Sorry for the late reply - figured I'd have more time last week while at
IPC Midwest than I did...

Unfortunately, it's pcbfabrication which has taken a turn for the worse.
After years of being 'perfect' they recently announced new, lower pricing,
and magically the quality also was new, and much lower.

I'm still trying to work with them to figure out if they can either fix the
problem with their supplier, or if I can do something to specify slightly
better quality.   Honestly, it looks like they are now using a supplier
which is using 'scrap' FR4 as their base (this is 100% speculation - but
would account for almost everything I'm seeing).   I'm not that picky, but
I do need boards which are actually 0.063 thick and are flat, as opposed to
seemingly random thicknesses 'around' 0.063 and quite warped.

-forrest

On Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 2:38 PM, Neil <picdude3@narwani.org> wrote:

> For protos, I've been using goldphoenix, primarily because they let me
> put anything I want on a panel.  That's changed somewhat now (they still
> allow it, but charge quite a bit), so I'm evaluating other suppliers for
> that.
>
> For short runs of a couple/few hundred pieces, I also use gold phoenix,
> as pricing is good for one design, and they'll depanelize at no
> additional charge.  I've also used pcbfabrication.com for this, and
> quality is good.  They recently (month or two ago) sent a promo email
> saying they're flexible on pricing (negotiable) if I can get it better
> elsewhere, but haven't taken them up on that offer yet.
>
> For larger runs (4k-5k sq in), I've used Epec (though had issues), and
> with recommendations from this list I've also recently used Myro with
> great results and very low pricing.  One thing with Myro is that if you
> use their standard/quick online quote tool, the price is much better
> than if you use the extended quote tool, even with the same specs.
>
> I'm curious to know who the problem-pcb house is.
>
> Cheers,
> -Neil.
>
>
> On 8/16/2012 11:03 PM, Forrest Christian wrote:
> > So, my favorite, cheap, offshore PCB supplier has now, after several
> years,
> > decided to start shipping boards which are warped, inconsistent
> thickness,
> > and a whole bunch of other issues which just plain aren't acceptable wh=
en
> > an automated pick and place machine is in use.  After the second batch =
of
> > boards came in the same way, it's time to move on.
> >
> > I'm wondering what the current favorite small-production-run suppliers
> for
> > those of you who are buying a couple hundred smallish (5 or so sq in)
> > boards at a time are, since they seem to change a fair bit.
> >
> > -forrest
>
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