SparkFun Forums

[jeanseb]

Well thank you Sparkfun, well done!

Because of you I have spent most of my pocket money ordering components and building PCB prototypes.

And this happens to be the best I could have ever done.

I have built several prototypes and I am ready to sell them... As soon as I figure out how to semi-mass produce them in a professional way.

Right now I am ordering PCBs from batchPCB, which is cheap for small quantities, but seems to be expensive for larger orders.
Also the PCBs I get do not come assembled, and I'm not the best solderer around. So shipping my products with my soldering art work is out of the scope. Last thing which is quite a downer: my enclosures are hand made and do not look professional. I wish I could have something made similar to the in2Row enclosure. However, all my inquiries to get custom enclosures made and or overlay printed come back with ex-orbiting prices!

So my next step with you Sparkfun is to figure out how to
- get my PCBs made and assembled in larger quantities (say quantity 25), but still at a reasonable price.
- get a nicer enclosure and a nice overlay printed.

Any help on this would get me unstuck from my current position.

Thanks!
Jean

[sylvie369]

Re. enclosures: I have been told on these forums that it's best to design your devices to fit existing enclosures, rather than trying to have custom enclosures made. Hammond enclosures are quite nice, and in my opinion, remarkably inexpensive. I designed my latest board to fit one - we'll see in a few weeks if I managed to do it correctly.

I got another batch of boards from BatchPCB a few days ago, and once again, they work perfectly. I am getting a LOT of satisfaction out of designing and producing my own products. I feel so sorry for people who plop themselves in front of TV or video games instead. Life is too short for that.

[ryowens84]

Hi,

Congratulations on making it this far!

Check out Gold Phoenix for your PCB; they can assemble circuit boards for you as well but I'm not sure what the quality is like. Their prices are great, and their turn-around time is less than a week (when it's not Chinese New Years).

[renwick759]

have them made in china......very very cheep and they round up.

i ordered 150 boards and received 180 (because that is how many the could fit on the board)

my order form PCBfabExpress would be $500+
form china it was $120

i also have contact for PCBA

PM me for more info.....

I meet all my contacts at CES in las vegas.

[Grimfox]

The latest issue of WIRED magazine (sparkfun was mentioned in the maker article) provides several good resources for the up and coming maker (you) as far as getting in contact with small run factories for everything from electroinics to steel. good luck.

[jeanseb]

The latest issue of WIRED magazine (sparkfun was mentioned in the maker article) provides several good resources for the up and coming maker (you) as far as getting in contact with small run factories for everything from electroinics to steel. good luck.

Hey thanks for the heads up!

[jeanseb]

have them made in china......very very cheep and they round up.

i ordered 150 boards and received 180 (because that is how many the could fit on the board)

my order form PCBfabExpress would be $500+
form china it was $120

i also have contact for PCBA

PM me for more info.....

I meet all my contacts at CES in las vegas.

I am working a project where we are dealing with a few over sea companies. They came to us requesting a quote from one of our products and we gave them the typical price list, the one we give to all of our customers.
Anyhow, they came back saying they wanted to negotiate the price, which is quite interesting. I am not sure this is very specific to these guys we are dealing with, or if this is a culture difference.

Back to oversea quotes from PCB and PCBA factories, when you do get a quote, is it implied by these companies that you can or have to negotiate the price?

Thanks!