where manufacture pcb for beagleboard clone?

Hi all!

I know that some people design devices based on Beagleboard schematic,
so do I :slight_smile:
Where do you order PCB manufacturing? I tried to contact a lot of
Chinese manufacturers but they all rejected. I know that at Taiwan it
is possible to manufacture necessary boards but I can't find them with
Google

Any advices?

Best regards,
Max

I suggest you contact CircuitCo. They are the ones who do the assembly of the BeagleBoard.

clint@circuitco.com

The PCBs are made in China. CircuitCO can get you that information.

Gerald

Actually I am looking for a cheep solution :). I know prices in the USA

This is the contact person to get the name of the PCB supplier that is used on Beagle. That is what you asked for, correct? I am not suggesting that you use them to assemble the boards. The supplier is a large one and they don’t usually do business with small quantities. This guy has the contacts. Also, good luck finding a cheap company that is willing to build this technology. Most cheap companies are afraid to even try!

Gerald

Dear Gerald,

that is why "most cheap companies" - here I imply Chinese
manufacturers, really did not even try. First samples of my module
were made at some Taiwan factory. I had to use services of some
mediator and they don't tell secrets, apparently. Unfortunately first
samples have bugs due to shit in TI's documentation and I need to
perform another round of manufacturing for samples.
Regarding "small quantities" - big trees grow from small ones. I know
that Beagleboard had a lot of issues at first iterations and I'm
pretty sure Beagleboard guys did not order a thousand PCB pieces for
prototyping.

Actually my boards are not so fancy as original Beagleboard is. First
of all I use CBC package, second my designer made some tricks in
routing enabling to reduce technology requirements. However even 3/3
mils for traces seem to be a problem for the most of manufacturers
around the world. Furthermore I need mechanical drilling for vias in
pad (0.125/0.275mm). The latter is real problem to find the
appropriate manufacturer.

By the way Gerald you did not mention the "guy who has contacts". Did
you mean CircuitCo? Is that one person company? In addition it is
publicly known the PCB suppliers for Beagleboard.

Best regards,
Max

We had issues with PCBs in the early stages and it was all about soldermask. Now we use a company in China and get the best quality of anyone we have tried. The best advice I can give is always go to China AFTER the prototypes are completed and checked out. That way you know that if the board does not work it is not an assembly or PCB issue and then when you take it to China and it does not work, you know it is an assembly issue.

CircuitCo is not a one man company. They are a small run assembly house and can build these boards with their eyes closed. They assemble boards for a lot of OMAP based boards and do a lot of military work on all sorts of packages. CircuitCo has a deal with the company in China to funnel business to them in smaller quantities. Otherwise, they most likely won’t return your calls. That is why I mentioned them to you so they can do the prototypes for you and make sure the board is not the issue. Oh, and given enough turnaround time, they are very reasonable price wise.

Using the CBC lower technology should not be an issue for most board and assembly house sin my mind. It is pretty basic stuff.

BTW, I am the Beagle guy.

Gerald

Hey Gerald!

My pleasure to talk to the real Beagle guy :)! You did a great job,
respect to you! Seriously
I'm absolutely sure a lot of people appreciate what you have done for
Embedded World by Beagleboard.

I will quote for PCB at CircuitCo as soon as new revision is done.

Best regards,
Max

Keep me up to date on how that goes. I will make sure they give you good serrvice, even though they usually do!.

Gerald

Gerald,

I did not understand one thing: should I ask CircuitCo for a PCB
supplier's name or ask a quotation from them. In the latter case they
will be as mediators, right?

I prefer to work directly with suppliers, it is much cheaper :slight_smile:

Best regards,
Max

It can be cheaper, but if they won’t work with you at all because you are not a very large customer, then the cheapness would not be realised. Just ask CCO about low cost PCBs.

Gerald