-------------------------------------------------- From: "Philip Pemberton" Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 7:19 PM To: "Microcontroller discussion list - Public." Subject: [EE]: Reputable PCB manufacturers > I'm going to start by asking: does anyone know of any reputable PCB > manufacturers? > > I need a couple of prototype boards made up -- dual layer, 10/6 design > rules (10mil track, 6mil gap), Eurocard size PCB (160x100mm). Thus far > the quotes I've obtained are somewhere between 'nuts' (=A3178 for two > boards) and 'utterly insane' (=A3412 for two boards), or there are string= s > attached (max 50 drilled holes per square decimeter, "drill hole in your > aperture file is NOT the finished hole size" and so on). All I'm after > is 1.6mm FR4, PTH, soldermask on both sides and maybe a component print > on the top if it's not too expensive. And if I'm being absolutely > honest, the soldermask is only really necessary on the top side; all the > solder-side stuff is 0.1in pin headers and connectors. > > > Here's my little tale of woe, which kinda explains why I'm asking... > > I figured I'd give the "Elektor PCB Service" a go -- they accepted the > Gerbers pretty quickly (about three hours), then sent me a proforma > invoice. I paid said invoice about 10 minutes after it posted, went > through the whole payment procedure (SecureCode, "your receipt number is > ..." and so on), was bounced back to EPCBS and got this error message: > > An error occurred with payment..! > > The proforma invoice is now showing as 'generated today, unpaid, -30 > days left to pay' (yes, it says MINUS thirty days), and my available > balance (thank $DEITY for online banking) is showing a drop of about =A39= 0 > vs my "real" account balance. Talk about coincidences... 8^P > > Attempts to contact them seem utterly futile -- they ignore emails (mail > to webmaster@ bounces, email to the address given by the payment > provider seems to get ignored) and claim you have to use the "Ask a > Question" button to get any assistance. Problem is, there ISN'T an Ask A > Question button...! > > At this point it's starting to look like my only option is to wait for > the transaction to post, then ring the bank and file a chargeback > request. Fun. > > > So.... can anyone name a reputable PCB manufacturer? UK based would be > nice, but at this point I'll settle for "reputable" and "not as > expensive as PCB-POOL". "Faster, cheaper, better, pick two" :) I use PCB Cart from China quite a lot, and have had no problems so far -=20 good service, helpful and cheap. Easy automated online quote system and=20 payment - you just shove the details of your board in, get a quote, then pa= y=20 and upload the Gerbers. They will contact you if there are any problems wit= h=20 your files/design before going ahead. For a no frills prototype there is always the Go Naked service from Spirit= =20 Circuits I mentioned in a previous thread. It's free(!) for one design (per= =20 board) and you get *one* (good quality PTH but no silk/mask) board from the= m=20 within a couple of days - just e-mail them your Gerbers. =20 --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .