plotting PCB pattern using Laser Printer. Gerber --> LaserPrinter ?
Au Kum-Chuen
I used to send gerber plots files generated by my PCB design software to
photo-ploting service to get the PCB pattern plotted. Now with the new
600 DPI laser printers cheap on the market, I wonder if there is a
software for converting Gerber files to laser printer formats. Example
of laser printer are those from HP.
It is also possible to print on transparent material, specifically
for making PCB pattern?
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks.
- Au (au...@pacific.net.sg)
Carla Fong
>Hi,
>I used to send gerber plots files generated by my PCB design software to
>photo-ploting service to get the PCB pattern plotted. Now with the new
>600 DPI laser printers cheap on the market, I wonder if there is a
>software for converting Gerber files to laser printer formats. Example
>of laser printer are those from HP.
>It is also possible to print on transparent material, specifically
>for making PCB pattern?
We get photoplots done for about $20 (US) or so, and the advantages of
real photoplotting over laser printing are considerable.
Most PCB design programs include a laser driver in addition to the Gerber
drivers... Look around in the documentation to find it... Laser printing
onto clear film works, but is not as opaque as real photoplotting. You may
spend more time cleaning up finished boards made using this film than the
difference in cost for real plots.
The laser output is primarily intended for making check-plots to be sure
mechanical stuff is properly considered and located.
Also, as line widths and spacing gets tighter and tighter, minor glitches
in laser output and/or scratches on the output film will drive you
absolutely buggy.. (slight pun intended)
In addition, the photoplotter will be able to do step and repeat images
of your board in precise alignment, which is a requirement for automated
production.- Allowing multiple boards to be made on each flat and
reducing production cost. If all you're doing is a single prototype
board, the cost tradeoff is still in favor of photoplotting IMHO.
Just my 2 cents worth..please pay from invoice...no statement will be sent
<grin>
--
car...@teleport.COM God has angels to help with her work,
The devil has politicians
Ewald Sperrer
: Hi,
: I used to send gerber plots files generated by my PCB design software to
: photo-ploting service to get the PCB pattern plotted. Now with the new
: 600 DPI laser printers cheap on the market, I wonder if there is a
: software for converting Gerber files to laser printer formats. Example
: of laser printer are those from HP.
: It is also possible to print on transparent material, specifically
: for making PCB pattern?
: Any information would be appreciated.
: Thanks.
: - Au (au...@pacific.net.sg)
You're right in assuming that you can get pretty nice results with
laser printers. My experience has shown that standard (overhead) trans-
parencies do not work well (size changes with temperature, not
100% black, ...), so I use a special paper (with a milky surface)
to which toner adhers perfectly and it is possible to fine-etch
boards. Always put the printed face of the paper facing toward the
board!
This paper is rather expensive (appr. US-$ 2,- for an A4-sheet in Ger-
many), I obtain them from Conrad Electronic, a large supplier over
here.
Hope this helps,
ewi
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D.I. Ewald Sperrer Email: e...@hancad.co.at
Maker of "STP"
The Windows Switchboard
oo ** HAN DATAPORT Phone: ++43/732/60 02 64 - 0
oo ** CAD-Systeme Ges.m.b.H. Fax: ++43/732/66 70 86
oo ** Khevenhuellerstr. 14
oo ** A-4020 Linz, AUSTRIA
C. K. Hwa
>
>Hi,
>
>I used to send gerber plots files generated by my PCB design software to
>photo-ploting service to get the PCB pattern plotted. Now with the new
>600 DPI laser printers cheap on the market, I wonder if there is a
>software for converting Gerber files to laser printer formats. Example
>of laser printer are those from HP.
>
>It is also possible to print on transparent material, specifically
>for making PCB pattern?
>
>Any information would be appreciated.
>
>Thanks.
>
>- Au (au...@pacific.net.sg)
>
There are many software can do Gerber --> laser printer translations.
Basically any Gerber viewer will do it. The one I use is GraphiCode, they have
a shareware version called "GC-Prevue" you can download at no coast, but I'm
not 100% sure if you can output from this version. Otherwise you may buy their
"GC-Preditor" and I know it will handle the output. They don't have a web site
yet, but you can e-mail to: in...@graphicode.com and ask for information.
Other than answering your question, I'd also like to mention that producing
PCB from laser printer is _not_ recommanded due to the loose tolorance and
lack of accuracy of the printer itself. Being involved in the PCB manufacturing
industry for over 12 years, I've seen a lot of problems due to this kind of
"basement production". Unless it's only checkplots, I strongly recommand to
have your design plotted on a good photoplotter for any boards to be made.
You put this much time, effort and money into your design already, why take
the risk at the very end? Phoplotting prices are a lot lower in the later
years, so it's not going to cost too much anyway.
Please post again or send me a e-mail if anything else.
________________________________________________________
((((((((((( Precision Image Corp.))))))))))))))))))))))
The Pro of Photoplotting & PCB Scanning
4164 148th Ave. NE Redmond, WA. 98052 USA
800-756-FILM(3456) 206-861-6736 (Fax/Modem)
e-mail: pim...@nwlink.com
--------------------------------------------------------
Odd Arild Olsen
On 12 Dec 1995, Ewald Sperrer wrote:
>
> You're right in assuming that you can get pretty nice results with
> laser printers. My experience has shown that standard (overhead) trans-
> parencies do not work well (size changes with temperature, not
> 100% black, ...), so I use a special paper (with a milky surface)
> to which toner adhers perfectly and it is possible to fine-etch
> boards. Always put the printed face of the paper facing toward the
> board!
>
> This paper is rather expensive (appr. US-$ 2,- for an A4-sheet in Ger-
> many), I obtain them from Conrad Electronic, a large supplier over
> here.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> ewi
I use ordinary white paper or the thin paper used for making copies with
typewriters. The ink covers well and the contrast is very good. Due to
the slightly opaque paper increase the exposure time threefold or so. And
remember to lay the printed side of the paper towards the PCB.
This gives good results, I've made many PCBs using this method with line
widths down to 10 mil. The laser may not be perfect regarding dimensions
and the paper may warp, but this has never been a problem for me. After
all, absolute dimension accuracy is often not needed as long as the pads
for the largest IC or connectors are not too much misaligned.
But, the original posting asked for programs to convert Gerber files to
laser printer files (PCL or Postscript?). Can anyone help, I would like
to have one too.
regards
oao
Steve Surtees
I use PADS software, I quite often just plot to laser (HP4 plus type) printer.
3M do an overhead clear transparancy type film that you can put through
the printer - it should be OK for prototypes, but it may be to thin for
production exactness eg 3 thou (mil) V 7 thou (mil) for most pcb suppliers.
Regards Steve Surtees (New Zealand)
Samy Nonsense
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>From: Au Kum-Chuen <au...@po.pacific.net.sg>
>Newsgroups: sci.electronics.misc,sci.electronics.cad,comp.arch.embedded
>Subject: plotting PCB pattern using Laser Printer. Gerber --> LaserPrinter ?
>Date: 11 Dec 1995 03:27:03 GMT
>Organization: Pacific Internet, Singapore
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>Hi,
>I used to send gerber plots files generated by my PCB design software to
>photo-ploting service to get the PCB pattern plotted. Now with the new
>600 DPI laser printers cheap on the market, I wonder if there is a
>software for converting Gerber files to laser printer formats. Example
>of laser printer are those from HP.
>It is also possible to print on transparent material, specifically
>for making PCB pattern?
>Any information would be appreciated.
>Thanks.
>- Au (au...@pacific.net.sg)
I have an experinece using HP laser printer to print the PCB layout. It is
fine. However, the size is not exactly you want. It may be due to the laser
printer have not calibriated before print.
Good luck
David Kessner
> >Other than answering your question, I'd also like to mention
> >that producing PCB from laser printer is _not_ recommanded
> >due to the loose tolorance and lack of accuracy of the printer
> >itself. Being involved in the PCB manufacturing
Au Kum-Chuen <au...@po.pacific.net.sg> wrote:
> With 600DPI how inaccurate can it be??
The "accuracy" problem doesn't come form the DPI of the printer.
It comes from the rollers and gears that move the paper along.
For instance, lets say that the computer tries to print a 7 inch
by 7 inch square. When printed, the square might be 7.1 x 6.8
inches! If you change the type of paper, the distortion will
vary as well. So, when you print to paper you'll have a different
square than when you print to a transparency.
This distortion is fairly constant (assuming you're using the
same printer and the same paper). Some programs, like Protel PCB,
take advantage of this and allow you to build in "fudge factors"
when printing on a laser printer.
Hope this helps!
-David Kessner
dkes...@cyclades.com
Peter T. Waltenberg
Worth checking around and seeing if you can find someone who can do this locally.
Peter Waltenberg
Au Kum-Chuen
With 600DPI how inaccurate can it be?? Of course the printing
software must be good in rounding off some errors.
But if the printing software can do a 2x print out and then
I bring give it the PCB shop and they can reduce it to the right size.
I have done layout long ago using SMARTWORK and output to a
(2x) dot-matrix printer and photo reduce it to the correct size.
Worked pretty well and cheap.
pim...@nwlink.com (C. K. Hwa) wrote:
>Other than answering your question, I'd also like to mention that producing
>PCB from laser printer is _not_ recommanded due to the loose tolorance and
>lack of accuracy of the printer itself. Being involved in the PCB manufacturing
Dan Mills
When buying acetate make sure you buy the heat proof stuff!
I new someone who ran a ordanary OHP transparency on a HP laserjet 4,
the repair bill ran to several hundred ukp!!
--
************************************************************
* And on the first day the lord said... * *
* LX1, GO! and there was light. * Dan Mills. *
************************************************************
Art Horne
-snip-
:>Other than answering your question, I'd also like to mention that producing
:>PCB from laser printer is _not_ recommanded due to the loose tolorance and
:>lack of accuracy of the printer itself. Being involved in the PCB manufacturing
:>industry for over 12 years, I've seen a lot of problems due to this kind of
:>"basement production". Unless it's only checkplots, I strongly recommand to
:>have your design plotted on a good photoplotter for any boards to be made.
:>You put this much time, effort and money into your design already, why take
:>the risk at the very end? Phoplotting prices are a lot lower in the later
:>years, so it's not going to cost too much anyway.
:>
:>Please post again or send me a e-mail if anything else.
:>
:>________________________________________________________
:>((((((((((( Precision Image Corp.))))))))))))))))))))))
:> The Pro of Photoplotting & PCB Scanning
:>4164 148th Ave. NE Redmond, WA. 98052 USA
:>800-756-FILM(3456) 206-861-6736 (Fax/Modem)
:>e-mail: pim...@nwlink.com
:>--------------------------------------------------------
He knoweth of what he speaks. I've used their services for many years and
the quality of their plotting and the service (turn around time) is superb!
Their prices are reasonable too!
Regards,
Art
_________________________
Art Horne K6KFH
aho...@aa.net
May the FORTH be with you
_________________________
Unknown
> Basically any Gerber viewer will do it. The one I use is GraphiCode, they have
> a shareware version called "GC-Prevue" you can download at no coast, but I'm
> not 100% sure if you can output from this version. Otherwise you may buy their
> "GC-Preditor" and I know it will handle the output. They don't have a
web site
> yet, but you can e-mail to: in...@graphicode.com and ask for information.
>
> PCB from laser printer is _not_ recommanded due to the loose tolorance and
> lack of accuracy of the printer itself. Being involved in the PCB
manufacturing
I disagree with this, I have laser printed boards an then sent the
page off to the local newspaper who photographically etch from it.
Works fine for me. It may be a different story if you are dealing
with very fine tracks and high densities, but squares and circles
are still squares and circles. (And they're the same size too :-).)
John
Dave McQuillan
The original post wanted software for the job but the following might be of
interest or relevance if you want to use a LaserPrinter.
I'm sure I read somewhere about some sheets you can photocopy onto and then
you can iron the sheets onto the copper, preferably with a hot roller. This
produces a transfer without any of the photo process suitable for etching.
Sorry I forget the name, someone else may remember.
The reviewer seemed to think they worked quite well and were reasonably cheap.
However you do need to use a compatible laser printer - it only works
with about half the types of Laser printer. He also said some types of copier
were suitable so designs in magazines could be done easily.
--
David McQuillan
Odd Arild Olsen
On 15 Dec 1995, Bob Manchek wrote:
> In article <Pine.SUN.3.91.951212205652.28244A-100000@eunet>, Odd Arild Olsen <oao...@login.eunet.no> writes:
>
> |> I use ordinary white paper or the thin paper used for making copies with
> |> typewriters. The ink covers well and the contrast is very good. Due to
> |> the slightly opaque paper increase the exposure time threefold or so. And
> |> remember to lay the printed side of the paper towards the PCB.
>
> My favorite method is to print a 2X copy on a good laser printer and
> have it reduced onto Kodalith film by a local printshop. < US$10 per
> sheet (about 8.5 x 11" final size). But this is probably overkill.
> (...)
I must add to this to clarify: I use laser printouts only for prototypes,
simlple boards without many vias and when I can't wait for the PCB
bureau. Otherwise I send the gerber and drill files to the bureau. The
processing of such files are almost automatic these days, so I think I
would pay more for PCBs if I provided the bureau with a film. For small
series the bureau pools several PCB into one plane, so they can't use my
films either. But, as I said: printing on ordinary paper and using
PCBboards with factory spayed photo resist yields excellent results.
oao
Bob Manchek
|> I use ordinary white paper or the thin paper used for making copies with
|> typewriters. The ink covers well and the contrast is very good. Due to
|> the slightly opaque paper increase the exposure time threefold or so. And
|> remember to lay the printed side of the paper towards the PCB.
My favorite method is to print a 2X copy on a good laser printer and
have it reduced onto Kodalith film by a local printshop. < US$10 per
sheet (about 8.5 x 11" final size). But this is probably overkill.
|> But, the original posting asked for programs to convert Gerber files to
|> laser printer files (PCL or Postscript?). Can anyone help, I would like
|> to have one too.
You can get one from ftp://cs.utk.edu/pub/manchek/gerbertops.shar.
It handles everything except curves (I and J codes).
-b
--
/ Robert Manchek University of Tennessee /
/ Computer Science Department /
/ (423)974-8295 Ayres Hall #104 /
/ man...@CS.UTK.EDU. Knoxville TN 37996-1301 /
/ http://www.netlib.org/utk/people/BobManchek.html /
Wesley Bryan Isgrigg
jkn...@vaxxine.com (Jonathan Knock) wrote:
>In article <4ag8e7$s...@raffles.technet.sg> Au Kum-Chuen
<au...@po.pacific.net.sg> writes:
>
>
>>Hi,
>
>>I used to send gerber plots files generated by my PCB design software to
>>photo-ploting service to get the PCB pattern plotted. Now with the new
>>600 DPI laser printers cheap on the market, I wonder if there is a
>>software for converting Gerber files to laser printer formats. Example
>>of laser printer are those from HP.
>
>>It is also possible to print on transparent material, specifically
>>for making PCB pattern?
>
>>Any information would be appreciated.
>
>>Thanks.
>
>>- Au (au...@pacific.net.sg)
>
>
>photo-plots would have. The Gerber Cresent 30 Laser Plotter has a DPI of
4000.
>
>There is software that will convert Gerber and HPGL files to Post Script or
>laser printer files. The name of the software is GPLOT by CAD Solutions.
Its
>shareware so if you want a copy just E-mail me and I'll send it to you!
>
Gplot was part of the PCgerber product This is NOT shareware, a lot of
us had to pay money for this. the version of pcgerber that was shipped as a
demo was a fully functional crippled version. It is limited in the number of
elements. I do not know, (read not tested) for maximum output of gplot. Gplot
went away when the newer versions came out.
CAD Solutions has done a marketing ploy, they are now called ACT.
Luck to ya
Isgrigg MicroComputer Services,"Where your Ideas become reality!"
Serving the South east Texas and Houston area, from 1983.
Voice #1: (713) 488-8854, Fax: (713) 488-4767
Voice #2: (713) 488-5168, Modem: (713) 488-4890
E-mail: im...@blkbox.com, Web: http://www.blkbox.com/~imcs/
Jonathan M. Elson
: With 600DPI how inaccurate can it be?? Of course the printing
: software must be good in rounding off some errors.
You mistake resolution for accuracy! 600 dots/inch does not mean that
each dot is witin one 600th of an inch of its desired position. In fact,
because the paper squirms as it passes through the printer, there can be
a position error of several tenths of an inch from one edge of the paper
to the other. We sometimes use laser printer output for a quick check
on boards no bigger than 2 inches on a side. When doing this, tell the
software to center the plot on the page. Just to prove to yourself how
bad a laser printer is, plot the same board layout (or just a grid of
lines) in the center of the page and at the left or right edge. Then
overlay the two plots on a light table. Another test is to plot the
same layout normally and mirror image, and overlay the sheets. In both
cases, you will see a surprising amount of error. Some of it is paper
squirm, some of it is due to the imperfect alignment of the corrector
optics which correct the sweep of the laser beam as the rotating mirror
sweeps it across the imaging drum. Without the corrector optics, the
beam would move twice as fast at the edges of the paper as in the center,
causing the dots to be 300 DPI at the edge and 600 DPI in the center.
The corrector optics correct for this, but the tolerance of the assembly
of these lenses is not perfect, so some slight error remains. An error
of .05" will make a through-hole board unusable - the IC holes won't
connect to the right ones on the other side. And you are severely limited
if you must stay one sided!
So, with care, I have made 2 x 2" boards with laser printer output. Anything
larger than that needs a plotter or photoplotter. I modified a huge, old,
Calcomp pen plotter by adding a fiber-optic source in place of one of the
pens - the pen down command turns the light source on. It plots at 10"/Sec
on Kodak GLP-7 plotter film (you need a 200 W Mercury-Arc lamp for the
light source). There are some mechanical wiggles introduced because the
fiber-lens assembly weighs about 20 x what the pens weigh -Ugh! But it
mostly works, and if the film is properly mounted on the plastic belt it
gives excellent accuracy - sometimes as good as .010" worst-case registration
between the two sides of a board 10 x 10" square! If you don't get the film
mounted just right, you have to do it over. A quirk of the Calcomp design.
So, it is an incredible beast, but it just barely works.
Jonathan Knock
>Gplot was part of the PCgerber product This is NOT shareware, a lot of
>us had to pay money for this. the version of pcgerber that was shipped as a
>demo was a fully functional crippled version. It is limited in the number of
>elements. I do not know, (read not tested) for maximum output of gplot. Gplot
>went away when the newer versions came out.
Well... If you paid for a copy of Gplot you got burnt... Its was free to
download from there BBS. The actual CAM software had a limit to the size of
the data files that could be loaded in but Gplot was fully functional and free
for the taking!
Joseph I. Chiu
>> Other than answering your question, I'd also like to mention that producing
>> PCB from laser printer is _not_ recommanded due to the loose tolorance and
>> lack of accuracy of the printer itself. Being involved in the PCB
>> manufacturing
John (Computer Science Student) writes:
>Works fine for me. It may be a different story if you are dealing
>with very fine tracks and high densities, but squares and circles
>are still squares and circles. (And they're the same size too :-).)
Ah, but what about the plated-through holes? Or the chemicals needed to
do the photo-resist and etch? I used to do PCB's that way, but for
any significant boards (i.e., more than 10 analog components or more than
about 4 IC's), it just isn't worth doing it at home.
I just did a PCB (about 5*7) for about $100 for two pieces. If I factor
in the amount of time running around trying to get it "just right" doing
the at-home PCB method, the professional quality (tinned, too!) of the
rapid protype house ends up being very worth it. By not wasting time
drilling 300+ holes and getting the chemicals just right, you can
concentrate more on making sure your PCB lay-out is correct and neat.
Joseph
P.S. The only time I've gotten a really "good" at-home PCB was when I
printed onto acetate with a dye-sublimation printer at my school.
Toner based methods (either photoresist or toner-resist) have been
underwhelming...
--
jos...@alumni.caltech.edu http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~josephc/
Daytime: +1 (818) 683-4136 800 E. Colorado Blvd. #900, Pasadena, CA 91101.
Evening: +1 (818) 577-6588 84 N. Wilson Ave. #206, Pasadena, CA 91106.
Beeper: +1 (800) 305-0312 Definition of 'gullible' is missing in Webster's.
Bill Anderson
(Joseph I. Chiu) wrote:
I saw an ad in the back of Circuit Cellar Ink for an outfit in Canada (AP
Circuits phone 403-250-3406, BBS at 403-291-9342) that advertised $90 for
two 5" x 8" pcbs, two sided. Didn't mention number of holes, silk screen,
etc. They can take the data over a modem, and guarantee shipping the next
business day if they get the data by 7am mountain time the day before.
Greg Holdren
: Ah, but what about the plated-through holes? Or the chemicals needed to
: do the photo-resist and etch? I used to do PCB's that way, but for
: any significant boards (i.e., more than 10 analog components or more than
: about 4 IC's), it just isn't worth doing it at home.
I guess this really depends on the person doing PCB board. I dont mind
laying a board out with several ICs and then drilling them. Its like art work
I guess. It depends on the job at hand, time to market, other small timely
projects. For me and most hobbiest doing manual labor beats $100.
I did a Seeq 8005 LAN card (4"x7")with 7 DIP ics and a 64 PLCC chip in a
64 pin PGA like socket (TH), double sided PCB. I used DynaArts laser
jet xfer paper and FECL3 to etch both sides. Drilling was alittle
tedious but it was done in a couple of hours with several rests.
I used wire wrap for vias. The mistake I made on the board was on the PGA
socket and using vias at the socket. I had to reflow the solder a few times
to get the connections. I thought about this later and decided next time
to use wire wapw PGA socket and lift it off the board alittle to get the
soldering iron in to solder the top side.
: I just did a PCB (about 5*7) for about $100 for two pieces. If I factor
: in the amount of time running around trying to get it "just right" doing
: the at-home PCB method, the professional quality (tinned, too!) of the
: rapid protype house ends up being very worth it. By not wasting time
: drilling 300+ holes and getting the chemicals just right, you can
: concentrate more on making sure your PCB lay-out is correct and neat.
I only had to re-iron on one off the sides of the board as I get
about 95% success rate with the iron method. No messing with photo
proccess chemicals either.
: Joseph
: P.S. The only time I've gotten a really "good" at-home PCB was when I
: printed onto acetate with a dye-sublimation printer at my school.
: Toner based methods (either photoresist or toner-resist) have been
: underwhelming...
I get good Home-BPCs all the time.
In my experience TONER RESISTs works as advertiesed, you need to try
a few boards until you get it to work with the equipment your using. I want
to start experimenting with laminator machines, myself, now. The key is to
anchor the art work down with masking tape, set the iron on the highest setting
(no water), No pressure, long iron times, 6-10 min, even surface coverage!
PS: I dont want to sound like prototype PCB houses isnt worthit or a waste of
time as it has its uses and advantages. IE plated holes, masks, not taking
anytime on the PCB other than layout. The Home method (iron on ) works
and is good for the $$$ saving persion (family man, college student).
--
Greg Holdren
gr...@hprnd.rose.hp.com
Andrew Wolfe
|> I saw an ad in the back of Circuit Cellar Ink for an outfit in Canada (AP
|> Circuits phone 403-250-3406, BBS at 403-291-9342) that advertised $90 for
|> two 5" x 8" pcbs, two sided. Didn't mention number of holes, silk screen,
|> etc. They can take the data over a modem, and guarantee shipping the next
|> business day if they get the data by 7am mountain time the day before.
Their deal is - 2 sided only, no Solder mask, no silk screen, no gold,
rectangular board, extra charge for drill sizes other than their standard
5-6 sizes. 8mil/8mil design rules. If you can handle those constrants -
AP is fast, cheap, and reliable. I use them often.
They have a more expensive process for slightly fancier stuff - tends to hit
me for $500-$1000 a pop instead of <$100.
--
--------------------------------------
Andrew Wolfe
Assistant Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
Princeton University
Chris Stokes
gr...@hprnd.rose.hp.com (Greg Holdren) wrote:
>I did a Seeq 8005 LAN card (4"x7")with 7 DIP ics and a 64 PLCC chip in a
>64 pin PGA like socket (TH), double sided PCB. I used DynaArts laser
>jet xfer paper and FECL3 to etch both sides. Drilling was alittle
>tedious but it was done in a couple of hours with several rests.
How exactly did you do this drilling?
Handheld moto-tool? Drill press?
Chris Stokes -- cst...@tiac.net
Greg Holdren
: In article <4blb5n$6...@rosenews.rose.hp.com>,
: gr...@hprnd.rose.hp.com (Greg Holdren) wrote:
Yes, I used a Dremel Moto-tool on a Sears table top drill press (fits Dremel
and Sears moto tools) cat # 953032.
--
Greg Holdren
gr...@hprnd.rose.hp.com
Jon Hacker
>rectangular board, extra charge for drill sizes other than their standard
>5-6 sizes. 8mil/8mil design rules. If you can handle those constrants -
>AP is fast, cheap, and reliable. I use them often.
>
what does 8mil/8mil mean? Are they minimum trace width and
spacing?
Jon Hacker
Joseph I. Chiu
Yes. (Although I was under the impression that it was 12mil/12mil)
You FTP them the PCB design, and you get it back in two working days.
The quality is superb. Well worth it. $100 for two boards (about
5" by 7") + shipping. Cheap enough for a hobbyist who wants a
long-lasting "professional" project.
Mark Mims
equate that to be from the center to center and some edge to edge.