SparkFun Forums

[smdFan]

After long search, finally I found/got some good equipment to assemble good and professional looking PCBs. However, I still need to produce the actual PCBs by outside fabs. Is there some economical tools and machines that allow you to produce PCBs at home? I know some nasty chemicals are involved but I am just curious. I am not talking about those buckets etc used mostly by hobbyist but tools used to make professional quality PCBs. Thanks

Regards

[leon_heller]

Mega Electronics (UK) stocks a wide range of PCB equipment.

Leon

[emf]

Take a look at http://www.thinktink.com (US). I haven't bought anything from them, but I had been curious whether there were cheap methods of doing solder mask and plated through holes. It wound up being more than I wanted to invest in making pretty looking PCBs, but they're worth a look.

[b_w_]

For small batches of pcbs, batchpcb.com is well worth the wait. I used to etch and drill my own pcbs but wont go anywhere near the stuff anymore. Its just not worth my time. Unless you plan on making a whole lot of boards (ie become your own boardhouse) I just dont see how its worth while to do it in-house. Even sparkfun uses another boardhouse (Gold Phoenix).

B