in sync and correct, as well as either expand their portfolio of non-Asian components, or let you specify a Digikey/Mouser/Arrow/whatever order and pay extra for that.

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2020, 08:22:20 am
content: Quote from: Spirit532 on January 04, 2020, 06:13:26 amFWIW, I've been having lots of issues in the last few days with JLCPCB's catalogue not working as expected.

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2020, 11:16:33 am
content: Maybe it's their way of not continuing this service?

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2020, 11:37:06 am
content: Quote from: stoepie2002 on January 04, 2020, 11:16:33 amHaving dealt with JLCPCB several times I would say it is definitely incompetence. I think they would like to provide a world beating service but just don't have the ability.Basically they've adopted the "let the customers be your beta testers" philosophy.

author: OwO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2020, 12:33:53 pm
content: The internal version has always worked well for me. I always generate BOM and xy files to exactly match the format they expect. Most PCB software won't generate files in the right format and you have to process them with a script.

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2020, 06:39:40 pm
content: Quote from: OwO on January 04, 2020, 12:33:53 pmWhat is the "internal version"??

author: OwO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2020, 05:09:31 am
content: https://www.sz-jlc.com/consumer/login.htmlNot sure if this will ship internationally, but you can ask.

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2020, 10:58:55 am
content: Oh, "internal to China" then.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2020, 11:34:31 am
content: Quote from: donotdespisethesnake on January 05, 2020, 10:58:55 amWe used to use that service from Hong Kong, before JLC had an English language web site. I don't know if you could ever use it from beyond Hong Kong.

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2020, 12:08:04 pm
content: Why does JLCPCB say zero availability for a part but LCSC has thousands available of the same part ?cheers

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 05, 2020, 12:43:53 pm
content: I think they'll fix these glitches eventually, because they cannot afford otherwise. PCBA services are on the way to being a commodity just as PCBs are now. When that happens, where are you going to have your PCBs made? More likely at a place that also offers cheap assembly.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2020, 04:19:47 pm
content: This video shows someone going through the JLC assembly process from a Designspark PCB design(you may want to play at 1.5x speed!)https://youtu.be/u61eUqmdZhE

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2020, 11:39:22 pm
content: Quote from: Spirit532 on January 04, 2020, 06:13:26 amRecently I got a quote from PCBWAY for a board and the pricing was horrendous for the sake of a few extra melf resistors that I ended populating by hand once I got the board done with JLCPCB at a fraction of the price !! Don't get me wrong I have used PCBWAY for both boards and assembly but the pricing of this smaller board was way over the top unless you got large quantities made. I think JLCPCB is on the right track though. No one else is offering a similar service where the assembly process doesn't really add much to the cost of the board, however they still have issues with their inventory.cheers

author: up8051
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2020, 11:18:24 am
content: Quote from: snoopy on January 05, 2020, 11:39:22 pmSimple comparison of order processed in JLCPCB and calculation from PCBWAY:JLCPCBPCB 20pcs panels 133mmx136mm (total 480 small PCB 20x24) EING: 51.2$SMT Assembly 11 components per board, 10 unique elements per board : 38,29$ (without promotion) 6$ (with promotion)Calculation fromPCBWAYPCB: 107$SMT Assembly 364$No comment

author: Spirit532
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2020, 06:57:46 pm
content: JLC's prices are unbeatable, certainly - assuming the service works, which it simply didn't for me. I would definitely use it if the parts library worked, but even then I'd use it only for few of my designs, because most of what I design contains parts that are stocked by the thousand/ten thousand at Digikey/Mouser/whatever, but JLC has never heard of them.Quote from: up8051 on January 06, 2020, 11:18:24 amNeither service is particularly suited for assembling medium sized production runs. You'd probably be better off with a serious fab at that point.That, and PCBWay's prices is closer to what you're going to see at big fabs.

author: up8051
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2020, 08:51:51 pm
content: Quote from: Spirit532 on January 06, 2020, 06:57:46 pmI have second project with the same problem, parts not stocked by JLCPCB, that why I tried to inquiry PCBWAY.480pcs x11 elements = 5280 it is several minutes of work on a fast P&P machine, so I think it is small production run.

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2020, 11:01:35 am
content: Quote from: Spirit532 on January 06, 2020, 06:57:46 pmSo far I have had two boards done by JLCPCB and both came out exactly as specified. However I can't understand why a part I used in a previous board is no longer available in the JLCPCB parts inventory but is in the LCSC inventory ??cheers

author: aix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2020, 07:23:29 pm
content: Do any of you understand how their online DFM checks work? In particular, I'm getting lots of "Cannot find this Pad in your PCB" messages for parts that have clearly been placed correctly.Having exchanged about half a dozen messages with JLCPCB's support, I don't feel like I'm getting any closer to understanding what exactly their system is looking for.They offered the attached illustration saying that "there was not pad on q3 area". However, when I tried to understand in what ways, specifically, I need to modify my Gerbers, I didn't get very far.This is not a real issue for my current design but I am thinking that it would be good to understand how things work so that I can perhaps make use of the automated checks in the future.

author: SMTech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2020, 09:27:56 pm
content: Well I don't think their preview help very much with the way its rendering your picture but TBH I don't think any of the devices marked in your overlay have well defined pads and certainly no attempt at thermal balancing. But its possible a screenshot of the same area from your CAD would tell me something different.

author: MarkR42
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2020, 07:02:08 pm
content: I'm keen to use it in the future, but my favourite microcontrollers are always listed as out of stock, I the attiny1617 is quite a recent part but it's showing zero stock, as are the related (possibly compatible with my firmware, with some mods) parts. The microcontroller is the main thing I want to be installed.I did try going through their interface and managed to reach a plausible looking preview (minus the unavailable microcontroller) with the other parts present, and only a few parts installed backwards.Also I want to make very tiny boards which are too small for their smt service, which means I either extend the board with removable (waste) panel, or I panelise two boards myself, which complicates matters.But if it works, and from what I've heard, it's basically unbeatable.

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 03, 2020, 08:01:06 pm
content: Waiting on my first PCBA order stuck in the turmoil of CNY and Corona...

author: sirvalence
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 08, 2020, 07:26:17 pm
content: I've had 8-10 orders with them and it's been a good experience as long as there's nothing unusual about the order. When my orders have been normal, everything went smooth. When something was off, communication was minimally effective and I found it less frustrating/time consuming to just fix the problem myself when I received the boards rather than exchange endless emails that didn't go anywhere.The cost effectiveness of the service is so great that I am ok accepting this limitation for the benefits.Overall I'm stoked to have this option!

author: Koen
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2020, 07:47:44 pm
content: I had a stencil made wrong. I filled a claim, sent a photo, they did it again and shipped it by DHL the next day. I now add "please do not edit the stencil" in Chinese instead of English to my orders and all is fine.JLCPCB's so neat and easy that I dropped other manufacturers who could do fancier stuff. Also, I'd rather wait for them to come back live than try my luck with the other options offered here these past weeks.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2020, 11:14:12 am
content: Quote from: thinkfat on February 03, 2020, 08:01:06 pmSame, got this monster to test their Pick and Place abilities:

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2020, 11:20:40 am
content: There was a bit of movement on my PCBA order: They did the DFM analysis and found a component with no footprint.However, the "before" and "after" pictures show exactly no difference.The component they found missing is there in both, with exactly the same orientation.Curious to see how the PCBs look like when they eventually turn up.PS: since you mentioned an upcoming GPSDO project, my PCBA order is actually a GPSDO

author: stoepie2002
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2020, 06:47:22 pm
content: As per today, JLCPCB has stopped accepting orders for their SMT service. From the website: "From Feb 16th, SMT assembly cannot be ordered. SMT orders placed before Feb 16th will arrange production,but the production time may be delayed 5-10 days. "This as a result of the Corona virus.I sure hope the problems in China (and rest of world) will clear up soon and that no more people will die. What a horrible outbreak!Edit: They do state that orders placed before the 16th will be done.

author: hitech95
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2021, 03:41:53 pm
content: I was designing a baord back in november, Looks like that they dropped some components.I didn't expected that, as far i know ferrite beads are quite common.All the values 120R and 220R are gone on all packages (0603, 0402, 0805).I've built my CAD library around basic parts from them.This is quite unexpected since there is no replacement part for thoose.At this point I will assemble the whole board by myself.Sourcing the missing components from another supplier and having to pay two shippimng fees and VAT make the SMT option a lot more expensive.

author: cyberfish
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2021, 04:37:33 pm
content: Quote from: hitech95 on March 15, 2021, 03:41:53 pmThey do change their catalog all the time. I would talk to their support - for example, I recently ran into issues with WS2812B, and they took it off to debug their manufacturing issues (moisture sensitivity in this case), and they said they are planning to put them back on once the issues have been resolved.They have also added a lot of components recently - ESP32 modules, all sorts of connectors (incl USB-C), some thru-hole components (they hand solder them), etc.

author: up8051
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2021, 06:17:31 pm
content: Quote from: hitech95 on March 15, 2021, 03:41:53 pmYou are badly looking for.JLCPCB stock:220 Ohm 0603 C22962 228000pcs on stock120 Ohm 0603 C22787 218000pcs on stock

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2021, 07:48:58 pm
content: As was noted, there are ferrite beads.Some suggestions:- The JLCPCB library interface is clumsy. I usehttps://yaqwsx.github.io/jlcparts/#/which makes it a lot easier to find components. highly recommended.- Design with alternate components in mind. easy to switch out them.- Consider partial assembly and complete yourself. easier than full assembly.

author: hitech95
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2021, 08:25:18 pm
content: Quote from: phil from seattle on March 15, 2021, 07:48:58 pmYea, I'm using that. Time by time I've started to create a Altium component library with the common parts.Unfortunatly for me a 120 or a 220ohm ferrite bead is userful. Especially for AVDD on MCUs.Quote from: cyberfish on March 15, 2021, 04:37:33 pmI've contacted them they told me that thoose parts are no longer available and they have no idea if they will have replacements.They now have uncommon values like 11R 26R 300R.Thy added lots of good stuff I was not expecting a so base component to be missing. They have AVRs and STM32s but no the ferrite to filter the supply forthe ADC...

author: thinkfat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 16, 2021, 09:45:41 am
content: I found several ferrite beads in 0603 footprint in 120R@100MHz or 220R@100MHz in their catalog. In stock. Nothing in the basic catalog, but the extended list has around 4 different parts for each value.

author: hitech95
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2021, 10:14:51 pm
content: Please post the part number. Cant find none.All of those were all available as basic parts:SuppliersPartNumber C139138SuppliersPartNumber C124089SuppliersPartNumber C92616SuppliersPartNumber C124088SuppliersPartNumber C92617SuppliersPartNumber C124087SuppliersPartNumber C98498SuppliersPartNumber C64181SuppliersPartNumber C50843SuppliersPartNumber C139175SuppliersPartNumber C92619SuppliersPartNumber C139177

author: jziegler
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 18, 2021, 04:27:21 pm
content: So I got hit with this a while ago (I used a much lower impedance part than I wanted to). There are 2 categories to search for on their parts catalog. There are ferrite beads under the inductors, etc category and also beads in the filters category. And the descriptions in the filters>beads are terrible.There are only a couple of ferrite beads that are basic parts, both 0805 and in the filters>beads category.