Something is updated on JLCPCB.com, which is regarded as best PCB manufacturer for prototype and small-batch in China. I created an account with them because I was surprised at the cost as it seemed quite low compared to what people were talking about on the net. I decided to try the service and find out the difference of PCBs from JLCPCB and other PCB manufacturers.

Price:

The price is ultra-cheap which gives me a shock. At the PCB dimension option I selected 10mm max × 10mm max, two sides, a mask on both sides, silk-screen printing from two sides. After did this I noticed the price in the top corner is still $2. If you select over sizes max10mm × 10mm, you can see the price update. What’s more, I notice their 4-layer board(50×50mm) is $15 for 10 pcs and 6-layer board(50×50mm) is $74 for 10 pcs.

Automatic Gerber Preview

One of the really awesome features of JLCPCB is that you can upload your Gerber for preview to avoid submitting wrong gerber file for production. You will be notified by system if your Gerber file has a problem. Once you upload your board they show your board will look like, including all the layers which you can visually inspect to make sure everything looks like you want.

See the pictures below on JLCPCB’s website. You can try this with one of your boards right now, just go to their website and upload your Gerber file.

Shipping:

I uploaded Gerber to the site in the evening on October 25,paid for them in general in the morning of 26. On November 1 the courier was ready to give them to me. Look at this epic track . Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Leipzig, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk. For 4 days !!!Beauty in general.

JLCPCB Board Deep-review:

The boards themselves turned out quite good. I like it.The mask is smooth, shiny, glossy.

Matching the mask with the paddles is close to perfect. The gap to the eye is not visible, under the magnifying glass you can see a small offset.

Tinning is even, with no obvious sagging,almost no error.

The edges of the board are evenly milled to a smooth state. Not scribing.

The silkscreen is good, but it can be better. The drawing on small (very small) details .

The minimum readable text has a height of about 0.8 ... 1mm - the number that the manufacturer left.

The combination of silkscreen printing is ideal, and very good. The silkscreen itself keeps well, does not peel off, does not shovel. Acetone is not washed off and in general I could not find any solvent in my life that would take it.

The diameter of the holes is clearly maintained. For me it was important, because I designed holes such that the PLS pins in them would come in with a little effort and they would be held in place by frictional force during the installation. Slightly thicker tinning or mismatch of holes and pins will have to be hammered. A little more - they will fall out. Immediately everything is perfect, exactly as planned. And I did not pick a diameter for this manufacturer. By the way, in Resonite, for example, tinning is thicker and the pins have to be inserted with considerable effort.

An extraneous number was formed on the board. In it, the date of manufacture, the order code from the store and some other number.

I was very impressed with the service of JLCPCB. The quality of the boards they produced and the price I paid was excellent. All my fears and worries have been put to rest and it was certainly a very interesting and successful venture. I have no reason to even look any further. I can't image anyone being able to make boards that would be significantly cheaper and certainly not of this quality. From this experience I would have to say that if you are looking for a best PCB manufacturer for hobbyists you don't need to look much further. A big thumbs up from me for JLCPCB.If you want to order custom made PCB’s for a small price,JLCPCB is probably your cheapest option.