Page 164 - Make Your Own PCBs with EAGLE from Schematic Designs to Finished Boards

poking the component leads through the holes to make sure that everything fits. This will also
highlight any problems with the third dimension (height) that you never see using EAGLE. For
example, it may become apparent that one component is sticking up too much. For example, the SMD
version of the sound meter project probably could benefit from having all the LEDs on the bottom of

the board so that there are no components sticking up above the LEDs, allowing them to be mounted
flush against a window on whatever box the board is to be housed in. It’s surprising what a difference
it makes having something concrete to handle.

Submitting a Job to a PCB Service

Finally, it’s time to find a PCB service and send off the design files.

PCB services aimed at the maker are an ever-expanding and changing area. Therefore, before
selecting a service, do some research. The main things that you need to consider are

• Cost. How much will it cost you for your project. If you are just making a project for yourself,
then you may only want one board. Wasteful though it may be, you may find that you can get 10
boards from one supplier for less than the cost of one board from another supplier.

• Speed. How long will it take for the boards to come back after you have sent over the Gerber

files? Wherever possible, look for information on the electronic forums about the actual
turnaround time.
• Quality. These days you would be unlucky to receive a low-quality board. These things are

made by high-quality machines, and there is little practical to go wrong.

• Design rules. Each service will have its own design rules. Sometimes these are available as a
download for EAGLE, but I would use a more universal set of design rules such as those of
Sparkfun and simply check that your track thicknesses and spacings are greater than those
specified for the service. Generally, they will be.

These items tend to be a tradeoff, so if you want the boards fast, they are unlikely to be low cost.
The size of the board also often makes a big difference. Some services simply charge by the square

inch, and others have certain cutoff sizes, so if you stay within certain dimensions, the boards are
much cheaper.
Most of the services you find for prototyping and small-batch numbers will be so-called batch

PCB services. These operate by collecting together groups of PCB designs from lots of customers and
combining them into a single order. This requires the service to wait until it has a sufficient number of
boards to make it worth making a large PCB panel containing all the individual designs that are cut
away from each other during manufacture. This means that the delay can be very variable, and you
may get your boards really quickly or it may take weeks. Look for maximum and minimum service
times. Also look at the bigger services in this area, such as OSH Park, Itead Studio, and Seeed
Studio.

Follow the Instructions