DipTrace layout and ordering boards from Dorkbot aka OSH Park
- Details
- Published: Sunday, 22 July 2012
- Written by Jon Chandler
From KuzyaTech
KuzyaTech has a gerat article on producing printed circuit boards at OSH Park using files generated by DipTrace. Following these recommendations will help ensure you get the boards you expect.
Well, my test design is complete and now I need a few prototypes to play with. The usual ways of ordering PCBs are rather expensive, with just tooling fees in hundreds of dollars. The remaining options are a few China based places, and an OSH Park ran by Laen from Dorkbot. He runs a community PCB service that groups orders and orders them periodically on a common panel, sharing costs between all people. The cost is very reasonable ($5 a square inch) and you get three boards. So a 2″ board in three copies will cost you $10 delivered. That definitely opens the door for quick prototyping of pretty much anything! After having used other company’s prototyping services, I must say OSH is also by far the most user friendly. Lets walk through the steps of ordering these boards.
First you need to check that the design complies with the design rules listed. Ideally those are setup at the beginning so that you do not have to deal with things being too close or two narrow after the fact. Here is what they look like in DipTrace (Under Verificaton, Design Rules)
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