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cseduino_pcbway

Hi there,

When we are making an electronics project, after some tweaking with the components in the breadboard the next step is using a Perfboard or a Veroboard to solder the circuit. That’s what I’ve done with CSEduino. The first version was created using a Veroboard. But one of the down sides of creating this type of board is that they require a lot of additional soldering besides the components and sometimes the soldering is not perfect. The solution is using a Printed Circuit Board - PCB.

There are ways to create a PCB at home, but they require the use of chemicals and normally the final result is not perfect and is a tedious work to create several identical ones. So the proper solution is to order the manufacturing of the PCB.

Today there are several places available on the Internet that provide a way to send the specs of the PCB and get it delivered to you.

Today I’m evaluating this service from PCBWay. Located in Shenzhen at the core of the world’s manufacturing capital, they deliver a high-quality product produced using quality machines.

The PCB that I’ve asked them to make for me is the CSEduino v4 PCB. This PCB is 5cm x 5cm large and is a dual layered PCB.

To start the process I’ve created, using KiCad, the Gerber files for the Front Layer (Copper, Mask, Silkscreen) and for the Back Layer (Copper, Mask) the Edges of the PCB and the drill holes and packed all the files in a zip file.

After that, open the site PCBWay Online Order and choose the “Quick-order PCB(Gerber Viewer)”.
Uploaded the Zip cseduinov4_20150428.zip file and fill the following extra parameters:

  • Quantity (single): 20
  • Solder Mask: Red

Keep all the other options in default.
Choose the Shipping Cost by selecting the country and the shipping company.
Press “Save to Cart” and after that you can proceed to the payment of the order.
This 20 PCB cost $22 plus shipping.

pcbway-site

After a few days I got the PCB:

cseduino-pcbway-package1

cseduino-pcbway-package2

The PCB side-by-side:

cseduino-pcbway-package3

The PCB look pretty good. I’ve used a Digital Camera with zoom to take some close-ups to them:

cseduino-pcbway-zoom1-cseduino-pcbway-zoom2

cseduino-pcbway-zoom3-cseduino-pcbway-zoom4

So, after gathering all the components required to assemble a CSEduino PCB:

cseduino_components

The final result is this:

cseduino_pcbway_pcb

And it worked perfectly!

So, if you haven’t tried making some PCB here is the chance to do it. You can make up to 10 PCB for $5 plus shipping.

If you want to make CSEduino PCB, you can go to CSEduino project page in PCBWay and order the PCB. Please use the following link to register with PCBWay to get a $5 discount and give me a referral.

Special thanks

I would like to thank PCBWay for giving me the opportunity to test their service and provide me with a batch of new CSEduino and create this article documenting the process.