MacEffects Appreciation Post

wottle

Active Tinkerer
Oct 30, 2021
744
497
63
48
Fort Mill, SC
Count me in! My case arrived yesterday as well and I'm excited to start building it out.
OK, I'll post here an update when the sample pair arrive. If they work, I'll place an order for a handful more for people who are interested. I just didn't want to order a bunch in case there were fitment issues.
 

wottle

Active Tinkerer
Oct 30, 2021
744
497
63
48
Fort Mill, SC
I may be going overboard with this clear stuff. I made an updated version of this mount that I'm going to order in clear resin as well. Not really much value in doing a group buy on this one because I can only order one at a time and still get the cheaper shipping. If you wanted to do the same, it would be cheaper for each person to order their own and not have to pay twice for shipping.

1750802088599.png



Heres the link to my version for resin printing if others want to print it. I've not printed clear resin this thick, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. I'll adjust if I get mine in and it does not look good.

FYI, For me to get it printed in transparent resin and shipped to the US, it cost $18.12. I'll post pictures of it and the clear knob when they arrive.
 

tom_B

Tinkerer
Aug 3, 2022
29
27
13
Connecticut
@wottle
Sorry if I've overlooked the answer in this thread, but how did you get that rainbow-colored PCB made?
A few PCB manufactures do full color PCBs now(Both JLC and PCBWay do, probably others too)

As of september year they had different processes for ordering, not sure if it's changed at all for either of them since then

JLC you had to use their EasyEDA Pro software to design the PCB(or import a project from another EDA and double check your work to make sure it didn't mess anything up) and import the image for the silkscreen, and export it a certain way

PCBWay you submitted the gerber files in the regular way, and then send them the image of what you want on the board.

(example courtesy of @GutBomb , EricSCSI)


1750882501570.png
 
  • Wow
Reactions: JDW

wottle

Active Tinkerer
Oct 30, 2021
744
497
63
48
Fort Mill, SC
A few PCB manufactures do full color PCBs now(Both JLC and PCBWay do, probably others too)

As of september year they had different processes for ordering, not sure if it's changed at all for either of them since then

JLC you had to use their EasyEDA Pro software to design the PCB(or import a project from another EDA and double check your work to make sure it didn't mess anything up) and import the image for the silkscreen, and export it a certain way

PCBWay you submitted the gerber files in the regular way, and then send them the image of what you want on the board.

(example courtesy of @GutBomb , EricSCSI)


View attachment 21941
Yeah, @tom_B has a much better understanding of the process than me. But much like I fumbled my way through the PCB design process, I stumbled my way through the full color PCB process. I only did it because JLCPCB had a coupon that made it almost free to do, so I read a guide, and used EasyEDA Pro to import my PCB from EAGLE, then overlay the rainbow image. You then have to export from EasyEDA to JLCPCB for ordering.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JDW

JDW

Administrator
Staff member
Founder
Sep 2, 2021
1,956
1,655
113
54
Japan
youtube.com
PcBWay was much more expensive BEFORE the tariffs.
They advertise a lot, whereas JLC hasn't done really any advertising that I've seen. Not only do I see PCBWay everywhere on YouTube, but they have approached me twice by email. Once was a couple years ago when I told them the MOQ of 5pcs was a bit hard to swallow for the average vintage computer hobbyist. They did a follow-up with me last week. I've not responded back because, hey, I don't even let YouTube show ads on my channel, so why would I do 30 second spots?

With that said, PCBWay aren't a bad company by any means, and I've seen comparisons between their 3D printed transparent parts and JLC, and PCBway was the winner (based on photos I saw). It all comes down to which ends up with a better print and then for how much. As others have said, even before tariffs there was a rather large pricing difference between PCBWay and JLC.
 

Dave928

New Tinkerer
Sep 17, 2024
16
14
3
Seattle, USA
i have zero problem with PCB's quoted prices for what i wanted to order, it's just the shipping and customs charges that are killing it right now.

i ran my list through JLC, the quote was about half, but they still wanted $150 for S&C, on $60 worth of parts.

then just for fun i looked at Xometry and Protolabs. Holy Jesus! they wanted more for one part than PCB wanted for the whole shipment.

i'll just put it together with the filament parts i already have and get the really clear stuff later.
 

wottle

Active Tinkerer
Oct 30, 2021
744
497
63
48
Fort Mill, SC
i have zero problem with PCB's quoted prices for what i wanted to order, it's just the shipping and customs charges that are killing it right now.

i ran my list through JLC, the quote was about half, but they still wanted $150 for S&C, on $60 worth of parts.

then just for fun i looked at Xometry and Protolabs. Holy Jesus! they wanted more for one part than PCB wanted for the whole shipment.

i'll just put it together with the filament parts i already have and get the really clear stuff later.

Can you share the STLs for the parts? I’m curious why the shipping was so high? I wonder if it’s because I have mostly only done small parts that can ship easily.