My first DipTrace PCB

marshallf3

Joined Jul 26, 2010
2,358
Nice job, but I'd keep all the text in the same orientation.

A small learning curve and you can print these for the transfer or photo method in direct exact size format or of course export them as the full set of Gerber and NC Drill files to send off to a prototype board house.

Where I'm at I don't have the program installed but the person I'm visiting at the moment needs to have a full reformat and start over. Far too many viruses, malware and stuff in his PC. I'm just visiting but a simple Spybot scan found 68 pieces of junk and I'll almost guarantee you there's rootkits in this thing. Operates a lot faster than it did before but when I get the time I'll be starting him over from scratch.

Don't hesitate to upload the actual output files, kind of requires people to pull the free download and try it out for themselves. I think I'll put it on here just for the heck of it until I visit again and redo the PC, far too easy to learn and a joy to play around with.
 

thatoneguy

Joined Feb 19, 2009
6,359
Don't hesitate to upload the actual output files, kind of requires people to pull the free download and try it out for themselves. I think I'll put it on here just for the heck of it until I visit again and redo the PC, far too easy to learn and a joy to play around with.
Which program?

The PC Board looks good for a first attempt. The minor issues aren't even worth mentioning, as it is mostly ground planes and other high speed design stuff.
 

tom66

Joined May 9, 2009
2,595
Looks nice. However, I'd recommend you use a ground plane so you don't need to route ground traces around the board.
 

SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
Is your load purely resistive, or does it have some inductance/reactance to it?

If the latter, you should consider using a diode across the load to take care of any reverse-EMF issues when the current flow is turned off.
 

Thread Starter

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
Is your load purely resistive, or does it have some inductance/reactance to it?

If the latter, you should consider using a diode across the load to take care of any reverse-EMF issues when the current flow is turned off.
Purely resistive.

Thanks.
 

Thread Starter

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
Nice job, but I'd keep all the text in the same orientation.
The upside down text at the top is because the PCB will be mounted in a box, and when wires are being connected to TB1-3, the box will be turned 180° and the text will then be right side up.

Thanks, and thanks for leading me to DipTrace. I sent the file to freedfm, but I haven't received a reply.

ETA: Just as I typed the above, I received an e-mail from freedfm reporting no problems found. :) Unfortunately, I can't afford their prices. :(
 
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tom66

Joined May 9, 2009
2,595
The upside down text at the top is because the PCB will be mounted in a box, and when wires are being connected to TB1-3, the box will be turned 180° and the text will then be right side up.

Thanks, and thanks for leading me to DipTrace. I sent the file to freedfm, but I haven't received a reply.

ETA: Just as I typed the above, I received an e-mail from freedfm reporting no problems found. :) Unfortunately, I can't afford their prices. :(
What's your budget? How much were you quoted? I got 10 PCBs done at SeeedStudio for $40 USD (~£25), although lead time is almost 1 month.
 

Thread Starter

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
@tom66

Wow! That's an amazing price.

Their specifications table is all metric, and my dimensions are almost all in inches. Is that a problem or do the Gerber files make it irrelevant?

Regarding the delivery time, the web site says shipment within six days. Where do they ship from and what is the shipping method? Is that the reason yours took a month to arrive?

Is there a shipping charge on top of the $40?

How was the quality of the boards?

Thanks.
 

tom66

Joined May 9, 2009
2,595
@tom66

Wow! That's an amazing price.

Their specifications table is all metric, and my dimensions are almost all in inches. Is that a problem or do the Gerber files make it irrelevant?

Regarding the delivery time, the web site says shipment within six days. Where do they ship from and what is the shipping method? Is that the reason yours took a month to arrive?

Is there a shipping charge on top of the $40?

How was the quality of the boards?

Thanks.
I haven't received the boards yet. I should have said this. I ordered them about a week ago. However, the fab is the same they use to produce their own products and they are very popular in the hobbyist world. For example DSO Nano, a portable oscilloscope.

Gerber is almost always in inches. In fact mils are used, 1/1000th of an inch is one mil. Your PCB program will automatically convert. Almost everything in PCB design is in inches. i.e. 2.54mm pitch headers, or 0.1" pitch headers.

They do 6/6 mil boards up to 10cm x 10cm, 2-layer FR4 green soldermask. 6 mils is 0.006". My boards were 10/10 mil (0.01") which is fine for almost any PCB fab. When I say 6/6 I mean the traces are 6 mil wide and 6 mil apart (remember 6/6 = line/space = 6 mil line / 6 mil space.)

Shipping is $4.42 USD to the UK. Probably a bit less to the USA. This is air mail shipping.

The processing time is 4-6 days but it can be delayed. I suppose in my case ordering 10 boards takes time. If you only order a few boards then the time might be shorter.

The boards are made in China and shipped from there too.
 
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Thread Starter

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
Shipping is $4.42 USD to the UK. Probably a bit less to the USA. This is air mail shipping.

The processing time is 4-6 days but it can be delayed. I suppose in my case ordering 10 boards takes time. If you only order a few boards then the time might be shorter.

The boards are made in China and shipped from there too.
OK, I ordered 10. We'll see how it goes, but frankly there were so many setting options in DipTrace for the creation of the Gerber files that I had no idea what to choose. I just left everything on the defaults. I haven't heard back from Seeedstudio. It's a lot less risky at $40 than from most other places who want well over $100 for just a board or three.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
Why so many boards? Are you going to be selling this product? Just curious, you do not have to give an answer if you do not want to.
 

tom66

Joined May 9, 2009
2,595
OK, I ordered 10. We'll see how it goes, but frankly there were so many setting options in DipTrace for the creation of the Gerber files that I had no idea what to choose. I just left everything on the defaults. I haven't heard back from Seeedstudio. It's a lot less risky at $40 than from most other places who want well over $100 for just a board or three.
Remember to tell them you want 10 or they may only send you 1. You can get anywhere from 1 to 10.
 

Thread Starter

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
Remember to tell them you want 10 or they may only send you 1. You can get anywhere from 1 to 10.
Thanks. I just got an e-mail from "Song" so I replied to him/her that I wanted 10 and that they should be 1.6mm thick.

@spinnaker,

Honestly, I am not sure what I am going to do with the project. It has some market appeal, but I have not yet decided. At the least, I am going to build a few for field trials. (At this time, I don't wish to say what the market is or exactly what the product does.)
 
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