Jlcpcb and tariffs
- Thread starter Locrian99
- Start date
Stickman393
Well-known member
Did it just get a little hot in here for anybody else?
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Just spent 1 1/2 hours talking to potential PCB suppliers. A couple stood out above the others, most notably I found the company that does the Rat boards for ProCo/Rapco/whatever they're called now. But it will probably be a week or so before I start getting estimates for boards and assembly.
I talked to every PCB place I saw at the show except one, because the rep they had there was so engrossed in her phone that they didn't notice me standing there, so I left. I'll go back tomorrow mostly just because the show is really neat and it's a good use of my lunch break.
I talked to every PCB place I saw at the show except one, because the rep they had there was so engrossed in her phone that they didn't notice me standing there, so I left. I'll go back tomorrow mostly just because the show is really neat and it's a good use of my lunch break.
benny_profane
Well-known member
Anything looking okay for hobbyist level, or is everything more suited to commercial runs?
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
There was one shop, Ninja Circuits, that says prototyping and small runs are their thing. Minimum quantity is one of the first things I ask, and where most of them were in the 100-500 range, Ninja Circuits said their minimum quantity is 1. I don't know what their pricing is, but basically they're trying to be the shop people go to for prototyping and small runs in the US so hopefully they're not absurdly expensive.
I just checked my email and I got my first quote back from Pica Manufacturing. For qty100 boards with assembly, the cost comes to about 10x what I paid at JLC.
Erik S
Well-known member
Yeah, but they can do floppy PCBs... (I had to look them up since they're not that far from me).
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Probably? I'm not cool enough to design anything that uses them, but it seems to be a pretty common thing offered by most manufacturers.
Erik S
Well-known member
Weird! I had never heard of it until I saw it on their website. I assumed it was something obscure.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
It's still not incredibly common, but it's a lot more common than it was even 10 years ago. We deal with the occasional flex and rigid-flex designs at my work. I know there are some hobbies like cosplay/costume design where people do flex PCBs to fit in weird form factors and stuff, but frankly an aluminum box is a pretty easy thing to design a rigid board into so we pedal people don't usually have a need for flex boards.
Nostradoomus
Well-known member
brb designing a tubescreamer called ACE UP YOUR SLEEVE that actually goes up your sleeve
jimilee
Well-known member
Ninja sounds ideal. According to their website site, you gotta contact them for a quote, which is just too much for a hobbyist to deal with IMHO. For what you do, it’s reasonable. I don’t like change…
Silver Blues
Well-known member
Honestly same, not that I don't have experience cold-calling companies asking for quotes, but an instant-quote feature like JLC or OSH have would be a gamechanger for this company's reach to hobbyists. No one wants to ask for the price of anything and then have to rescind their interest when they find out it's too expensive for them.Ninja sounds ideal. According to their website site, you gotta contact them for a quote, which is just too much for a hobbyist to deal with IMHO. For what you do, it’s reasonable. I don’t like change…
Also, did anyone else notice "Not only will Ninja build your effects prototype, one of our staff Ninja musicians will test it out for you free of charge AND offer you a professional critique of your design"?
Not too bad for commercial pedal builders considering the cost of the PCB is only one smallish part of what goes into the price calculation, but still kind of a big oof for guys like Robert who mostly just sell PCBs I imagine. Let's see what the future brings.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Yeah contacting for quotes is pretty standard for everything outside of the hobbyist realm unfortunately. I imagine the main driver for that is going to be assembly though. JLC is the only assembly place I'm aware of that offers instant quoting, but that's because you use JLC's library components so they already know exactly what they're giving you. Most assembly places just ask for your BOM then they track down components and figure out what it's going to cost and/or suggest alternatives for parts they can't get. There's a lot of variables in assembly that can affect the price, and frankly JLC streamlined the process for both themselves and the customer by just limiting everything.Ninja sounds ideal. According to their website site, you gotta contact them for a quote, which is just too much for a hobbyist to deal with IMHO. For what you do, it’s reasonable. I don’t like change…
Vicious C
Well-known member
Looking into PCB Fab in India as maybe a future possibility. Lioncircuits seems comparable to JLC in terms of uploading files for a quote and doing small batches (you have to setup an account). Price after shipping is close to what I’m paying at oshpark currently, but maybe larger orders would make more sense.
rwl
Well-known member
China tariffs are now apparently down to 30% for 90 days. Maybe it's time to roll the dice on your next order, who knows how long this actually lasts for or what the tariffs will be when your order arrives...
jessenator
Well-known member
y-u-no-f800b
New member
Idk, Trump admin conveniently made no mention of de minimis. Chinese pcbs (and less tragically, Aliexpress parts) might still be off the menu for us little guys
PedalBuilder
Well-known member
Or whether there will even be any tariffs. There are several pending cases seeking to enjoin the tariffs. One of the stronger cases has a hearing tomorrow morning on the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and a preliminary injunction. Depending on how that goes, the “Liberation Day” tariffs may well be gone in the not too distant future.
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