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Messages - MisterWizerd77

1
DirtyPCBs support / Re: How Else To Contact Support?
Store is now under construction so no ticket possible.  #201067 has been 'processing' for 10 days.  #201111 for almost a week.  Boards I got elsewhere have already been shipped.  It's good that you're trying but the ball has been dropped.  Actually, ball seems to have been hit over the neighbor's fence, through a window and now the neighbor is on the front porch in his bathrobe yelling.  Not sure I want to hit any more balls over in that direction without any status updates.
2
DirtyPCBs support / Re: Order PCB without tin coating?
There is what they call 'SMOBC' - Solder Mask Over Bare Copper.  Not available from any of the prototype places so far as I know.  Kind of a specialty finish.  Not necessarily cheaper.  Short self life unless flux coated.  ENIG also has solderability issues.  The nickel that must be applied before the gold layer can oxidize and turn the pads black and render them unsolderable.  It's also expensive.  It looks very pretty when the boards are fresh but isn't necessarily a good thing to do unless you have very fine pitch and really need the pads to be very flat.
3
DirtyPCBs support / Another slots & etc question
I know what I usually have to do but I don't know how that works with you or the other inexpensive online fab services.

I use Easy-PCB which is basically the same as Pulsonix.  Not freeware.  I generate a set of Gerber files for copper and resist and silk.  I generate an Excellon drill file (for plated) and another Gerber with just the outline.  I can also generate an Excellon file for the outline. I don't ever give anybody my actual design files.

If I include plated slots in a part,  they show up as 'route' commands in the excellon plated drill file.  I usually use a unique size for the slot tool.  My PCB package lets me do that.  Then the Excellon file has defined tools for drilling and another tool that gets used for routing.  I tell my PCB vendor via email that Tool T04 is supposed to be a router bit, not a drill.  Then they can load a router bit.  If I want unplated slots or internal routes, that data goes in a separate Excellon file for unplated.

This usually gets communicated via email with my vendors.  Given that I can't do that with your fab, can I do plated slots without it being a guessing game to see whether they looked at the drill file and spotted the route commands?  I'd rather know definitely whether I can or can't do slots reliably.  I don't do overlapping holes.  Most places will bounce that anyway.

This is mostly for ham radio and other personal stuff so I'd rather use a $10 fab instead of a $250 fab.

Thanks.

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