Wiki
How building your proto PCBA with us works, term by term. New here? Start with the three things we need, the PCB data, the BOM and the centroid, or go straight to the calculator for a price in seconds.
A Cake for no Mistake
Is your first proto PCBA right the first time? Then we send you a cake. It does not happen often: more than 90% of our customers change something after the first sample.
Addresses
Your account has two basic addresses: your company address and the invoice address, which in most cases is an e-mail address. A project can ship somewhere else. Within the project you can add or change the address of every upcoming shipment.
Arrowarrow.com
Preferred Supplier. Distribution Centre situated in the USA. Average delivery time = 5-7 working days
See Parts and suppliers.
BOM (Bill of Materials)
The Bill of Materials or BOM is the list of parts on your board, and one of the three files we build your proto PCBA from. Send it the way your CAD tool exports it: we read almost any format. Still, a BOM without redundant information gives the fewest mistakes. So we made a standardised BOM, which you can download here.
BOM Search Tool (BST)
Our own software, which checks the availability and the price of every component in your BOM at all our preferred suppliers.
We check the real-time stock at every preferred supplier. That way we know a component is on the shelf at the moment we order it.
Centroid (or Pick & Place)
The Centroid (or Pick & Place) file tells us where on the PCB every component goes: an X and Y position, a rotation and a side. We use it for SMT placement, by machine and by hand, and for the THT parts. Together with the PCB data and the BOM it is one of the three production files. Send the export of your CAD tool as it comes. We match the columns ourselves.
Project collaboration
Every project has a Collaborators setting: the colleagues or subcontractors who can see the project and get its messages. You invite them by e-mail, per project. You can add and remove them at any time, also after you have submitted the project. See Project collaboration.
Component
When we say component, we (almost always) mean an electronic part. When we say part, it can be anything small and technical. So not only components, but also a screw, a nut or a spacer.
Consignment list
Do you supply parts yourself? Then the project makes a Consignment List for you. It lists every part you send to DeltaProto, with the designator, the MPN if there is one, and the quantity we need.
DeltaProto Chocoloto
To celebrate your working PCBA, or for some comfort while you are hunting for an issue on your proto.
Design for Prototyping or DFP
You probably know Design for Manufacturing and Design for Testing. Our advice: get the basic functions working first, and worry about DFM and DFT when you cross that bridge. We call this Design for Prototyping. Its aim is to iterate more, make more samples and test more ideas. Once you are happy with the proto, apply DFM and DFT, even when that means changing your design once more.
Digi-Keydigikey.com
Preferred Supplier. Distribution Centre situated in the USA. Average delivery time = 3 working days
See Parts and suppliers.
Farnellfarnell.com
Preferred Supplier. Distribution Centre situated in UK. Average delivery time = 1 working day!
See Parts and suppliers.
Field test
A series of (partly) end-user based tests with prototypes or more commonly 0-series products.
Files
To make your proto and test series PCBAs we need three files: the PCB data as a Gerber and drill set, the BOM and the Centroid (or Pick & Place file). Send them the way your CAD tool exports them. An ODB++ archive on top of that helps, but is not necessary.
First Proto
For every project we make one sample (or a few) up front. We call this the 'First Proto'. You test it and tell us what to change before we build the rest. So you never end up with a whole order that is just not what you wanted. And it works: more than 90% of our customers make all kinds of changes between the first and the next samples. Three samples are included in an order, and we build more when you need them, with a List of Change between each.
Free Return
Do you want us to modify your PCBA? Send it back with our free return shipping voucher.
Gerber and drill
A file format especially developed for the transfer of PCB production data, and still the most common format for your PCB data. Every PCB manufacturer accepts it.
Do not forget the drill files. In most CAD tools the drill data is a separate export next to the Gerber layers, so it is easy to miss. In KiCad, File → Fabrication Outputs → Gerbers plots the layers, and the drill files come from the Generate Drill Files button in the same dialog. In Altium, Gerber Files and NC Drill Files are two different fabrication outputs, and in an Output Job they are two separate entries. A set without drill files, the ones ending in .drl, .xln or .txt, has no holes. Our upload check tells you when they are missing. Gerber X2 and X3 are the current versions of the format, maintained by Ucamco.
See Gerber and drill.
Good Old Stock
Is a scarce component still sitting on one of your old PCBs? Send us the board and we desolder the component for you, free of charge. That way you can keep testing during a temporary shortage.
IPC-2581
An open standard from the IPC, also known as DPMX, that puts the whole board in one XML file. We do not support it: industry support is still best for Gerber and drill, so that is the format we ask for.
See IPC-2581.
LCSClcsc.com
Preferred Supplier. Distribution Centre situated in Hong Kong. Average delivery time = 3-5 working days.
See Parts and suppliers.
List of Change (LoC)
In the List of Change you tell us what to change for your next PCBA sample. At the end of the project you have a complete overview of every change made during development.
Modify my Proto
Would you rather have us modify your proto than build the next one? Sure. Click ‘Repair Sample’ in the LoC and ship it back with the free return shipping voucher.
Mousermouser.com
Preferred Supplier. Distribution Centre situated in USA. Average delivery time = 3 working days
See Parts and suppliers.
Nexar (Octopart)
Nexar is the API behind Octopart, the search engine for components. One query gives the stock and prices of many distributors at once. For years it was the aggregator behind our BOM Search Tool. We have since switched to TrustedParts. Any aggregator runs behind on the distributors' own stock figures, so for every part we also ask the supplier's own API. That way we order on stock and prices that are as fresh as possible.
Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) download here
Everything you send us is treated as confidential. To put that on paper, we have drawn up a standard NDA. Download it, review it and, if it suits you, return it to us signed. We countersign and send you a copy. Would you rather use your own NDA? Then we may charge for the legal review. We tell you in advance.
ODB++
ODB++ is a fixed format for PCB production data. One archive holds the copper layers, the drill data, the stackup and the component placements. We read it as it is, for the PCB specification and as centroid. It does not replace the BOM: it says nothing about the supplier, the order number, the parts that are not placed or the parts you supply yourself. Most PCB manufacturers want a Gerber and drill set and do not take this Siemens format, so with only an ODB++ archive we can have the bare board made by a few manufacturers. Add a Gerber and drill set and they are all open. Try it in our open source ODB++ viewer.
See ODB++.
Offer
Once we have your PCB data, BOM and centroid, we analyse your data. We send the PCB data to one of our PCB manufacturers in Europe or Asia, we optimise the paste layer for prototyping, and we check the availability of every component in your BOM. If all is well, we set your request to 'Ready to Order'. From there, one click on 'Order' starts your project.
PCB
The PCB is the bare board your parts go on. We have it made by one of our PCB manufacturers in Europe or Asia. The PCB data is one of the three things we build your proto PCBA from. Send it as a Gerber and drill set. That is still the most common and the best supported format, so it gives us the most freedom in picking a PCB manufacturer. An ODB++ archive is welcome on top of it.
Planning
The project, and with it the planning, starts the moment you click the 'Order' button. The delivery time counts in working days and refers to the day we dispatch your first sample.
If you order 10 proto PCBAs with a delivery time of 10 working days, we will ship your first sample 10 working days after the initial order date.
Price
We want you to have our price without having to ask for it. Fill out the calculator and in seconds you have a price that is about 95% correct. After analysing your files we make the price final and send you our offer. Want help with the calculator? Watch our video tutorial, or give us a call. Do you not know the price of your components yet? Fill in 0. We correct that field while we analyse your request.
We would love to welcome you as a new customer. Do you think our price is not right? Give us a call. We always work something out and get going.
Process steps
The 4 phases of the process are divided into smaller steps. A step is one specific activity, mostly done by one engineer.
Project code
The project code consists of the 4-letter company code plus the project sequence number.
Proof of Concept (PoC)
A Proof of Concept aims to validate the practicality and potential value of implementing an idea in a real-world scenario.
Proof of Principle (PoP)
A Proof of Principle is a preliminary test to determine if the functional model idea is technically viable, providing insights into potential obstacles and required resources.
ProtoFoto
The ProtoFoto is a high-resolution photo of every PCBA we manufacture.
ProtoType
A prototype is the first release of a product built to test a concept or process and typically not produced on the final manufacturing equipment.
RSrs-online.com
Preferred Supplier. Distribution Centre situated in UK. Average delivery time = 1 working day!
See Parts and suppliers.
Step
We build your prototype PCBAs in 4 steps. After each step we need your input for the next one.
The first step is yours: you (hopefully) place your order.
In step 2 we buy the PCB and the components and assemble your first sample PCBA. We send it to you to test. You find a few problems, change the BOM and fill in the 'List of Change' on the website. When all your improvements are clear, you tell us to build the next sample.
In step 3 we work through your LoC, buy a new component where needed, in some cases a new PCB, and make your second sample. Again we send it to you to test. Is it right? Then you tell us in the LoC to make the rest of the prototypes.
In the fourth and final step we make all your prototypes and ship them to you.
Technical Project Questions
The questions our engineers have about your PCB data, BOM and Centroid, about your List of Change (LoC), or about anything unexpected we run into while building or modifying your proto PCBA. We would rather ask than guess.
TMEtme.eu
Preferred Supplier. Distribution Centre situated in Poland. Average delivery time = 3 working days
See Parts and suppliers.
TrustedParts
TrustedParts.com is the component search service of the ECIA, the Electronic Components Industry Association. It only lists authorised distributors. It replaced Nexar as the aggregator behind our BOM Search Tool. Aggregators run behind on stock, so for every part we also ask the supplier's own API, at Digi-Key, Mouser, Farnell, TME and the others, for the live stock and price before we order.
Vericalverical.com
Preferred Supplier. Arrow's marketplace for surplus and franchised stock. Distribution Centre situated in the USA.
See Parts and suppliers.
Würth Elektronikwe-online.com
Preferred Supplier. Manufacturer of passives, connectors and electromechanical parts; we order directly from the manufacturer in Germany.
See Parts and suppliers.