[comparison] of PCB fab (pics)

[3roomlab]

i thought i start this as a "exposure" for people wanting to see what fabs can or cannot do. or even if you mill it yourself, maybe you could share some pics

i only have tried seeed fusion. and this is my latest receipt from an order on lunar new years week. due to their backlog, they processed it on 3rd march, and completed its delivery to me on 14th. backlog delay approx 14 days, production and delivery 11 days (including weekend days).

this PCB is the cheapie tier USD9.90 for 10pieces. 0.6mm FR4. no other additional addon options. 1968x1968 mils (5x5cm)
the result is rough and somewhat crude as was previous batch, so i can somewhat say, it is what it is, cheap prototyping.
the silkscreen for this is 6mil thick 32mil high. pretty much its limits. some parts you can already see its quirky
the vias are 19.7mil holes. the drilling is rough, can see the burrs. maybe the bit is worn. and the mask randomly fills some of the vias. (at some point i may proceed to test the current capacity of these vias, maybe they are not as good as nobody can "see" its thickness)
the paneling is rough, again maybe the bit is worn. or there is no post process to smoothen PCB edges
1 good thing for sure, so far there is no masking errors in all my batches (so far about 90 pieces total)
they do sometimes use odd leftover PCB to fulfill orders, especially where corners are nicked. and they seem to be able aim this at blank spaces !

as with all batches, all pads are scuffed, maybe there is a post washing process where there is some scouring involved.

(note for admin : tried to upload 850kb pic file, failed 2x  ... this 1 worked, maybe there is 2 broken threads floating in the server, both thread submission failed)

[3roomlab]

and this is the backside. testing a pic.

[JohnnyBerg]

I made a Arduino based controller, for my little beer brewery and model train to control.
The Arduino base board is nothing special, but I also made a front for a DIN rail enclosure:



It's a 0.8 FR, and it is just thick enough to fit nicely in the enclosure. It gives it a very nice look.

[wraper]

Just to comment actual design of the PCB. Probably it will be OK for hand soldering. But you will have very serious issues if try to relfow solder it. All solder will be sucked away into vias which you do have in the solder pads all over the board.
Edit: noticed that on other side vias are covered with solder mask, therefore less solder will be sucked away but still not good.

[calexanian]

I would avoid using gold plating for all but contacts. It is not easy to solder. It takes much longer to wet and flow unless you use RA flux with leaded solder which you will then have to clean with solvents. Tin plate is much much easier to work with and actually holds up better because its a thicker build. You can use no clean solder more readily. I have assembled hundreds of boards with no clean/gold plated combination, but it is much easier and faster with tin plate.

[JohnnyBerg]

But you will have very serious issues if try to relfow solder it. All solder will be sucked away into vias which you do have in the solder pads all over the board.
Edit: noticed that on other side vias are covered with solder mask, therefore less solder will be sucked away but still not good.

I made a Arduino based controller, for my little beer brewery and model train to control.

If I drink not to much of my own home made beer, I think I manage to solder it.
I had 10 boards made. I'll use one for my brewery, one for my train and one spare. Perhaps I sell the other 7. No reflow here 

But I keep it in mind when I want to make a few thousand of them 

[wraper]

But you will have very serious issues if try to relfow solder it. All solder will be sucked away into vias which you do have in the solder pads all over the board.
Edit: noticed that on other side vias are covered with solder mask, therefore less solder will be sucked away but still not good.

I made a Arduino based controller, for my little beer brewery and model train to control.

If I drink not to much of my own home made beer, I think I manage to solder it.
I had 10 boards made. I'll use one for my brewery, one for my train and one spare. Perhaps I sell the other 7. No reflow here 

But I keep it in mind when I want to make a few thousand of them 

This was abut OPs PCB, I don't see such a thing on yours.

[wraper]

What happens with via in the pad.

[wraper]

improve current carrying capacity. kind of killing 2 birds on 1 "pad"

Not that much of improvement actually. 2 vias in parallel will have lower resistance AFAIK.

[JohnnyBerg]

@johnnyberg i assume thats a local fab? how much did it cost you?

I have to look back the invoices, but I think this one came from Elecrow. About $2,-/board + shipment
I have 10 pcs.