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Questions relating to designing PCBs
By kaiki
#39034
I'm trying to make a board for the luxeon rebel series LED's very similar to http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=8475

a few questions :
- anyone know a source of cheap mounting boards specifically for the rebel series led's?
- in eagle what can use to define a aluminum layer like the under surface of the above mentioned board?
- will BatchPCB charge extra for this layer?
By kaiki
#39193
thanks..

although any idea how to make that bare metal layer on the PCB, seems like it would be interesting for other heat dissipation applications too.
User avatar
By leon_heller
#39197
There are companies that can do that sort of thing, but it will be very expensive unless you are buying lots of them.

Leon
By kaiki
#39201
There are companies that can do that sort of thing, but it will be very expensive unless you are buying lots of them.
I'm guessing you are referring to something like a MCPCB, but I was hoping for something more 'seemingly' simple, like the sparkfun board
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=8475

its says. 'special aluminum pcb', I want to know how that is done, i'm guessing in eagle it would be just a fill layer without any solder mask, but how do I tell batchPCB to make it 'special aluminum'?

(but I guess one could argue that this special aluminum can also be called a metal core pcb.. !!)
User avatar
By bigglez
#39222
kaiki wrote:its says. 'special aluminum pcb', I want to know how that is done, i'm guessing in eagle it would be just a fill layer without any solder mask, but how do I tell batchPCB to make it 'special aluminum'?
Greetings kaiki,

Short answer: you don't. The batchPCB service is the
Ford Model 'T' of PCBs - you can have any colour as
long as it's black - in other words you must comply
with the BatchPCB spec or be rejected.

Having said that, perhaps the good folks at SFE will
share with us how and where they sourced the PCB with
metallic heatsink?

Another option is to inquire at the commercial PCB
houses and see if this is something they can tackle
(and at what price)?

Comments Welcome!