Today we are reviewing the PCBs made by JLCPCB.
JLCPCB is one of the bigger Shenzhen based PCB manufacturers out there. Although questionable, they claim to get over 8000 orders per day. More recently they got a lot of community support by partnering up with EasyEDA; but they also made a big splash with their incredible “$2 for 10 board” offer.
Disclaimer: This is NOT a paid promotion. This is my honest review; made by a paying customer who ordered with them quite a few times now.
Ordering process
Ordering on JLCPCB is incredibly simple as all it takes is uploading your Gerber files as a zip file. Contrary to Shenzhen2U (read the review) that needs very specific naming conventions, this makes the whole process a lot simpler. Not only that, the size of the PCB will be automatically calculated off the Gerber file and the pricing will get updated automatically accordingly.
Similarly to other PCB fabs, the prices are very competitive if you stick to default settings (min 6mil trace width, green solder mask, 1.6mm board, 1oz copper, HASL lead finish) but any deviation from this norm will cost a lot. A red solder mask for instance is a fixed $10 fee. Lead free HASL will only be a $6 top up, while nickel gold plating -the so-called ENIG finish- will set you back $20.
This “any deviation to our standard will cost you lots” feeling is even more exacerbated by their $2 for 10 boards offer which applies to PCBs if they are up to 10x10cm in size. In my case, the board I ordered was 9.8x11cm and the cost jumps from $2 to $29! That being said, it is still a competitive price.
Ultra fast delivery
Aside from their ordering and pricing, one thing that definitely is impressing with JLCPCB is the turnover. Here’s the breakdown of my experience:
- Original order: Sunday 12pm.
- Order picked up by DHL China on Wednesday, 7:30pm
- Delivered in Singapore on Friday, 11am
From order to delivery, only 5 days passed, and this is not even the fast turnover service: this is the default at JLCPCB! I am thoroughly impressed and this is reason alone for me to order again with them.
What about quality?
Quality is as good as it gets; but I can note that some via holes aren’t perfectly dead centered and that the silk screen isn’t 100% pristine. This is definitely cherry picking though, as you might not even think about it unless you have a very high quality board such as the ones manufactured by OSHPark next to this JLCPCB board.
One thing that I like is that JLCPCB managed to cram solder mask in between the pads of this 0.65mm pitch TSSOP package (pictured above). It’s quite remarkable for such low price PCBs.
And to finish this quality inspection, I would like to point out that JLCPCB adds your order number in silkscreen on your PCB. The inscription on the DIP package above was never part of the original design and was added manually by JLCPCB operators. Although they put the inscription in a place that will ultimately be non visible and covered by a chip; I really don’t like this. The manufacturer shouldn’t temper with customers’ designs in any way.
In Conclusion
JLCPCB seems to be top of the pack when it comes to Shenzhen-manufactured PCBs. If you are making 10x10cm quick prototypes, they provide the best bang for your buck out there; and their regular pricing and quality is quite remarkable as well.
As of May 2018 it is my new default go to place to order PCBs.
8 thoughts on “JLCPCB Prototype PCBs review”
I have also ordered from them and I have recorder a video how to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQb4U8wAzH8
Project scope: 10pcs – Turnkey – 8″ x 5″ – 6 layer board, 300+ components mounted on both sides – (1 fine pitch TQFP-144, several SOP, many SOIC, various SMD passives mainly 3512, 0805 & 0603 packages,) The design was proven functional on the last run.
Our previous supplier for our board went out of business (PCBs were manufactured in China and then assembled in US), had to find a new supplier. So after receiving quotes from several suppliers, PCBWay quoted the best price. To be honest I was little concerned about using them because of some reviews I read.
But they have a lot more positive reviews than negative, so we decided to give them a try.
After initial screening of incoming files they found a couple minor errors (incorrect package size and a couple trace stubs which went nowhere – remnants of layout software that our previous supplier missed). I was able to correct these issues before production. Also had some minor issues with obsolescence on BOM they caught and I was able to correct. Boards were done in a timely manor after final approval of the design (3 weeks). I have recently received my order and have tried a couple of the boards and they worked out of the box within the specifications of our previous lot. They did a great job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97oJV9nXM80
I had a very bad experience with them. Every surface mount pad on my board (320 of them) was shorted to +3.3V. I can’t even imagine how they managed to do that! My best guess is they put one copper layer over another without insulation.
All 10 PCBs had the issue? I just got a PCB from them with 0.3mm vias and really pushing the max they can do and everything is fine; might be bad luck. Did they offer refund?
Your review is completely accurate however the main heading you failed to include is Support – and in this category – they are horrible. I’ve ordered pcb’s from them about 20 times over the past two years. They nearly always fail to accept my files even though the same files had previously passe (accepted). When the file fails the “reason” is non descript (not accounting for the very poor Chinese-English translation). There are no links on your order page to address the issues – you only have the option to try to contact them for a clarification. And- that would be OK if they actually had any “customer support” mechanism in place but they never reply to my e-mails . If I wish to continue, I need to guess what is the issue and try to resubmit. BTW – the files are in full compliance with their instruction for gerber formatting as described on their support page. So – I would endorse your review but add be prepared for a totally frustrating experience if any issues arise.
Do they have cheaper shipment options for someone who is not in a hurry?
I placed a trial board order with them for less than £6 with shipping, it sounded great. After waiting a week without hearing anything from them, I logged in to find that they had cancelled my order due to an error on their end. I contacted their customer support who said they couldn’t do anything about it without me re-submitting the order (this time for £35.) I still have not received a full refund for the order that they cancelled.
If you paid by Paypal you can probably easily dispute the claim with them; but apart from that you’re probably just very unlucky. I have dozens of orders with them and never had any issues.