In this era, the PCB (printed circuit board) manufacturing industry is saturated with a variety of PCB manufacturers to choose from, especially for an electronics hobbyist or maker. Therefore, it is of crucial importance that manufacturers are screened thoroughly, to ensure that not only do their capabilities match your requirements but to also ensure that your customer experience will be as smooth as possible. When performing research on a potential PCB manufacturer, the small details of your experience will matter in the long run, which may include the ordering process, customer loyalty rewards, benefits for PCB designers and other features which may enhance your overall experience with the company. PCBWay, a leading PCB and PCBA (PCB assembly) manufacturer based in China, focuses on those small details that will offer maximum customer satisfaction as they go beyond just fabricating PCBs. With a loyal clientele and a proven track record in offering professional, high-quality and flexible PCB services, PCBWay stands out from other large-name PCB manufacturers due to several unique benefits for customers. This includes KiCad integration when ordering PCBs on the PCBWay website, the ability to share & sell designs on their marketplace and their very own PCBWay store with competitive prices.
KiCad Integration into PCB Ordering
Ordering a PCB should be an effortless procedure, especially when working on a design that requires multiple variations or prototypes that all differ in a certain aspect. With such a broad variety of PCB design/EDA (electronic design automation) software available online, makers would typically choose the right software to match their needs, whether it is due to the complexity of the software, part library, UI/UX, etc. However, PCBWay has a partnership with KiCad, a free PCB design software, where users are able to seamlessly export their project files right from KiCad onto the PCBWay website for order. Through a specialized PCBWay plugin that is built right into KiCad itself, users can upload their Gerber files (for PCB fabrication), IPC files (PCB netlist), BOM files (component information for PCBA) and pick-and-place files (PCBA) onto the PCBWay website. With this innovative feature, it is possible for customers to accelerate their ordering process and upload files to their PCBWay cart without worrying about saving files and selecting the right ones to order. To enable this feature on KiCad, it is essential that the latest version of the plugin (released on July 11th 2024) is installed from the official KiCad repositories, or manually from the PCBWay GitHub page. This plugin is compatible with KiCad 8. More information on installing and using this plugin can be found here. Not only will this feature save time for KiCad users when uploading files onto the PCBWay website, but this allows customers to minimize errors when transferring information to place an order. As usual, engineers will check your PCB designs for any errors before orders are sent to production, and if you run into any issues along the way, the PCBWay customer service team are always quick to assist. Innovative solutions like this plug-in can be very helpful when ordering in bulk or when managing multiple projects at once.
Project Sharing within the PCBWay Community
As a lot of electronic hobbyists are also independent designers, we are aware of the importance of community within our hobby. The close, friendly nature of our community helps to inspire innovation and creativity, where users can realize that there really is no limit to design. Plus, the community helps small makers grow, where we can share our designs with one another, build with other makers and solve bigger, better challenges through teamwork. What is unique about PCBWay is that they have realized the important factor of community and established their very own community workplace where creators can share and publish their PCB and 3D printing designs publicly. From home automation devices to Christmas ornaments to robotic components, the PCBWay community really has it all, thanks to the hundreds of contributors who interact, share and publish to make it a very tight-knit community. Plus, it is extremely simple to share your designs with the community workplace as you can do it right after placing your order. This applies not only to PCB designs but for 3D printing designs where you are able to share any CAD attachments with the community. One of the best benefits of this scheme is that whenever another user places an order for your design, you will receive a 10% commission from the price of their order, which you can then withdraw from your PCBWay account. Plus, if you upload and share BOM files with the community, you can receive “beans”, which are credits that you can use to exchange for various items in the PCBWay store. However, PCBWay offers additional features that benefit creators and make PCBWay different from other companies. This includes the lack of a platform fee, which enables creators to share their projects for free and earn rewards without having to pay back anything. In addition, copyright is reserved for all works, allowing creators to rest assured that their designs will not be stolen and/or reproduced. To learn more about how you can share your design with the PCBWay community, click the link here.
pcbway store
Another unique feature that PCBWay brings to customers is their very own PCBWay store, where electronics components, tools, modules/sensors are frequently on sale. With incredibly competitive prices, sometimes as low as $0.01, in addition to attractive promotions, the store does accept purchases to be made with the “beans” left in your account. It is worthwhile checking the store webpage every now and then so that you do not miss out on any exclusive deals, promotions or sales. For example, as of writing this article, the TP4056 lithium battery charging module is being sold in the store for only $0.01! These are the kinds of deals that you should expect to see quite regularly in the store. As a hobbyist who enjoys it when electronics are intertwined with creativity, I personally enjoy the PCB gadgets and badges that may serve as house decoration items or gifts. I have also managed to take advantage of these promotions with the leftover beans that I have accumulated from previous PCB orders.
