Comments on: Interview: Laen from Dorkbot PDX/OSH Park PCB

By: OSH Park will be taking over BatchPCB operations « adafruit industries blog

OSH Park will be taking over BatchPCB operations « adafruit industries blog — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:07 +0000

[...] Wow! This is pretty interesting news OSH Park is a great service! The post sales “sale of” – acquisition price was not posted. Here’s a previous interview John & Phil did with Laen. [...]

By: destiny123

destiny123 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:12:30 +0000

A printed circuit board (PCB) is comprised of electrical components such as resisters, capacitors, relays, and other devices. These components are mounted on the PCB panel, accompanied by various etched copper wires. You can find PCBs in practically every electronic consumer device from DVD players, to computers, radios, and televisions. PCBs are mass produced and typically come with scored mounts for placement into a device. 1.Place the PCB over the intended mounting location. Press down firmly, applying even pressure across the PCB. Mark the mounting location by pressing a fine tip marker into each of the four pre-drilled mounting holes. 2.Drill the four marked points with a drill and 1/4-inch bit. 3.Attach the nylon washers to the bottom of the PCB with a small amount of adhesive. Then dab the tips of the stand-off spacers in adhesive. Press the stand-off spacers against the nylon washers, aligning the pre-drilled holes with the shafts of the stand-off spacers. Allow to dry.[img]http://www.pcbdesign.org/wp-content/themes/pcb-design/images/motherboard-pcb.jpg[/img] 4.Align the PCB over the 1/4-inch drilled holes. Thread the assembly screws through the top of the PCB, passing through the nylon washers and down the stand-off spacer shafts into the 1/4-inch holes with a screwdriver.

By: Ranulf Doswell

Ranulf Doswell — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:43:15 +0000

I used Laen’s service a couple of months ago for my first ever complicated PCB design. I particularly liked the fact that whist the price per sqin is a little bit more than some of the Chinese manufacturers, you only need to order 3 boards rather than 20 or more, and so actually for prototypes they work out cheaper per board. But then, after investigating his service, I discovered that the boards are much better spec than the default on most Chinese PCB houses and actually the prices are VERY competitive if you add all the options Laen gives by default (e.g. 6mm traces) and silkscreen both sides. Also, the purple and gold is really nice. You have to hold one in person to appreciate how nice they look!

I think my only complaint about the service is that it was so hard to find out about – I’d been looking for a cost effective way to make PCBs for a while, and stumbled across dorkbotPDX by chance. Hopefully, that will change with this exposure!

By: An interview with Lean (the force behind Dorkbot PDX) - Hack a Day

An interview with Lean (the force behind Dorkbot PDX) - Hack a Day — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 21:02:59 +0000

[...] recently interviewed [Laen], the man who makes it cheap and easy for hobbiests to have small PCBs manufactured. He created [...]

By: Michael Shimniok (Bot Thoughts)

Michael Shimniok (Bot Thoughts) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:31:42 +0000

Great interview. I absolutely love DorkbotPDX / OSH Park. My hobbyist activities have been eleventy-billion times better and funner because of this service.

For so long I hesitated on ordering a board and etched my own. Until I found this service– no setup, low cost, and absolutely stunning quality. I couldn’t believe it.

Now I’d rather do a pro board from OSH Park than spend 2-3 hours etching/drilling my own

Since I discovered you guys I’ve done dozens of board designs (and through careful prototyping, I only goofed one because I designed for a part that’s NLA).

So HUGE THANK YOU!

By: MICHAEL JAMES (@OSHJunkies)

MICHAEL JAMES (@OSHJunkies) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:24:50 +0000

What an awesome service. Talk about hooking people up and helping them out.

By: tubular

tubular — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:18:42 +0000

Laen if you every go travelling there are a lot of people around the work who would love to buy you a beer or two

By: Nathan

Nathan — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 01:13:34 +0000

Great interview, great service! I’m also excited that my photo was used! Yippee! I’m not used to seeing my stuff anywhere but my sites, so this is awesome!

By: Laen

Laen — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 22:53:37 +0000

I can’t believe I forgot this in the interview:

I really need to thank @jamesotron and Sociable.co.nz for all his hard work on the new website. Without him it wouldn’t have been possible.

By: Interview with Laen from Dorkbot PDX/OSH Park PCB « adafruit industries blog

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 22:07:19 +0000

[...] Phil and I recently sat down (over email) with Laen to ask him some questions about his PCB service: the history and the philosophy behind it, what the future holds and, most importantly, why he decided to use purple soldermask. [...]