My circuit boards arrived, and they are beautiful! The quality on these boards is outstanding. I will definitely be ordering through DorkbotPDX again. You can see that the cuts are perfect (with small, perforated, easy to snap tabs!), the trace, drill, soldermask, and silkscreen are perfectly aligned, both front and back.
So, why the odd title to the post? See if you can spot what’s wrong with these pictures:
Yes, that’s right; the fab house made them exactly as I designed them! (Not how they should have been designed…)
I did measure twice… well, at least on the LaunchPad breadboard adapter… The problem was that I did not do a final measurement check before I sent off the order. In the midst of making things look decent and work properly, I somehow made the LaunchPad end of the adapter 0.1” too wide. The power supply I probably made to fit the extra space and intended to adjust the size before sending, but forgot.
C’est la guerre! I may be able to salvage these boards (lots of empty space on the power supply, and maybe some angled pins for the adapter), but I have learned a lesson: Always double-check the “Final” plans.
(BTW: I will post the corrected Eagle board file here once I fix it. The “mini-LaunchPad” portion will not be included; I’ll post that another time, once it’s proven workable.)
EDIT: Eagle board file (fixed?)
Oh man! Sad!
Well, it was my first time. I can’t expect to be perfect the first time around!
uh-oh. Better luck next time, doc. But they look absolutely beautiful.
If you want you can use Joebytes eagle files as a reference.
@bluehash:
The quality is exceptional, highest recommendation from me.
No need of references, I saw my problem as soon as I checked out the Eagle files again: one of the “T’s” “arms” is 0.1″ longer than the other. Rookie mistake. But then, I’m a rookie, so it’s okay. ;-)
Doc,
I love the color, that is exactly the color I had planned for my electrodes which I am building. Question for you, I have never used that place to get boards made before, how did you specify that you wanted the boards cut in that location? and perforated? When I have a chance I will download your eagle files to take a closer look. I currently need 2 separate boards made, both 1×1 inch and want to do it on the same batch to save money. makepcb.com is where I have been looking so far.
Also, a good rule of thumb, which I also learned the hard way, is to print out your gerber files before you send them in. It’s even a good idea to hold up double sided boards to the light to see how they match, and its an even better idea to populate the paper with your components to make sure there are no problem! :-) Good luck with the next batch. You can still salvage the boards if you solder female headers onto them and just hook them to the breadboard with wires. I actually like using that method, breadboard space sometimes is very scarce.
NJC
@NJC:
Bottom line: You can get 3 copies of each of your boards (6 boards total) for $10 (free shipping!) through the DorkbotPDX group order. They take Eagle files, no problem, and Laen is a great help in getting your order done. As you see, the boards are amazing quality. I give them my absolute highest recommendation. (BTW: Just 2 boards on makepcb.com is about $30.)
To answer your question: If you look at my Eagle file, you will see that there are two board outlines in the one file. As long as you place them at least the minimum cutting distance apart (I think it’s 0.1″), the fab house will take care of the perforated connecting tabs for you. If you put both your boards on one Eagle file, they will come in pairs (or perhaps all six connected). Laen may break them apart to fit better for shipping, though. In all, it’s incredibly easy and cheap!
I should have thought of that “paper prototype” trick! I’m going to do that before my next order. I don’t need to check alignment, since I used a single Eagle file.
I have salvaged the boards pretty well. I cut down the power supply board, drilled some holes, soldered to a particularly thick trace I had put in, et voila! Not as pretty, but works well. For the LaunchPad breadboard adapter, I put a z-bend in some right-angle headers so they lined up properly with the LaunchPad. Works fine, and barely noticeable (not that anyone’s looking).
@Doc
Thanks for the response! Nice job with the power supply, it looks pretty good. Anyways, I have 2 problems, 1 with DorkbotPDX and 1 with makepcb.com. Nothing is ever perfect, but I do think I will be using DorkbotPDX when the time goes. Turns out I still haven’t solved my analog problems, the human body is such a mess when playing around with electronics. I am really excited to hear though that it is so simple to get a board broken down into multiple smaller boards. If I’m not mistaken I don’t think many fab’s will do that, I’m pretty sure makepcb wont.
Thanks again doc.
Oh, it should be noted that if your boards are all rectangles, it’s better to just send all your boards separately rather than panelizing them yourself. Doc’s were special, because of the funny shape, but since there’s no setup or per-board fees, submitting three rectangular boards is the same price as merging them all yourself and submitting one board.
Hey! I always print my layouts 1:1 and put all parts throu the paper to see if thex fit! it really helps!
@MystBoy: Good tip. I’ve heard it somewhere before, but I (obviously) didn’t take the advice. I will from now on if I’m making a custom PCB.