Having recently designed and produced a low volume (<1000 units), low-complexity (2 layer / 30ish placement) board, I was very happy that my relationship with the assembly house was <i>not</i> fully abstracted behind an API! I suspect this was more of an editorial/marketing flourish..<p>When there was a problem with the SMT stencil over a connector hole that might have hurt durability, the fab's CTO called me up and then worked with the stencil house to add an aperature. We worked together similarly on balancing cost vs quality when weighing numerous otherwise-equivalent board and parts suppliers. And so on..<p>That said, it's great to see new stuff in this space. I'm very curious to give CircuitHub a try and see how it compares to my favorite (lower-tech) shop..
Can someone explain the 'normal' production flow for low volume hardware, and how this is different / what steps it removes / why its better?<p>I'm just getting started with hardware and still don't have a good grasp on the stages from design to production!
This is amazing. Meanwhile, we're struggling to find a non-API'd manufacturer willing to talk to us about a low-volume part we need custom-made: <a href="http://blog.automicrofarm.com/post/76020315789/frame-set-automicrofarm-design" rel="nofollow">http://blog.automicrofarm.com/post/76020315789/frame-set-aut...</a> The future is unevenly distributed, indeed.
This looks fantastic. Can't wait for a project to try it on.<p>Is there any provision for sending components that I either already have in stock, or that require 'exotic' sourcing, to the assembler? Or do I have to add them by hand after I get the boards back?<p>Also, my Altium parts library has a non-standard name for the manufacturer part number field. Hence most of the parts list didn't automagically populate for my approval. Would be nice to be able to teach Circuithub what field to look at.<p>Can you do basic mechanical assembly on the board? (stickers, press fits, nuts n bolts, install jumper blocks, etc.)
I gave it a go with a small, past project. Overall I think it's an interesting idea, less of an API and more of a matchmaker/de-frictionizer. Some things I'd like to see:<p>1. Ability to select which files get used. I have a bad habit (from the Orcad days) of saving in-progress board layouts under different names, as insurance against program crashes. Kicad used to be somewhat unstable too (3-4 years ago) but it's gotten much better (kudos for the Kicad support, by the way). In this case CircuitHub actually selected an old backup file.<p>2. Spreadsheet BOM import. I liked how most of the passives showed up automagically, but there will always be some unique parts out there.<p>3. DRC. Is it in there somewhere, or is the user fully responsible?<p>Pricing is nothing special, but I expected that. The interface is light-years ahead of most board/assembly houses out there, though. The SVG board and schematic are a nice touch.<p>The project is below; note that the main part couldn't be sourced, so the line item was dropped.<p><a href="https://circuithub.com/projects/mng2222/tcm8240" rel="nofollow">https://circuithub.com/projects/mng2222/tcm8240</a>
I just went to the site to look around. Definitely interested in the concept. However I only see an option to Login by registering a new/linking with an existing Dropbox account.<p>Has anybody seen another way to register?
What's an API mean in this context? Is this the workflow? Upload a BOM, gerbers, drill files, pick and place files, test plan, and they outsource it to a board house and contract manufacturer?
Interesting, any insight into how cost effective this is for small volume runs? Say several hundred to 1k. I've got a simple design I'm going to build and I'm currently weighing just ordering all the boards and components and doing the assembly myself vs outsourcing all the manufacturing not having built physical hardware before it's been really hard for me to get a sense of what the costs will be.
How about btsync in addition to dropbox?<p>I tried it and it was easy to upload the design and find the parts. Nice job.<p><a href="https://circuithub.com/projects/hagna/fivekey" rel="nofollow">https://circuithub.com/projects/hagna/fivekey</a> (it's five keys on a small board with some wiring) in a volume of 1 will be $919 to assemble, and $95 for just the pcb.