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How to Order from JLCPCB

First time ordering form JLCPCB, or PCBs in general? Or do you just need a refresher on ordering PCBs? Either way, you're in the right place!

Getting Gerbers

PCB fabs take files called Gerbers. These are essentially outputted directions from whatever software you used (EasyEDA, KiCAD, etc) that contains information about the copper on the board, any silkscreen designs you have, and where to drill holes. Getting Gerbers are easy. They will usually be under some sort of export or output section of your software.

Uploading to JLCPCB

Once you have your Gerbers, make sure they are zipped up. This is so that you can upload the folder all in one piece.

What the Heck are These Settings?

PCB fabs have A LOT of settings for board manufacturing, and JLCPCB is no exception. Here's a rundown on what each section means:

Base Options

Base options for JLCPCB

  • Base Material: What material you're going to make the PCBs out of. For OnBoard purposes, you'll board will be made out of FR-4.
  • Layers: These are the number of copper layers that are in your design. This field should be auto filled with what JLCPCB detects in your Gerbers. 2 or 4 layer PCBs are the most common. Note that anything 6 and above will cost more!
  • Dimensions: The size of your PCB. Field should be auto-populated based off of your gerbers.
  • PCB QTY: Number of PCBs you're ordering. The OnBoard grant only allows the minimum, which is usually 5.
  • Product Type: Don't worry too much about this setting. It mostly deals with what level of care JLCPCB needs to handle your boards with (i.e medical cannot have lead on it). Keep it Industrial/Consumer Electronics.

PCB Specifications

PCB specifications for JLCPCB

  • Different Design: This is the number of designs within your gerber files. This number will be automatically calculated, so don't worry too much about it!
  • Delivery Format: Do you want single cut PCBs? Or is your board small enough to be made into a panel? For most boards, Single PCB will be enough. If you're board is key-chain sized, think about whether you want to make it into a panel. If you have questions about panelization, send them into #electronics
  • PCB Thickness: This is the thickness of your board. The default size is 1.6 mm. Do not change this - a different thickness can force JLC to use Standard PCBA, which is very expensive.
  • PCB Color: This is the color of the PCB! Colors other than green, blue, or black can be significantly more expensive, so be careful.
  • Surface Finish: The coating on the board's pads to protect the exposed copper from corrosion and make soldering easier. HASL is a silvery solder finish. Leaded HASL is cheapest, but it's only a small upcharge for safer lead-free HASL. ENIG is a gold plated finish. It's more expensive than lead-free HASL, but it's very pretty.

PCB Assembly

Choose one of of the two assembly options for your PCB, assembly by JLCPCB is the quickest and easiest.

Assembly by JLCPCB

  • PCBA Type: Economic. Standard PCBA is very expensive. Some parts, like some connectors and daughter boards, or alternate board thicknesses (other than 1.6mm) require Standard PCBA.
  • PCBA Qty: Instead of soldering parts to all 5 boards, you can choose to get just 2 to save grant money. They'll ship the other 3 boards without any components on them to you.
  • Confirm Parts Placement: JLCPCB will manually check whether your parts are oriented correctly for a small fee.

Then on the next screen, upload the bom.csv and positions.csv (from KiCAD) or BOM_PCB.csv and PickAndPlace.csv (from EasyEDA).

After that you'll be able to select which parts you want JLCPCB to assemble for you.

If parts like the NFC antenna are unselected, that's fine, just go ahead and click 'Do Not Place' on the popup.

Then, on the orientation screen, make sure all your assembly components are rotated correctly and touching the right pads1. If there are many issues, go back and check your input files.

Assemble yourself with a stencil

Don't want to pay extra to JLCPCB for assembly? DIY assembly is a great way to save costs and learn a little at the cost that you'll have to supply your own components and have the appropriate tools.

This option is for advanced hackers only.

At a minimum, you'll need to have a soldering iron + solder, solder paste and a heat gun or heated solder reflower.

Select the Stencil option in JLCPCB JLCPCB Stencil Ordering

See How to use a PCB Stencil and How to Use PCB Stencil-Step by Step Guideline for some guides on how to start the process.

Cart

After you reach the cart, click checkout and fill out the information.

To avoid excess shipping fees or customs, check out the Shipping Tips doc!

And in the 3rd box, you can select either "Pay after Review" or "Pay Directly", and click "Submit Order".

You don't have the payment info yet, so just close the tab once it asks you for those.

PCB Review

Then, once you go to My Orders, you should see something like this:

Take a screenshot like that of your order for the OnBoard grant and save it as cart.png (for github, it must be a .png file, and named exactly cart.png, all lowercase).

Footnotes

  1. Recall that components like resistors and ceramic capacitors are symmetrical, but diodes, LEDs, and ICs are not. ↩