I will describe my experience of ordering printed circuit boards in China. I decided to produce a small batch of my devices (DaNetka - an electronic coin for decision making) in the amount of 200 pieces and the choice arose: where to order printed circuit boards? In Zelenograd they asked for a very high price and after a little searching I came across a website where the price for printed circuit boards made me very happy.
a lot of photos!
Having prepared the gerber files, I began to place the order: 
There were no registration difficulties. Everything is intuitive.
Having selected the necessary options, the price came out to 1,683 rubles and kopecks. Very good price for a batch of 200 pieces!
By adding an order to your cart and clicking continue checkout, you will be taken to the delivery and payment selection section.
Since I was in no hurry, I chose regular delivery (it’s also more affordable) 
I was expecting a delivery cost of over 1000.
Having paid for the order, I began to wait. 14 days later (very quickly, I was surprised) from the moment of payment the boards were in my hands! 
At the same time, I ordered the package already in Russia. It seems that all the components are not expensive, but the amount came out to about 17,000 rubles (including 200 boards)
A big box came out))) 
And now the moment of truth has come! Assembly has begun!
Since there is only one device, and there are two versions of DaNetka, 2 firmwares for the controllers were written.
In the first version, only 2 LEDs work: green and red (answers Yes and No, respectively)
The second version adds a yellow LED (the answer to the question is asked by the user himself)
Here's what we got (small batch) without the battery compartments installed. 
With battery compartments installed, but with different buttons 
The device turned out to be very tactical and is selling like hot cakes.
Yes, I admit, I made it for sale, but I’m giving it away at a ridiculous price)))
Wow! the effect is achieved like this: A question is asked, for example, should I order pizza? and the button is pressed 
Everyone is sad - sadness (((
Should I order sushi? 
The wife is happy!!!
The devices are assembled, my wife is happy and I’m happy!
Doing electronics “for the soul” and not claiming the laurels of a “professional” and “specialist”, nevertheless, sometimes you manage to create something interesting not only for yourself, but also for others. And here the question inevitably arises about producing a small series. We have already written about ordering printed circuit boards many times, many have tried it and, in principle, everything is more or less clear here, what and how. The first batch was sealed, stitched and given to the happy owners, all is well. Suddenly it turns out that you need to make a couple dozen more boards, and you don’t have much time to sit in the evenings with tweezers and a hairdryer, and you feel sorry for your eyes. The time has come to take the next step - try the PCBA (PCB Assembly) service.
This article will discuss the previously described adapter, intended for sim racing enthusiasts. The article is not marketing research, I am describing my personal experience.
First, let me remind you what you need to order the production of bare printed circuit boards. If you already have a wired board, you need to export the Gerber and Drill files. Each layer of the PCB requires a separate Gerber file. The Gerber file name must correspond to the PCB layer. I use DipTrace for PCB layout and when exporting Gerber files, files with the following names are created:
BoardOutline.gbr
Bottom.gbr
BottomMask.gbr
BottomPaste.gbr
BottomSilk.gbr
Through.drl
Top.gbr
TopMask.gbr
TopPaste.gbr
TopSilk.gbr
It would seem clear enough? But with such file names, the archive will only be accepted by SeeedStudio. For all other files you have to rename:
Top layer: pcbname.GTL
Inner Layer 1: pcbname.GL1 (for 4-layer board)
Inner Layer 2: pcbname.GL2 (for 4-layer board)
Bottom layer: pcbname.GBL
Solder Stop Mask top: pcbname.GTS
Solder Stop Mask Bottom: pcbname.GBS
Top Paste: pcbname.GTP
Bottom Paste: pcbname.GBP
Silk Top: pcbname.GTO
Silk Bottom: pcbname.GBO
NC Drill: pcbname.TXT
Outline layer: pcbname.GKO or pcbname.DO
Please also note that when ordering printed circuit boards, layers with solder paste are usually not exported, but when ordering PCBA, they will be useful to us. Also don't forget to export the Drill file.
We will also need a BOM (bill of materials) and a pick-and-place file, which can also be exported from DipTrace (or whatever software you use). Moreover, a BOM can be made from a pick-and-place file by grouping identical positions and excluding those positions that you do not plan to mount. For example, I provided a place to install a JTAG connector, but the connector itself was soldered only to the board used for debugging.
The BOM file format is different for everyone, but it should almost always contain the following fields:
1. Quantity
2. Manufacturer
3. Part number of the manufacturer
For the Makerfabs service, where I eventually ordered the assembly, I made the following BOM file:
References Qty Description Manufacturer MPN Digikey Mouser RS Newark Farnell
25/27 1 90131-0123 WM8121-ND 538901310123 6703443 60H4442 2381222
C1-C2 2 22pF,0603 C0603C220J1GACTU 399-7874-2-ND 80C0603C220J1G 8015350 75R1532 1813429
C3-C4 2 100nF,0603 C0603C104K5RACTU 399-5089-2-ND 80C0603C104K5R 8015347 72J5992 1692286
C5 1 4.7uF,0603 CL10A475KL8NRNC 1276-6794-6-ND 81GRM188R60J475ME9D 6911155 62W5999 2211163
...
Requirements may vary, so it's best to check this in advance.
Also don’t forget to check Design Rules / PCB capabilities. As a rule, most services make it possible to download ready-made files for frequently used software, but for DipTrace you need to check everything manually. On the other hand, with the rules that come out of the box in DipTrace, most PCB manufacturing companies can handle the margin.
With a small print run (10-20 pieces), it is quite possible that the components will be placed on the board manually. You need to make sure that the labeling of all components on the board matches the BOM file, even if you have a pick-and-place file where the location of each component is also indicated.
Let's say you've done this, then you need to do the following. First, contact the service and ask them to send you a cost estimate for the project by sending them the gerberas, drill file, BOM and pick-and-place. Usually the answer comes within one to two days. Take a close look at the cost by item. The following items will be included in the invoice:
Printed circuit board manufacturing
- Making a stencil for applying paste to boards
- Selection of components from local analogues (*)
- Installation and testing (**)(***)
- Delivery
(*) - allows you to reduce the cost of the board by replacing original components with local ones, but it’s also not free, it cost me $20. The selection fee is a one-time fee; if you order the same design again, there is no charge.
(**) The testing procedure can be discussed in advance; small companies can fulfill any whim, of course, not for free.
(***) If you order a small batch, a small commission may be added for a small print run, for example, from Makerfabs - for a batch of less than 20 pieces.
Making a stencil is also, in general, a one-time procedure; you don’t need to pay for a repeat order; the Chinese promise to store them.
Please pay special attention to the shipping method. Small offices often do not have experience working with the Russian Federation; with the best intentions, they may offer to use some kind of courier service, the name of which will mean little to you. Moreover, this courier service in the Russian Federation can work through, say, some EMS. And it is entirely your own fault that you suffer with him...
Again, do not forget to indicate the taxpayer number (TIN) and ask the Chinese to indicate it on the address form so as not to get problems from our customs. The Chinese may also ask whether to indicate the full price on the box or to underestimate it. I asked to indicate in full that taxes are not yet collected on such an amount.
Once the cost has been agreed upon and the order has been paid for, the manufacturing stage usually takes 1-2 weeks. At the end of the stage, you can ask to send you a photo of the result, so that you don’t get bored waiting during delivery :) Also ask for a report on how the boards passed the testing agreed upon with you. If everything is fine, wait, he will arrive soon.
In general, the order processing cycle looks like this:
If you compare the cost of assembling it yourself and assembling it to order, the question primarily depends on how much you estimate your time. Personally, I collect the fee for KDPV in about an hour or more. 10 payments - conditionally two working days. Comparing the cost of my working time and the cost of contract assembly - the second is cheaper for me. Moreover, if we are not talking about 10 boards, but, say, 50-100 pieces. Yes, there are specially trained installers who do this much faster and with better quality. But this is not about me...
When should you definitely not use a contract assembly? For example, if you are not completely sure that your design is fully functional. Because this is solely your problem, the assemblers are not responsible for this and the order will be collected in full, regardless of its performance. Well, you shouldn’t order at the end of January either. You will see an order placed after January 20 only in mid-March. Because all of China is celebrating the New Year...
Regarding intellectual property leakage, the service declares the inviolability of your intellectual property. How this immunity will be guaranteed is not very clear, but for open source or hobby projects this is not so important. After all, for hobby electronics, the circuits are usually quite simple, but the firmware may not be provided for testing. But that's up to you to decide.
Greetings to all MySku users! This is my first review, please do not swear too much, I will take constructive criticism into account. I want to tell you how and where I ordered the boards in China, as well as how to prepare the project yourself and what to pay attention to. Let `s start?!
Preamble
Once I wanted to repeat one of the projects found on the Internet, so much so that there were about a dozen friends willing to buy the finished product. To complete the project, you need to make a printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as PCB), engage in LUT for such an industrial scale - for me this is the height of masochism, and I wanted factory beauty. Having monitored domestic offices where you can order PP, I was disheartened by the prices, they are clearly inferior to their foreign counterparts (in terms of cost), if you do not need ultra-precision, as for spacecraft, and three-day urgency, then it is better to order in China! I chose this particular office for myself; others, for one reason or another, did not suit me.
BUT before placing an order on the website, we need to prepare the project itself. To prepare the PP, I chose my favorite CAD program, DipTrace.
Preparing a project in DipTrace
So, after tracing in DipTrace, we need to export the result to the Gerber file format.
"File-Export-Gerber..." 
We see the window 
Select “Apertures”, click “Auto” and close the window.
Next, select the “Top Marking” item, where “Objects” are indicated, leave the checkboxes as default. You can also click the “Preview” button and make sure that all the top markings are in place. Click “Export” and save the file with the name Top_silk. Since I have a two-layer PP, similarly export “Bottom Marking” and save the file with the name Bottom_silk.
Next we need to export the mask layers. Select “Upper mask”, do not forget to check the boxes for “Transitions” and “Technical holes”. Click “Export” and save the file with the name Top_mask, and similarly export the bottom mask with the name Bottom_mask.
Let's move on to exporting routes. Select “Top” in the “Objects” field; there are checkboxes everywhere except “holes” and “dimensions”, export a file named Top. Similarly, we export “Bottom” with the name Bottom. Please note that we do not check the “Mirror” checkbox anywhere!!!
Next, export the borders, select “Board Borders”, export with the name Border.
The last point remains: you need to export a file describing the coordinates and diameters of all holes on the board. To do this, “File-Export-NC/Drill...”
Leave everything as in the picture 
Click the “Auto” button, then “Export” a file named Drill
Hooray! We're almost done.
Exported files can be viewed for errors in any program that understands Gerber, for example GerbMagic or Pentalogix Viewmate, the programs are free and can be easily found on the Internet.
All!!! We save the exported files in one folder into a rar archive. Now we are all ready to order PP on the website
Now let me give you the capabilities of the factory:
Additional Information
I ordered two-layer PP 65x60 mm in the amount of 10 pcs. The width of the traces is from 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm with a distance between traces of 0.2 mm (there was no point in making smaller ones). Silkscreen width 0.25 mm. Via holes: internal diameter 0.5 mm, external 1 mm.
Order algorithm on the site itself
Everything is simple here, register on the site. Go to Online Price Calculator. 
Key points to order
Dimension: PP size in cm
Layer: Number of layers
Quantity: Quantity of PP (minimum order 5 pcs.)
Thickness: PP thickness (it’s better to leave the default 1.6 as it’s cheaper)
Solder Mask Color: Mask color (it’s better to leave green, it’s the cheapest)
Letter Color: Silkscreen color
Flying probe test: Here you can select Free for sample test
We leave the remaining items as default.
Enter your email and click “Calculate”
For example, I filled in the fields, after calculation we see the cost of the work, the cost of delivery and its options, and the technical characteristics of the order. 
Next, click “Upload PCB File, Place Order”
We see the window 
Upload Files: upload the archive of a previously prepared software project.
Fill in the remaining fields and confirm.
Once your order is placed, your project will be audited for specification errors and correctness. Next you will be asked to pay for your order, I chose PayPal. After confirmation of payment, the work is completed within approximately three days. After which they send you a photo of your PP by e-mail.
This is what they sent me
Next, I waited about three weeks for the mail to work. A pleasant bonus was that 11 boards arrived instead of 10. Apparently they were cutting from one blank, everything that fit was done. The boards came in vacuum packaging!!! There was a tightly sealed package, which was already packed in bubble wrap and placed in a regular cardboard box, wrapped with tape. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of the “unpacking”.
Now a photo of the finished work:
I was pleased with the quality of the boards, no serious comments. I didn't find any manufacturing errors. The silkscreen is smooth, everything is in its place. The trails are well laid out. There are no complaints about metallized transitions either. I rate the quality as 4+.
There are no animals at home, so as a bonus there will be
Integrated production of printed circuit boards in Russia allows us to provide all the necessary services. We can do:
PCB calculation;
production of photomasks for printed circuit boards;
repair of printed circuit boards.
By deciding to contact us, you are working with a manufacturer capable of producing printed circuit boards of any level of complexity in a short time. We are also ready to supply printed circuit boards from China. Serial production of printed circuit boards in China is the best option for those who would like to save money, but at the same time get quality products at their disposal.
Over the years, our company has created a high-tech production of printed circuit boards in Moscow. Technical equipment, knowledge of all the nuances of the process of creating our products, as well as our own production of prepregs make it possible to offer our customers modern products on very attractive terms. We have really low cost of PCB manufacturing. We can also repair electronic circuit boards.
Are you looking for reliable production of multilayer printed circuit boards? Call us! And City Electronics will make sure that you are not disappointed with the cooperation!
I usually made boards for myself using LUT technology. But in my latest projects I encountered technological limitations. The need to manufacture at least a two-layer printed circuit board forced me to turn to an industrial service for the production of printed circuit boards.
Studying this issue on the Internet led me to the conclusion that it is most profitable to order the manufacture of printed circuit boards in China.
Recently I have tried the following services:
At the time of placing the order, the most interesting offer was from allpcb (prices may have changed at the moment, so we choose the service where the price is lower), since they had free delivery to Russia when sent by Hong Kong Post.
Here you need to indicate the characteristics of your future board.
- Dimension: Board dimensions width, height.
- Quantity: Quantity in pieces (minimum 5, but the price depends on the quantity).
- Layer: Number of layers.
- PCB Kinds: the number of boards on one PCB (usually, if you have several small boards, it is most profitable to place them on one PCB measuring 100x100mm, dividing them in a silk-screen printing layer, and then cut them yourself. Unfortunately, with allpcb.com this number is available I didn’t pass. They considered my project as several “PCB Kinds”, which greatly increased the cost. Thus, for the allpcb case, I recommend limiting yourself to one board on one piece of PCB).
- Thickness: PCB thickness.
- Min Spacing: Minimum distance between components.
- Min Hole Size: Minimum hole diameter
- Solder Mask Color: Color of the protective mask. The default is green, but you can choose another one for an additional fee (seedstudio has it for free, but the quality of the green mask turned out to be noticeably better).
- Silkscreen Color: Marking color.
- Surface Finishing: Surface finishing.
- Via Process: Determine whether vias will be set under the mask (there is no point in specifying, since for gerber, by default vias are processed according to the files).
- Flying test: Testing tracks for breaks and short circuits (test is free).
- Copper Weight: The thickness of the copper plating.
Thus, for amateur boards it is enough to set the dimensions, number of pieces, number of layers. Leave everything else as default.
In total, the most profitable option for ordering is a 10x10cm board in the amount of 10 pieces, double-sided, green mask. If we have one board (one type, you can place several, but of the same type), then it would be most profitable to order from allpcb.com. If you need to place several copies of the board on a piece of PCB, then it is better to use the service www.elecrow.com, their panelization was free.
You can learn more about the project itself and download the project files in the article
