Futurlec

[Rob Judd]

Hi,

I've noticed recently that Futurlec have been mentioned in here as a
place to get cheap PCBs made in small quantity. I already had an order
in with them when these messages came up so didn't comment. What follows
is a summary of my experience with them so far.

- Email is apparently answered in batches daily, so it's slow to deal
with them.
- The site futurlec.com.au seems to indicate an Australian company.
Wrong. All prices are in US dollars, and the sales person is in the USA.
- Boards are delivered directly from Thailand by mail.
- Prices and conditions vary on the salesperson's whim. I was quoted
(and paid) USD106.00 for a job that was US96.00 using their online
quotation calculator.
- The boards arrived with groundplanes totally missing on top and bottom
apart from a 10mil border track, and there was definite evidence that
the layout had been re-routed prior to their having being made. Such
things as copper artifacts left where they had been meticulously removed
as an example.

I'm left with a set of boards that are useless and my project has thus
been set back three weeks, and await their reply to my complaint. I'm
not saying don't use them, but if their service doesn't improve then I
sure won't.

Rob

 

[budgie]

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 19:32:49 +1000, Rob Judd <judd@ob-wan.com> wrote:

I posted a critique of their pcb's back on 1 March. Subsequent to
that, they changed a lot of their product/pricing structure. On 11
Sept (no connection) I posted a further critique. So, from the
position of one who has previously aired a view publicly, I make the
following points.

In my Sept 11 post, I commented:

"Value for money for hobbyists and small operators? IMOE their protos
certainly are."

I actually forwarded one small board ex the latest batch to Steven
Murray at Airborn Electronics so he could see first hand what their
protos were like. If he chooses, he may comment here.

Their non-proto product pricing is certainly nothing out of the
ordinary.

I've noticed recently that Futurlec have been mentioned in here as a
place to get cheap PCBs made in small quantity. I already had an order
in with them when these messages came up so didn't comment. What follows
is a summary of my experience with them so far.

- Email is apparently answered in batches daily, so it's slow to deal
with them.

I've always received a daily response to emails - or should I say
nightly.

- The site futurlec.com.au seems to indicate an Australian company.
Wrong. All prices are in US dollars, and the sales person is in the USA.

The site I use is www.furturlec.com. No ".au".

All prices ARE in $US, and that is quite evident on their website and
in both my posts.

The sales person who answers all my emails is Alan Bonnard who is in
Sydney.

- Boards are delivered directly from Thailand by mail.

Well, they ARE made in Thailand, so that seems rather appropriate.

- Prices and conditions vary on the salesperson's whim. I was quoted
(and paid) USD106.00 for a job that was US96.00 using their online
quotation calculator.

Pass on that. Mine always agree with the calculator (since it became
part of the website).

- The boards arrived with groundplanes totally missing on top and bottom
apart from a 10mil border track, and there was definite evidence that
the layout had been re-routed prior to their having being made. Such
things as copper artifacts left where they had been meticulously removed
as an example.

Pass. Refer my previous posts for what I received. In the September
batch, the only sign of a variation to my artwork <shite, that sounds
almost like it was a work of art> was two holes which mysteriously
grew. Ironically, they SHOULD have been the size Futurlec produced -
my oversight - but that doesn't in any way excuse them for changing
anything.

What type of pcb file(s) did you send - Protel?

I'm left with a set of boards that are useless and my project has thus
been set back three weeks, and await their reply to my complaint. I'm
not saying don't use them, but if their service doesn't improve then I
sure won't.

I'm not sure who you emailed, but if it wasn't "sales@futurlec.com"
then IIWY I'd ping Alan Bonnard at that address.

Rob, I'm not having a shot at you, nor do I consider your comments a
shot at me. What I am trying to do here is comment without bias
either way.

And repeating from my previous post:

"P.S. I have no affiliation or association with Futurlec other than
as a low-end commercial customer."

 

[Don McKenzie]

budgie wrote:

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 19:32:49 +1000, Rob Judd <judd@ob-wan.com> wrote:

The sales person who answers all my emails is Alan Bonnard who is in
Sydney.

- Boards are delivered directly from Thailand by mail.

I think you will find Alan is an Australian living in Thailand, and
running his business from there.

Don...

--
Don McKenzie E-mail: http://www.dontronics.com/e-mail.html
Home Page: http://www.dontronics.com

USB to RS232 Converter that works http://www.dontronics.com/usb_232.html
The World's Largest Range of Atmel/AVR & PICmicro Hardware and Software

 

[Steve]

"budgie" <budgie@nowhere.cantech.net.au> wrote

"Value for money for hobbyists and small operators? IMOE their protos
certainly are."

I actually forwarded one small board ex the latest batch to Steven
Murray at Airborn Electronics so he could see first hand what their
protos were like. If he chooses, he may comment here.

Their non-proto product pricing is certainly nothing out of the
ordinary.

That board was really good quality work.

Single sided, granted, but well produced.
Down here in Sydney I used to be the agent
for a (now well known, esp for Prototype)
Australian PCB manufacturer. Frankly,
single sided work from this PCB manufacturer is
often not very good (sometimes seems overetched).

That Futurlec board was spot on, IMHO.

 

[budgie]

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 06:20:03 +1000, Don McKenzie
<support2003**NOSPAM**@dontronics.com> wrote:

budgie wrote:

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 19:32:49 +1000, Rob Judd <judd@ob-wan.com> wrote:

The sales person who answers all my emails is Alan Bonnard who is in
Sydney.

- Boards are delivered directly from Thailand by mail.

I think you will find Alan is an Australian living in Thailand, and
running his business from there.

Dunno, Don. I have an address and phone# in Sydney for him

(02) 4938 xxxx in Paterson.

 

[Don McKenzie]

budgie wrote:

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 06:20:03 +1000, Don McKenzie
support2003**NOSPAM**@dontronics.com> wrote:

budgie wrote:

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 19:32:49 +1000, Rob Judd <judd@ob-wan.com> wrote:

The sales person who answers all my emails is Alan Bonnard who is in
Sydney.

- Boards are delivered directly from Thailand by mail.

I think you will find Alan is an Australian living in Thailand, and
running his business from there.

Dunno, Don. I have an address and phone# in Sydney for him

(02) 4938 xxxx in Paterson.

Fair enough, he may have changed things recently.
I had a sydney fax number, and orders were passed onto him in Thailand
about 12 months ago.
Peter Crowcroft in HK (kitsrus.com) buys a few items from him also.
Not that it matters at all. The internet doesn't have country boundries.


--
Don McKenzie E-mail: http://www.dontronics.com/e-mail.html
Home Page: http://www.dontronics.com

USB to RS232 Converter that works http://www.dontronics.com/usb_232.html
The World's Largest Range of Atmel/AVR & PICmicro Hardware and Software

 

[Rob Judd]

Budgie,

Just a short reply. No, I wasn't having a shot at any previous post,
just relaying my experiences. The manufacturing quality (apart from
noted problems) was very good, no copmplaints there at all.

Alan Bonnard's emails arrive with a GMT -5000 postmark, are you sure
he's in Sydney?

Rob


budgie wrote:

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 19:32:49 +1000, Rob Judd <judd@ob-wan.com> wrote:

I posted a critique of their pcb's back on 1 March. Subsequent to
that, they changed a lot of their product/pricing structure. On 11
Sept (no connection) I posted a further critique. So, from the
position of one who has previously aired a view publicly, I make the
following points.

In my Sept 11 post, I commented:

"Value for money for hobbyists and small operators? IMOE their protos
certainly are."

I actually forwarded one small board ex the latest batch to Steven
Murray at Airborn Electronics so he could see first hand what their
protos were like. If he chooses, he may comment here.

Their non-proto product pricing is certainly nothing out of the
ordinary.

I've noticed recently that Futurlec have been mentioned in here as a
place to get cheap PCBs made in small quantity. I already had an order
in with them when these messages came up so didn't comment. What follows
is a summary of my experience with them so far.

- Email is apparently answered in batches daily, so it's slow to deal
with them.

I've always received a daily response to emails - or should I say
nightly.

- The site futurlec.com.au seems to indicate an Australian company.
Wrong. All prices are in US dollars, and the sales person is in the USA.

The site I use is www.furturlec.com. No ".au".

All prices ARE in $US, and that is quite evident on their website and
in both my posts.

The sales person who answers all my emails is Alan Bonnard who is in
Sydney.

- Boards are delivered directly from Thailand by mail.

Well, they ARE made in Thailand, so that seems rather appropriate.

- Prices and conditions vary on the salesperson's whim. I was quoted
(and paid) USD106.00 for a job that was US96.00 using their online
quotation calculator.

Pass on that. Mine always agree with the calculator (since it became
part of the website).

- The boards arrived with groundplanes totally missing on top and bottom
apart from a 10mil border track, and there was definite evidence that
the layout had been re-routed prior to their having being made. Such
things as copper artifacts left where they had been meticulously removed
as an example.

Pass. Refer my previous posts for what I received. In the September
batch, the only sign of a variation to my artwork <shite, that sounds
almost like it was a work of art> was two holes which mysteriously
grew. Ironically, they SHOULD have been the size Futurlec produced -
my oversight - but that doesn't in any way excuse them for changing
anything.

What type of pcb file(s) did you send - Protel?

I'm left with a set of boards that are useless and my project has thus
been set back three weeks, and await their reply to my complaint. I'm
not saying don't use them, but if their service doesn't improve then I
sure won't.

I'm not sure who you emailed, but if it wasn't "sales@futurlec.com"
then IIWY I'd ping Alan Bonnard at that address.

Rob, I'm not having a shot at you, nor do I consider your comments a
shot at me. What I am trying to do here is comment without bias
either way.

And repeating from my previous post:

"P.S. I have no affiliation or association with Futurlec other than
as a low-end commercial customer."

 

[Rob Judd]

Budgie,

Just a short reply. No, I wasn't having a shot at any previous post,
just relaying my experiences. The manufacturing quality (apart from
noted problems) was very good, no complaints there at all.

The only place on the website that mentione USD is the postage page.
Alan Bonnard's emails arrive with a GMT -5000 postmark, are you sure
he's in Sydney?

Rob


budgie wrote:

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 19:32:49 +1000, Rob Judd <judd@ob-wan.com> wrote:

I posted a critique of their pcb's back on 1 March. Subsequent to
that, they changed a lot of their product/pricing structure. On 11
Sept (no connection) I posted a further critique. So, from the
position of one who has previously aired a view publicly, I make the
following points.

In my Sept 11 post, I commented:

"Value for money for hobbyists and small operators? IMOE their protos
certainly are."

I actually forwarded one small board ex the latest batch to Steven
Murray at Airborn Electronics so he could see first hand what their
protos were like. If he chooses, he may comment here.

Their non-proto product pricing is certainly nothing out of the
ordinary.

I've noticed recently that Futurlec have been mentioned in here as a
place to get cheap PCBs made in small quantity. I already had an order
in with them when these messages came up so didn't comment. What follows
is a summary of my experience with them so far.

- Email is apparently answered in batches daily, so it's slow to deal
with them.

I've always received a daily response to emails - or should I say
nightly.

- The site futurlec.com.au seems to indicate an Australian company.
Wrong. All prices are in US dollars, and the sales person is in the USA.

The site I use is www.furturlec.com. No ".au".

All prices ARE in $US, and that is quite evident on their website and
in both my posts.

The sales person who answers all my emails is Alan Bonnard who is in
Sydney.

- Boards are delivered directly from Thailand by mail.

Well, they ARE made in Thailand, so that seems rather appropriate.

- Prices and conditions vary on the salesperson's whim. I was quoted
(and paid) USD106.00 for a job that was US96.00 using their online
quotation calculator.

Pass on that. Mine always agree with the calculator (since it became
part of the website).

- The boards arrived with groundplanes totally missing on top and bottom
apart from a 10mil border track, and there was definite evidence that
the layout had been re-routed prior to their having being made. Such
things as copper artifacts left where they had been meticulously removed
as an example.

Pass. Refer my previous posts for what I received. In the September
batch, the only sign of a variation to my artwork <shite, that sounds
almost like it was a work of art> was two holes which mysteriously
grew. Ironically, they SHOULD have been the size Futurlec produced -
my oversight - but that doesn't in any way excuse them for changing
anything.

What type of pcb file(s) did you send - Protel?

I'm left with a set of boards that are useless and my project has thus
been set back three weeks, and await their reply to my complaint. I'm
not saying don't use them, but if their service doesn't improve then I
sure won't.

I'm not sure who you emailed, but if it wasn't "sales@futurlec.com"
then IIWY I'd ping Alan Bonnard at that address.

Rob, I'm not having a shot at you, nor do I consider your comments a
shot at me. What I am trying to do here is comment without bias
either way.

And repeating from my previous post:

"P.S. I have no affiliation or association with Futurlec other than
as a low-end commercial customer."

 

[budgie]

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 18:30:13 +1000, Rob Judd <judd@ob-wan.com> wrote:

Budgie,

Just a short reply. No, I wasn't having a shot at any previous post,
just relaying my experiences. The manufacturing quality (apart from
noted problems) was very good, no complaints there at all.

The only place on the website that mentione USD is the postage page.
Alan Bonnard's emails arrive with a GMT -5000 postmark, are you sure
he's in Sydney?

No, I couldn't swear to it. But -0500 (which I presume is what you
meant) doesn't tally with Thailand - unless it's a convoluted way of
saying +0700.

Anyway, I'd like to hear of any response from him (or anyone else at
Futurlec) regarding your problems. There's always a demand for a
cost-effective pcb fab, and they seem to fit one niche.

BTW, you didn't say what software format your artwork was.