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On Tue, 19 Jul 2016, Tom wrote:
I think this is quite interesting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLQajSRnELc
I've seen CNC routers make PCBs before - they mostly work out OK. Registration for double-sided is hard though, and of-course you get the board in the same state as if you had etched it yourself - no solder mask, silkscreen, etc.
But as others have said, there is a plethora of small companies who'll make your board now - and most are more professional than you can imagine. I did my little ladder board for the Pi 4 years ago now as a bit of an experiment to see how far the technology had come - it had been 25 years since I last made a PCB using a drawing package on the Apple II and printing then photocopying onto acetate then using photo resist...
I used Fritzing for the layout and a UK prototyping company for the first boards, then a UK company who did all the Chinese interfacing when I wanted 600 of them made.
I used http://www.pcbpanel.co.uk/Home.html for the prototypes - actually quite expensive, but I got 6 Pi sized PCBs for under £100 with a 5-day turnaround, then used: http://www.quick-teck.co.uk/index.php when I wanted batches of 300 boards made.
So there are plenty of options these days.The setup costs are the biggest part - so for small runs you're going to pay almost as much for larger runs unless you use a service that batches up lots of small designs them runs them all at once... (I think pcb train does this), but they can take a few weeks.
I know a few people using Ragworm http://ragworm.eu/ now - might use them myself for my next project too...
I do think it's very worth it now to get your own PCB made for you - even if it's just a one-off project - if nothing else to impress :-)
Cheers, Gordon
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