Instant DFM is a revolutionary tool that makes quoting Printed Circuit Boards easier and quicker. 

Our automated quoting service helps quote PCBs quicker than ever before. Here are the steps to receiving a quote for your PCB. 

You will also learn what to do when encountering particular error messages.

Upload:

The black arrows show what is needed to proceed.

When you reach Instant DFM, you will see the options above. The black arrows distinguish the characteristics needed to proceed in the process.

After submitting the data, the solder mask, silkscreen, and thickness cannot be changed. The submission process must be restarted if these options need to be altered.

The data can be dragged and dropped, or you can browse your files to submit it. The accepted files include compressed Gerber RS-274x, Gerber X2, or ODB++ files in .Zip or .RAR formats. If your file is not working, it may exceed the maximum file size of 10 MB.

Your Results are Ready!:

The results page gives you an idea of what your board looks like. It renders your PCB’s top and bottom sides with the solder mask and silkscreen color you initially chose.

It will also show the board details, DFM checks, a custom stack-up, layers, and any issues that the data may have.

You can also use the Instant DFM Report to look at your board in-depth and see any issues.

The black arrow shows where to go next. The blue arrow shows the job ID needed to reference your specific order. The green arrow shows where you can download an in-depth look at your Instant DFM report.

The green box shows if your design looks good to our system. That does not necessarily mean you can purchase the bare board; it indicates no data issues.

If the box appears yellow, some issues may prevent you from purchasing your order. The remarks show what could be wrong with the data and give you an idea of how to fix it.

If you click “Buy Now” and see the screen above, your data cannot be auto-quoted. You can fix the data using the Instant DFM report or contact [email protected] for assistance with your data and/or a custom quote.

If the box appears red, there are issues in your data preventing an auto-quote. Checking the Instant DFM report will give you a better idea of what prevents the data from being quoted. You can also email support@bacircuits for further assistance.

Buy Now:

The “Buy Now” screen offers three pricing packages, each unique.

The Standard Quote gives you the most “customizable” options for your PCB. That is the ideal option for a customer with a more complex design. You can choose from different materials, surface finishes, copper ounces, whether it is in a panel, whether it has via fill, and much more. 

The standard quote is the only pricing option that offers assembly quote requests and an engineering review for an additional cost. We highly recommend it because we will let you know if we encounter any data issues. If it is not selected, we will run the order as is.

The Golden Gate Special offers customers a panel with a 3 and 5-day lead time. Each panel will be 18×24 (with usable space equal to 16 and a half by 22 and a half, or 352 square inches). 

You will receive as much as the panel yields during production. This selection allows customization of the solder mask, thickness (from the beginning), and surface finish.

The Golden Gate Special is great for a customer with a simpler board that needs a few customizable options.

The Barebones Special offers a quick and inexpensive option for a simple 2-layer board. This option provides a 24-hour turn time with a thickness of 0.062 inches. The board’s material is FR-4 fiberglass in its original yellow color, copper traces, and plated holes with tin over the copper.

This option does not offer silkscreen, solder mask, slots, or cut-outs.

This option is great for customers needing a simple bareboard with a quick turnaround time.

After you finish choosing your options for either of the pricing options, you will land on the auto-quote screen. You can also download a PDF Quote if needed. (Shown in the image below)

You can add the quote to your cart and proceed with your purchase, or you can run another board and go through the process again to add another board to your cart.

From there, it is like purchasing anything from an online store.

The green arrow shows where to download a PDF Quote.

If you see “Get a Quote” where the “Add to Cart” button is, your board needs to be custom quoted.

Please only press this button once. If you need multiple quantities, please let us know in the email thread that this creates.

Assembly:

As stated, assembly quote requests are only available in the Standard Quote package.

Please remember that the board must be in an array/ panel if it needs assembly.

We cannot auto-quote assembly right now, so these take time. Our customer service team works hard to get them back to you promptly.

The green arrow shows where to upload the BOM. The blue arrow shows how you would like the components handled.

The assembly option screen above allows you to upload your Bill of Materials, or BOM, to the website if you need Bay Area Circuits to purchase the parts. That is the “Turnkey” option. If you choose to supply the parts, that would be the “Consignment” option.

If your BOM is already in your zip file, please press “Yes” in the “BOM already uploaded with PCB design” section.

Submitting an assembly quote request will create a ticket, and the customer service team will work on your assembly quote.

We recommend purchasing the barebords only after receiving the assembly quote back because it could cause delays in the assembly process when buying components. We will start assembling the board once all the parts arrive.

Contact Us!

Have any other questions? Email us at [email protected]