Ordering PCBs

So, you’ve designed your schematic and your layout, and your Design Rule Checks have passed. Time to order!

JLCPCB

JLC is one of the cheapest options available for ordering PCBs. These boards will be fabricated in China and are sent by air mail to the US. Turnaround is fast, with PCBs often arriving in about a week after ordering, especially for simple boards such as 2-layer boards.

Typically, shipping is the most expensive part, so we try as much as possible to order boards in bulk.

Steps

1. Export your PCB design to Gerbers and Drill files. Make sure you’re not missing any layers!
2. If you have access to the MRG JLCPCB account (you should if you are part of Operations), login to the account. Otherwise, make a personal JLCPCB account and login.
3. Upload your files to JLCPCB.
4. Generally, use the following settings on your PCB:
   1. Surface Finish: Lead-free HASL
5. Click on your design once it has processed and check the DFM & DFA analysis. If your EDA DRC is configured, there should be no problems. If the analysis shows red errors, make sure to fix them. Otherwise, use your judgement to know if there is a real problem.
   • Red errors in the silkscreen can often be ignored, particularly those on line width or distance from pads. However, make sure to correct any cases of silkscreen covering vias.
   • You can find the DFM Check by going to your PCB in the shopping cart and clicking on the PCB. In the upper right corner of the PCB window, there will be a window called DFM Check. Use a Chromium-based browser for this step - Firefox is not supported.
6. After verifying your board is ready with the DFM & DFA analysis, upload the PCB fabrication files in a .zip file here for archiving: https://gtvault.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/MarineRoboticsGroup/Es-teZGfzHVDqiUobn3Mg_YBbnIwf8LrFT8ttHktqIZedA?e=ifdsc3
7. Ping the electrical channel to notify that your board is ready for purchase.
8. At this point, you can order, or wait until someone else uploads their boards. DO NOT SAVE YOUR PAYMENT INFORMATION. Make sure to verify:
   1. PCBs surface finish is Lead-free HASL