Breadboards are great, but as the world moves more and more to having SMD as a standard, prototyping straight PCBs is becoming more common. If you’re mailing off to China for your PCBs, it’s shockingly quick for what it is, but a one-week turnaround is not “rapid prototyping”. [Stephen Hawes] has been on a quest on his YouTube channel for the ideal rapid-prototyping PCB solution, and he thinks he’s finally got it.
Now, if you’re only doing single-layer PCBs, this is a solved problem. You can mechanically mill, or laser cut, or chemically etch your way to PCB perfection, far faster than the Chinese fabs can get you a part. If you want a double-sided board, however, vias are both a pain in the keister to do yourself, and a rate-limiting step.
Yes if it is a bomb, otherwise probably not.
j4k3@lemmy.world 6 days ago
Nope, but it is an idea. I think he’d be better off with swaging a solid core copper wire. The vast majority of prototypes are primarily constrained by the enclosure. The other main need for vias is to use BGA and other small packages. The types of boards this services can just as easily work as a larger single sided design with jumper wires or resistors, and without the size constraints.
JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 5 days ago
Vias are necessary for literally every part of electronics design beyond the basic I take a premade module and hook it up to these other 2 premade modules (which all have many vias on them), not just small packages.
Most PCBs nowadays are ≥4 layers. You need vias to use the center layers. Vias are necessary for ground return paths, stitching, shielding, RF plane coupling, signal integrity, and much much more. Single layer designing simply does not work if one is actually designing electronics and not just quick and dirty throwing 2 data busses together for a proof of concept.
BGAs don’t need vias, they are so small (0.5mm pitch and smaller) they usually need microvias (0.15mm/0.3mm ID/AR or smaller, which brings PCB prices from 15€ to 300€ for a set). Then the vias generally have to be filled at least and capped, optimally to not suck the solder through the vias from the balls. That is a whole other ballgame.
j4k3@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I etch and design my own boards.