one-stop-shop for pcb, pcba, mech & assy

[dav888]

been on a hunt for a pcbway / jlcpcb-like service that can take care of basic schematic, layout > smt & mechanical fab > simple assy into 3D printed / cnc'd boxes.

basically,
- input would be a .step file with outline, connectors etc, + a simplified schematic
- output would be a quick turnkey prototype fabricated without the need of managing several suppliers

i know its all doable via jlc and the likes, but after doing it 50+ times with the manual processes involved preparing the data, mounting things together by hand, i'm ready to move to a place that can prove a one stop shop solution to to take care of it all, still in a small qty, fast turn-key setup.

tips?

[ademuri]

I have not tried it, but as this month, JLC now has PCB layout services: https://jlcpcb.com/blog/303-jlcpcb-launches-pcb-design-service

Looks like this would do most of what you asked for, although not quite as turnkey, since you'd likely need to fully specify the schematic.

Actually, looks like PCBWay has a similar service: https://www.pcbway.com/pcb_prototype/PCB_Design_and_Layout.html

[Styno]

Plenty of shops in Europe that can take your design requirements and engineer them into a finished product. Some also do (in-house) production and even logistics (stocking/direct customer delivery) for you.

E.g.
Bytelab in Croatia (Zagreb)
ARS Embedded Systems in Serbia (Novi Sad)

[Smokey]

https://www.macrofab.com/ maybe?
Never used them, but sounds like they do a lot of stuff. 

[night]

Hi Styno, thank you for recommendation, hope I can buy you a beer when I am in Netherlands.

dav888, I am working in Byte Lab and maybe we could help you out so feel free to reach out.

[NB-SEMI]

Dude, seems like you're looking for one-stop PCBA services(pcb, components and SMT).
Get check at this site(https://www.nb-semi.com/?_l=en), this company doing the same as JLCpcb.

[dav888]

thanks all for great tips.
i tested both jlc and pcbway but they can't do subassembly within the company, you have to manage each "discipline" yourself and order pcb/pcba separately from mcad. then the responsibility on fit and logistics becomes risky and time consuming.

on the other hand.. many european I've talked to are just to lazy to even quote, so I really like the online services where you upload files and get parts back. wish there was a more unified service covering both

[ebastler]

on the other hand.. many european I've talked to are just to lazy to even quote, so I really like the online services where you upload files and get parts back. wish there was a more unified service covering both

I guess it's in the nature of such projects. As the scope becomes larger and more complex, it's no longer "upload your file set, which specifies everything ready for automated processing". There's a mix of files and formats to specify PCB layout, parts selection, parts orientation, machining/3D printing, manual assembly, module and final test...

So you increasingly need real people to parse and do the job, and can't cover it all via an automated online platform. And you need people you can trust to do it right, which might mean that they are not cheap.

When you write in the OP that you have done this 50+ times, you mean 50+ separate projects? Maybe it would pay off to hire someone (as permanent staff or a freelancer) to do all the coordination, and then you can continue to use cost-effective external services for the individual steps?

[kylehunter]

Yeah, I mean what you are asking really isn't possible without a person looking and reviewing the files. There's a reason why all the single upload and click services only work for singular, set items.

I assume the European shops aren't lazy, they just don't do one-off jobs. That's pretty common for larger CM's.

My company focuses on a lot of short turn time jobs like you're talking about. We have a manual quoting process, and the pricing is going to reflect this. It will be an order of magnitude more expensive than JLC/PCBWay.

Price, quality, or time. Choose any two of them.

Kyle

[tszaboo]

I mean, it takes months to train production staff to make something, to make testing JIGs. To make injection mould, more than half a year. To set up the production, countless engineering hours based on the complexity and the number of assemblies being produced. You have to purchase parts from maybe a dozen different suppliers.

So my question is... Are you also expecting free shipping?