Useful overview of PCBWay's capabilities. I might consider switching from JLCPCB.
Design critique - I would put the mounting holes further from the board edge, for added strength. The screw heads are going to overhang a certain amount anyway.
I suspect more and more hobbyists are using 3.3V microcontrollers like the ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico, and countless Adafruit offerings. Unless you know your project won't need much processing power, I don't see much reason to use a 5V "ATmega..." -based Arduino these days. Much easier to use a cheap £2 32-bit overkill processor than to deal with running out of RAM, etc. Also, most advanced sensors I've seen have 3.3V logic levels now.
pcbway and jlcpcb sponsorships, especially on hobby electronics YT videos, are quite interesting case.
On one hand they seem redundant at this point. Both companies are well known to the target audience to the point of saturation, there isn't really any serious competition (in terms of capabilities, speed and price) and yet they keep sponsoring more projects.
On the other hand, it's probably the sponsorship I tolerate the most. Both are genuine companies unlike all the borderline scams such as all the vpns, brilliant, mobile games, etc.
Even if he had written a bad review, it would almost certainly still have resulted in a backlink to PCBWay which increases their Page Rank and search engine performance.
Does JLC now easily allow you to use any component that’s available from LCSC? Last time I checked, there was only a limited component library available for the standard assembly process.
It's not about business (or being bought). It's about my hobby. This is the email they sent me:
---
Your BurgerDisk project is an ingenious way to modernize Apple II storage, showcasing your expertise.
This is Emily from PCBWay. I'd like to sponsor your projects with free PCB prototyping.
A brief review would be appreciated in return.
Would you be interested?
---
This is my reply:
---
OK, why not, as long as my review is my own and honest :) What is the budget ?
---
I then published my post without them pre-screening it. It's a honest, factual review about how it goes to have PCBWay make an assembled PCB. They didn't even ask me to share it on any social media.
What I got out of it is a few hours of fun (because this is my hobby) routing a (rather simple) PCB, and a batch of twenty modules that I didn't have to use my pocket money for.
This is all. Don't overthink it.
I do sell my device. It's mostly as a service to the community members who don't have the equipment, time or skill to assemble it themselves, as it is a free software, open hardware project; it's not going to replace my salaried job in any foreseeable timeframe, and it's not the goal.
8 comments
[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 27.2 ms ] threadDesign critique - I would put the mounting holes further from the board edge, for added strength. The screw heads are going to overhang a certain amount anyway.
I suspect more and more hobbyists are using 3.3V microcontrollers like the ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico, and countless Adafruit offerings. Unless you know your project won't need much processing power, I don't see much reason to use a 5V "ATmega..." -based Arduino these days. Much easier to use a cheap £2 32-bit overkill processor than to deal with running out of RAM, etc. Also, most advanced sensors I've seen have 3.3V logic levels now.
pcbway and jlcpcb sponsorships, especially on hobby electronics YT videos, are quite interesting case.
On one hand they seem redundant at this point. Both companies are well known to the target audience to the point of saturation, there isn't really any serious competition (in terms of capabilities, speed and price) and yet they keep sponsoring more projects.
On the other hand, it's probably the sponsorship I tolerate the most. Both are genuine companies unlike all the borderline scams such as all the vpns, brilliant, mobile games, etc.
A PCB Way sponsorship pays $100?
You show their logo, talk about them thank them praise them for $100? And it’s not even cash?
All those tech guys getting the PCB Way sponsorship really don’t know business do they.
That is absolutely insane.
(I suspect they are more expensive only because they are nonstandard)
It's not about business (or being bought). It's about my hobby. This is the email they sent me:
--- Your BurgerDisk project is an ingenious way to modernize Apple II storage, showcasing your expertise.
This is Emily from PCBWay. I'd like to sponsor your projects with free PCB prototyping. A brief review would be appreciated in return.
Would you be interested? ---
This is my reply:
--- OK, why not, as long as my review is my own and honest :) What is the budget ? ---
I then published my post without them pre-screening it. It's a honest, factual review about how it goes to have PCBWay make an assembled PCB. They didn't even ask me to share it on any social media.
What I got out of it is a few hours of fun (because this is my hobby) routing a (rather simple) PCB, and a batch of twenty modules that I didn't have to use my pocket money for.
This is all. Don't overthink it.
I do sell my device. It's mostly as a service to the community members who don't have the equipment, time or skill to assemble it themselves, as it is a free software, open hardware project; it's not going to replace my salaried job in any foreseeable timeframe, and it's not the goal.
Hope that clears things up,
Colin