Small Run PCB Production

I thought I would mine the fount of knowledge I hope there is here on this topic.

I'd like to make a small run of PCBs for use in my fireworks business, the function would be the same as these...

http://www.cobrafiringsystems.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=138

It's only a connection interface, there are no electronic components at all on there.

The design of these boards is terrible, about 3 times too big and not easily mounted in a standard case. So I thought I would make a small run for my own purpose probably using some kind of IDC connection rather than speaker terminals.

Trouble is, I have no idea where to start. I'm mac based here, I assume there is some software I need to use and then find a place to make them at a reasonable cost (I'll do the soldering of course). I'd like the boards to be some what moisture resistant as they will be used in some pretty harsh conditions.

Cheers

Cris

I have successfully used http://pad2pad.com in the past and was happy with their service and with the results.

Their PCB design software was a learning curve for me, but it was an interesting one. It is possible that, if you take some time to learn their PCB design software, it can help you improve the design, such as making it smaller or fitting it to a standard case. I went through a few different revisions of my design, improving it each time.

There might be better PCB design software out there. Theirs was free because it's linked with their PCB printing service. But it was good enough for what I wanted to do.

I could have sworn I saw an episode of The Ben Heck Show where he made his own PCBs... I don't know if they'd meet your criteria, though.

His show is sponsored by (and constantly mentioning) Element14.com, which sounds like a community/store that might be able to help with your project. Does this help?

(I confess, I know absolutely nothing about this kind of stuff - I like watching that vidcast precisely because I have no idea what he's talking about)

Looking closer, I see that Pad2Pad's software is Windows-based only, and you said you're mac-based. I'm sure that it would run fine via Windows emulation though, something I know is possible on macs. Perhaps there are other similar services out there which have mac-based software.

I use ExpressPCB. They have free software to download that's beyond easy to understand.

I used to make my own boards... never again. ExpressPCB (and it's ilk) make it so easy and not pricey.

One of the most common softwares for making PCBs for DIY, is EAGLE. They have a free version, which can make boards up to 80 x 100 mm. I don't know if they non-commercial clause would come into play, but the paid version is, I believe, $49 for the same size boards. This program also works for Mac and Linux. It does have a learning curve, but it's not too bad and there's lots of tutorials around.

When the board has been designed, there are plenty of cheap board fabrication services, like OSH Park, Seeedstudio or Itead Studio. To make the boards moisture resistant, you have to cover them with some form of coating after soldering, but I don't have any examples of this.

Thanks for the info chaps, certainly got some stuff to get me started there!

Costs seem to vary quite a bit, I assume it's pretty much you get what you pay for?

Cheers

Cris

Conformal coat them after populating the boards taking care to cover connectors, sockets where you want good connections. It's very good at protecting the boards from moisture (and a pain if they need reworking after coating them....)

Late on this thread, but elecrow.com are pretty unbeatable on price. We've used them for 2 and 4 layer boards and the turnaround is scandalously quick...