I know it's not related to quality, capability or speed of production... but one really impressive thing I like about OshPark is that they have a method to share your PCB project, so it can be leveraged be others. I often find an oshpark link in the Github project or similar open hardware development communities. This ability to share and re-use hardware designs is pretty important for the open source hardware community, the maker space communities, and other places where "share and share-alike" is a goal.
(Don't worry, the public sharing of your project in OshPark has to be enabled per project, and is off by default, so you don't automatically expose your work. You would have to intentionally share it.)
And some like JLC offer several substrates like Fr TG140-155-170. That makes a large difference as they are made in different factories with different tolerances.
As for communication, I have a had good experience with JLC myself.
I thought quite a bit about the ENIG vs HASL thing, but ultimately, my reasoning is that in the vast majority of hobby applications, ENIG is unnecessary. It looks prettier, but it makes no functional difference.
I couldn't do a HASL-only comparison because two of the vendors don't offer HASL; and while I could do an ENIG-only comparison, it would mean picking "premium" products from all the remaining vendors just for the sake of spending more.
So ultimately, what this aspires to be is the comparison of the lowest-cost boards you can get from a couple of popular companies. That's apples-to-apples, just in a different way.
Great post. I order a lot of PCBs for work and hobbies. Here's my take:
OSHPark: No stencils, cheap, slow, high quality, few choices. I rarely use them because I usually need stencils. It's annoying to order them separately.
Aisler: Has stencils, cheap, slow, mid-high quality, few choices.
Eurocircuits: Has stencils, expensive, high quality, FAST, lots of choices. This is my preference for work.
Elecrow: Has stencils, extremely cheap, slow, mid-high quality, lots of choices. Good option when you don't need the board right away, but ..China.
John, just a quick comment. I haven't tried Aisler, Eurocircuits or Elecrow and cannot compare. However, Oshstencils.com allows me to import the stencil directly from the project I uploaded into Oshpark. I've used this many times and have never had an issue with a stencil, they've been perfect. (And they show up at least a week before the PCB's do)
I'd have to say the comment "No stencils" above is incorrect. There is an integrated approach to create a stencil from Oshpark and it works well.
This sort of sums up my experiences as well. OSH Park actually cannot do irregularly shaped holes, so I got boards from them with round rather than oval holes for USB connectors. Very annoying that they didn't tell that upfront after getting my files. Should be possible to detect in some way.
When it comes to JLC - I'm much less positive than you. I've had several really bad experiences with them - especially the fact that they just make random decisions without asking you. If you ever have to talk to their customer service, their English skills are extremely bad. It's actually well below many kids in their first year of school. I wrote a bit about it here with examples https://flashgamer.com/blog/comments/why-is-everyone-promoting-jlcpcb
One service to try might me Eurocircuits. As the name indicates, they're in Europe (Hungary & Netherlands I think) and while they cost twice that of PCBWay, they deliver much faster and with way higher quality. I can get a series of fully assembled boards in a weeks time and their website is just amazing! You can upload your Kicad or Eagle files directly (or use Gerber) and they do a thorough analysis (both automated and in-person) before anything is produced. Well worth checking out. Perfect soldermask of high quality & all holes perfectly centered :)
For my job we order consistently from pcbway and they look very good, but what makes them special is the quality of the mask and silkscreen, they dont come out with anything.
Also the pths that they use, at least in standard quality and 2 to 4 layers are specialy strong, we have soldered and desoldered some atleast 20 times and you can't distinguish them from the others. And yes they are a bit pricey like 25 dollars for 10, 4 layer boards and like 7 dollars for 10, 2 layer boards
For price I like JLCPCB, next is PCBWAY with DHL shipping to the USA. OSHPARK is my favorite for quality, especially the after dark service with black boards and clear solder mask. Haven't tried Digikey because it's too slow and too expensive. A former university of mine switched from PCBWAY to ALLPCB.
It's worth noting that the quality of JLC varies depending on which factory your board gets assigned to. Some are definitely better than others. Of course you have no control over that part.
Also, ordering an advanced process board gets better features such as higher resolution silkscreen etc.
I have had hundreds of panels 10cm x 10cm made by them for about $25.00 for 10 panels. I put up to 10 small boards on a panel and cut them myself as the spacing can be 70 thou between boards.
All double-sided, plate-through holes with legend on top and bottom. I still use the first CAD program to be invented . . .by a group in Tasmania and never had a problem. It has never "fallen over" and everything and be adjusted. I use it because I can add the modules from 40 years ago.
Thank you, for a perfectly concise review. I have no skill in electronics, but I enjoy learning some of the terms from you. Your writing is well to the point and entertaining, great!
I know it's not related to quality, capability or speed of production... but one really impressive thing I like about OshPark is that they have a method to share your PCB project, so it can be leveraged be others. I often find an oshpark link in the Github project or similar open hardware development communities. This ability to share and re-use hardware designs is pretty important for the open source hardware community, the maker space communities, and other places where "share and share-alike" is a goal.
(Don't worry, the public sharing of your project in OshPark has to be enabled per project, and is off by default, so you don't automatically expose your work. You would have to intentionally share it.)
Nice comparaison but not apple to apple....
Comparing ENIG from each would be nice.
And some like JLC offer several substrates like Fr TG140-155-170. That makes a large difference as they are made in different factories with different tolerances.
As for communication, I have a had good experience with JLC myself.
I will look at Eurocircuits next :-)
I thought quite a bit about the ENIG vs HASL thing, but ultimately, my reasoning is that in the vast majority of hobby applications, ENIG is unnecessary. It looks prettier, but it makes no functional difference.
I couldn't do a HASL-only comparison because two of the vendors don't offer HASL; and while I could do an ENIG-only comparison, it would mean picking "premium" products from all the remaining vendors just for the sake of spending more.
So ultimately, what this aspires to be is the comparison of the lowest-cost boards you can get from a couple of popular companies. That's apples-to-apples, just in a different way.
Great post. I order a lot of PCBs for work and hobbies. Here's my take:
OSHPark: No stencils, cheap, slow, high quality, few choices. I rarely use them because I usually need stencils. It's annoying to order them separately.
Aisler: Has stencils, cheap, slow, mid-high quality, few choices.
Eurocircuits: Has stencils, expensive, high quality, FAST, lots of choices. This is my preference for work.
Elecrow: Has stencils, extremely cheap, slow, mid-high quality, lots of choices. Good option when you don't need the board right away, but ..China.
John, just a quick comment. I haven't tried Aisler, Eurocircuits or Elecrow and cannot compare. However, Oshstencils.com allows me to import the stencil directly from the project I uploaded into Oshpark. I've used this many times and have never had an issue with a stencil, they've been perfect. (And they show up at least a week before the PCB's do)
I'd have to say the comment "No stencils" above is incorrect. There is an integrated approach to create a stencil from Oshpark and it works well.
This sort of sums up my experiences as well. OSH Park actually cannot do irregularly shaped holes, so I got boards from them with round rather than oval holes for USB connectors. Very annoying that they didn't tell that upfront after getting my files. Should be possible to detect in some way.
When it comes to JLC - I'm much less positive than you. I've had several really bad experiences with them - especially the fact that they just make random decisions without asking you. If you ever have to talk to their customer service, their English skills are extremely bad. It's actually well below many kids in their first year of school. I wrote a bit about it here with examples https://flashgamer.com/blog/comments/why-is-everyone-promoting-jlcpcb
One service to try might me Eurocircuits. As the name indicates, they're in Europe (Hungary & Netherlands I think) and while they cost twice that of PCBWay, they deliver much faster and with way higher quality. I can get a series of fully assembled boards in a weeks time and their website is just amazing! You can upload your Kicad or Eagle files directly (or use Gerber) and they do a thorough analysis (both automated and in-person) before anything is produced. Well worth checking out. Perfect soldermask of high quality & all holes perfectly centered :)
J
can't find the word "cheapest" in text.
For my job we order consistently from pcbway and they look very good, but what makes them special is the quality of the mask and silkscreen, they dont come out with anything.
Also the pths that they use, at least in standard quality and 2 to 4 layers are specialy strong, we have soldered and desoldered some atleast 20 times and you can't distinguish them from the others. And yes they are a bit pricey like 25 dollars for 10, 4 layer boards and like 7 dollars for 10, 2 layer boards
For price I like JLCPCB, next is PCBWAY with DHL shipping to the USA. OSHPARK is my favorite for quality, especially the after dark service with black boards and clear solder mask. Haven't tried Digikey because it's too slow and too expensive. A former university of mine switched from PCBWAY to ALLPCB.
In Europe there is also an interesting option: Eurocircuits. It's Belgium based with factories in Germany and Hungary.
It's more expensive than JLPCB and similar ones, but cheaper than regular manufacturers.
The build quality is really good but the best feature is their online app. PCB design for manufacturing, footprint verification, etc work really well.
It's worth noting that the quality of JLC varies depending on which factory your board gets assigned to. Some are definitely better than others. Of course you have no control over that part.
Also, ordering an advanced process board gets better features such as higher resolution silkscreen etc.
You should also compare JLC when ENIG finish is selected. Might bump the price up a bit and be more of an apples to apples comparison.
I use: . . . https://www.shenzhen2u.com/PCB
I have had hundreds of panels 10cm x 10cm made by them for about $25.00 for 10 panels. I put up to 10 small boards on a panel and cut them myself as the spacing can be 70 thou between boards.
All double-sided, plate-through holes with legend on top and bottom. I still use the first CAD program to be invented . . .by a group in Tasmania and never had a problem. It has never "fallen over" and everything and be adjusted. I use it because I can add the modules from 40 years ago.
How good is pcbway?
Look at https://www.4pcb.com/ , too.
While it is more expensive, it would be interesting to see how comparable ENIG finish from JLCPCB and PCBWay would be.
Also give Elecrow a try
Thank you, for a perfectly concise review. I have no skill in electronics, but I enjoy learning some of the terms from you. Your writing is well to the point and entertaining, great!