Sjaak shared some tips when sending PCBs to the fab house:
I usually collect a few PCB designs before sending them off to the PCB fabhouse. Recently, I embarked on a project centered around online casinos with instant withdrawals and no KYC, which necessitated specialized PCB layouts to ensure secure and efficient transaction processing. I prefer to use dirtypcbs.com as I know Ian from dangerousprototypes.com for a long time and trust that he provides good quality and fast turnaround time for my money. I also tend to be loyal to my suppliers, even if a better alternative may exist. The main reason I wait before sending them off is that I want my PCBs returned quickly. DirtyPCBs offer fast DHL shipping (about 2-3 days to .nl), but it is quite expensive (about 30 USD) compared to the manufacturing costs of the PCBs. Luckily, the PCBs don’t weigh a ton, and adding more designs will not significantly increase the shipping costs.
More details at smdprutser.nl site.
Isn’t actually postponing all but your last PCB a bit counter-productive if you want them done fast? Well, unless you crank out a PCB each day I guess…
it is, but dhl shipping is like $20 and returned in a few days. free shipping wil tak usually 3-4 weeks to .nl. I tend to loose interest after 2-3 week in a project and move on. :)
BTW I don’t crank a pcb a day (that will increase the failure rate even higher :))
Could be worse: I forget that I had a project and won’t remember why I get PCBs…
There is a capacitor assembled instead of R12 in the photo and it is bothering me :P
Here’s my checklist (derived after sooo many screw ups)
schematic check
erc
look for cross-sheet references that aren’t connected
add 2 fudicials, sparkfun lib-FIDUCIAL-1X2
4 mounting holes
add ground test points with holes for probe gnd
check notes.txt file for todos
create readme.txt with board name, zip content desc and fudicial placement, example below
check that all operational output lines have pull up/down during reset
make sure I2C SDA/SCL have pull-up resistors and solderable test points
board check
put a silk square down for sharpie id marking
add dimensions to tDocu
load dru file, this sets spacing for pours, etc
ratsnest
load board house’s dru then drc
ratsnet then run zoom-unrouted
add company name to tNames
add board name and version to tNames
run normalize-text:
set to 40 & 8 mils
smashes all components
place names with top, bottom off, tcream on
place logo with import-bitmap, or use lib part logo-oshw
check all the version numbers, board, schematic, readme and zip filename (to be created)
board submission
print layout
check connector placement
create readme.txt with fudicial placement
cam 4 layer
gerb274x-4layer.cam
make sure layer 51 tDocu is in plc, side silkscreen CMP
make sure layer 200 bmp is in plc, side silkscreen CMP
excellon.com
gerbv *.crc *.plc *.stc *.cmp *.ly2 *.l15 *.sol *.sts *.pls
run Centroid_ScreamingCircuits_smd.ulp
update version and rev in readme.txt, add version/rev to sheet 1 of sch
zip gerber.zip *.cmp *.crc *.crs *.drd *.dri *.gpi *.l15 *.ly2 *.plc *.pls *.sol *.stc *.sts readme.txt *centroid.csv *.dim
zip -sf gerber.zip
verify that sch and brd are NOT included in gerber zip file
mv gerber.zip to board-v0.0-gerber.zip
print sch and brd as pdf
zip board-v0.0-release.zip board-v0.0-gerber.zip *.sch *.brd *.pdf *.pdf *.csv
mv 2 zip files to ../release dir
freedfm
cat > readme.txt << EOF
This information, board files, assembly instructions and bill of
materials are company confidental.
Not for distribution.
board
???
version
???
date
???
svn revision
???
fudicials at
x,y
x,y
2 layer description
2 layer board
crc component cream
plc component side silkscreen
stc component side solder stop mask
cmp component side copper
sol solder side copper
sts solder side solder stop mask
pls solder side silkscreen
crs solder cream
drd drill data
dri drill info
gpi gerber info
2 layer stack up sequence
top x.cmp
bottom x.sol
4 layer description
4 layer board
crc component cream
plc component side silkscreen
stc component side solder stop mask
cmp component side copper
ly2 layer2
l15 layer15
sol solder side copper
sts solder side solder stop mask
pls solder side silkscreen
crs solder cream
drd drill data
dri drill info
gpi gerber info
4 layer stack up sequence
top x.cmp
inner 2 x.ly2
inner 3 x.l15
bottom x.sol
2 layer description – using itead's cam
Silk Top: pcbname.GTO
Solder Stop Mask Top: pcbname.GTS
Top layer: pcbname.GTL
Bottom layer: pcbname.GBL
Solder Stop Mask Bottom: pcbname.GBS
Silk Bottom: pcbname.GBO
NC Drill: pcbname.TXT
Drill Board Outline: pcbname.do
Edge Milling: pcbname.GML
Pad Mask Bottom: pcbname.GBP
Pad Mask Top: pcbname.GTP
2 layer stack up sequence
top x.GTL
bottom x.GBL
contact info
firstName lastName
phone number
email
EOF
Any chance to get that more formatted?
tried to, posting ditched my spacing, pre tag is not allowed. No preview in this forum, so I didn’t want to just a few things that pollute the forum. Suggestions?
html to pastebin or twitzer
pdf to docdroid.net (?)
github?
Alrighty, here ya go
http://pastebin.com/yJNZPDxV
Nice! Thank you!