I have a project and want to order a run of PCB's. The project I want to make is the sample board provided on page 15 of this amplifier by NXP:
http://www.nxp.com/documents/data_sheet/TFA9843J.pdf
I tried to get quotes from several manufacturers and they would not quote because they say they cannot produce the PCB using the info I gave them. They want it in gerber and drill files. So I found some PCB manufacturers online and downloaded their free PCB creator software but found them not very easy to use -- certainly not as easy as they claim. Also, the NXP chip uses a pin layout that is not standard (at least, not in their library). Then I found that the files are proprietary for that company only and can't be exported to a file type that can be used to obtain quotes from other companies. My local PCB manufacturer does not provide a free software. For obvious reasons, I don't want to do this over and over again using each manufacturers own free software just to obtain a quote from a file that isn't portable to obtain quotes from other companies.
Does anyone know of a software that can create "standard" types of files that is portable enough to be able to obtain quotes from different vendors but doesn't cost an arm and a leg? Also, component manufacturers frequently release sample PCB designs for their components but as I discovered, the pdf file can't be used to quote. So a software that allows me to import a pdf would be a big plus.
Finally, if anyone is proficient in creating these files and can make this file for me, I may be interested in compensating you fairly for your work.
Thanks.
http://www.nxp.com/documents/data_sheet/TFA9843J.pdf
I tried to get quotes from several manufacturers and they would not quote because they say they cannot produce the PCB using the info I gave them. They want it in gerber and drill files. So I found some PCB manufacturers online and downloaded their free PCB creator software but found them not very easy to use -- certainly not as easy as they claim. Also, the NXP chip uses a pin layout that is not standard (at least, not in their library). Then I found that the files are proprietary for that company only and can't be exported to a file type that can be used to obtain quotes from other companies. My local PCB manufacturer does not provide a free software. For obvious reasons, I don't want to do this over and over again using each manufacturers own free software just to obtain a quote from a file that isn't portable to obtain quotes from other companies.
Does anyone know of a software that can create "standard" types of files that is portable enough to be able to obtain quotes from different vendors but doesn't cost an arm and a leg? Also, component manufacturers frequently release sample PCB designs for their components but as I discovered, the pdf file can't be used to quote. So a software that allows me to import a pdf would be a big plus.
Finally, if anyone is proficient in creating these files and can make this file for me, I may be interested in compensating you fairly for your work.
Thanks.