Hi

I used to get blank double sided copper clad FR4 on eBay, but the seller has recently shut down his store and other sellers seem to think $10 for one 6x6" double sided board is a good deal. (I was getting boxes of 100 3x9" .060 FR4 for $20 + $10 shipping). I think they were scraps from China factories, but they were a good price. Anyone know where a good place to get cheap copper clad is?

Thanks
-Josh

 

Goldmine electronics has decent prices.
Copper Clad-The Electronic Goldmine

__________________
Jeff
To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

If there is a pcb fabrication company in your town, go talk to them and ask if they would give you some scraps and cut ends. Often they work with very large boards and cut off fairly useable pieces which are no longer useable to them.

__________________
RadioRon

 

if your into getting free stuff
they give away their scrap material
either pay for shipping or buy X amout and get some for free.
I ordered some transfer sheets and got 3 or 4 free boards.
Make Your Own Dry Transfer Decals and Instant Printed Circuit Boards!

 

Thanks for the replies so far folks. I need something sustainable for projects, so the free idea is good one MrDEB, but I don't use their papers, so I don't want to bug them to ask them for free boards. Thanks though for the lead.

jrz126, thanks for the tip! The Electronic Gold Mine does appear to have an okay-priced "super clad assortment", but even those amount to randomly sized boards at $0.50 each, which is good, but I know there must be others who have scraps for less.


Thanks also RadioRon. I called EVERY pcb fab shop in my area (Seattle) today, and only TWO out of 20 actually started their boards with bare, un-etched copper-clad material. (The rest get their boards already etched from China). Of those, ONE would sell me blanks, at a price that is still what I consider high, probably because it's brand new, un-cut material (12" x 18", 0.059 FR4 for $10).

I'm not looking for anything prestine, just scraps. C'mon folks! Somebody's got to have a secret source!! Please chime in! We can all benefit by buying from them and promoting lower prices in what appears to have somehow turned into a very over-priced market.

Maybe I should get a 16-ton shipment from China myself and sell it piece by piece on eBay.

-Josh

 

That's a lot of PCB material. What do you use so much for?

__________________
Mark Higgins

 

I would like to offer some of my own circuit designs on my web sites, and although I'm not looking for lots and lots of material, I do need a source that I can depend on for low-cost copper laminate, and I notice that somehow, the prices of PCB material seem to have risen.

If anyone knows or can offer pcb laminate, please let me know!

-Josh

 

Is this the guy you used to buy from? eBay Store - PCB Laminates,Copper Clad: He closes down every year for a month to hike the Appalachian Trail. The web site I posted tells about it.

He'll be back in business after Thanksgiving.

Cary

 

Yes, that's him! Thanks for the info. Even though it says he'll be back, I was worried his store might go up and down all the time due to problems. Definately good to know he's only gone for a month.

I wonder if he buys boatloads (literally) of scrap PCB from China and re-sells it or something, because he had tons of different sizes when he was running. His prices are good though, and the quality of material I got from him was very impressive.

 

one slight problem, the boards I purchased are 2 oz boards.
miseriable for thin traces as it under cuts when etching.
Have some free boards from Pulsar that are great. etch really fast.

 

Hi deweyusa,
I come from China, what can I do for you! It's my honored if I can help you.