Is there anyone that can make a simple PCB design for me?

bstrickler

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I've tried using gEda, and that program is total garbage IMHO, just like half the other ones out there. I'm just trying to make a simple damn board, and it just won't make a useful piece, so I give up on making them. I'd rather spend $20 and have someone design the board for me, and be done with it. If I had photoshop, I could design the board in about 5 minutes. I've already spent an hour trying to figure this program out, and I give up. It's about as easy to figure out as women.

All I'm trying to do is make a simple board to run a ZXLD 38x diode run a 5mm LED from.

Diameter is .55"
thickness is .062"
copper thickness is standard PCB thickness

I need a negative ring and a positive "circle" on one side, so I can solder a spring to it, and solder the negative terminal to brass.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/Bstrickler/14mmLEDboard.png is the other side (component side) (this alone took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to do, and I can't figure out how to do the other side). This is just an idea of what it will look like (doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work). This side can have a max diameter of 10mm (can't have anything shorting out with the brass module).

Spaces between the traces on the component side are preferred to be 1/16" max gap between them (using very small components).

If you're able to design this, let me know how much you would charge.
 

wquiles

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Doing a PWB design is not easy/trivial - as you found out. You have to have a working schematic, you have to create the library part (unless you can find a suitable one for the ZXLxxx), then you need to do the actual board layout, and assuming you know what you are doing, that is not a 5-10 minute job. Even this "simple" one could easily be a couple of hours. To find somebody willing to do good PCB work for about $20 (say about $10/hour) is not easy, unless he/she is probably somebody just doing it for the hobby.

Now, I am full aware this is a little bit self-serving, but given your budget, it would likely be cheaper to buy something already made, perhaps like these little boards that I made for sale (Zetec ZXL383):
DSCF8266_c.JPG



I have a sales thread right here in the forums, or you can learn more about them in my own website:
http://www.atdms.com/battery_vampires.html


Will
 
Last edited:

Lyndon

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Sep 14, 2007
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Minnesota
Sent you a PM. Cost would definitely be more than $20, but we'll see what we can work out.
 

bstrickler

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Tucson, Arizona
Will, the only problem with your board is that IIRC, it wont run off a CR123,or a red LED (which is one of my hopeful plans).

I guess it will probably be cheaper and easier to hand make the first batch by hand (only need 3 boards for this batch) and possibly have some custom stamps made to work with the anti-etch ink I have.
 

HarryN

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Jan 22, 2004
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Pleasanton (Bay Area), CA, USA
With a board that simple, the easiest way is:
- Get some board blanks pre-coated with resist
- Use some very small wood chisels to remove the resist in the areas you want to etch
- Etch

While this sounds easy, it likely will take a few times to actually make it work.

If you have access to a mill, mark your board cut outs with marker, and just mill it out. There are special small tips for this purpose.

The cheapest I have ever found for a decent board designer, with pro quality software, was around $ 50 an hour. The 2 boards I had made took 3 days to get laid out, and he was very efficient. ( I was sitting right there to make sure) I had already had a schematic, had selected the parts, had the part data sheets in hand, etc, and knew 90% of what I needed in the circuit.

Even that simple board will take a pro 2 hours to really complete. Just setting up and outputting the files in the right formats for use by a pcb shob will consume an hour. It is painfully tedious work that is easy to under appreciate.

Boards products are only cheap because the engineering is amortized over such high volumes.
 

wquiles

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Will, the only problem with your board is that IIRC, it wont run off a CR123,or a red LED (which is one of my hopeful plans).

I guess it will probably be cheaper and easier to hand make the first batch by hand (only need 3 boards for this batch) and possibly have some custom stamps made to work with the anti-etch ink I have.

My boards "do" run from a CR123 cell (had one in this configuration for months now), but I do admit I have not tried a red LED yet.
 

jasonck08

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Sep 16, 2007
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Redding, CA
You can also try posting your request on freelancer.com. You may get a variety of reasonable bids on the PCB design.
 
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