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Re:The Hardware Renaissance by HeyLaughingBoy on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @08:37PM (#4691077)
Your information is about a decade old!

Board fab is over an order of magnitude cheaper than that these days. Yes, I have old circuit boards that I designed 15+ years ago that cost me $400 for two bare PC board prototypes, but today I can get the same two for about $50 these days, shipped express from somewhere in China.

To go even more extreme, I just ordered a handful of an existing design from OSH park just to see what their quality is. Three tiny boards cost me $5. Five bucks!!!

Re:The Hardware Renaissance by DanBC on Wednesday October 24, 2012 @12:19AM (#4691622)
I did an instant quote with Sunstone. They charge $479 tooling.

I am wrong about the costs for small batches and prototypes - you don't need all the production aids and you can get very good, rapid, product now.

But don't compare hobbyist costs (sub-standard material, limited use etc) for tiny quantities with industry costs for production size runs (http://www.photostencil.com/products/electroform-stencils-hy...)