The real cost of single sided PCBs is that they are usually larger for a
given circuit.

Suppose you have a circuit that you can put in a 2" x 1" format with double
sided. That's 2 in**2. If I have to make it 2" x 2" to accommodate single
side routing, the board area goes to 4 in**2.

So if a double sided board is 50% more expensive than a single sided board,
you are still losing money. Say the 1 sided board is $0.10/in**2 and the
double sided is  $0.15/in**2. The boards mentioned would cost $0.30 and
$0.40!

Of course, if you can punch cheap phenolic, that's fine but that is
typically much higher tooling costs. And, if you want to do them yourself,
single sided is the way to go.

Awhile back I read that single sided boards are not as reliable as double
sided because the plated through holes anchor the copper better against
things like cracks, vibration, etc. So that's something else to consider.

Regards,


Al Williams
AWC
* Floating point A/D: http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak9.htm

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic:
[PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads