PCB Forum - Recent Threads

Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

Sergey Zorin — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 18:35:30 GMT

Hi all,

Im Sergey, live in Antalya, Turkey. Work in electronics manufacturing about 20 years: EMS, PCB, components sourcing, BOM and supply chain stuff.

Mostly I see boards from factory side, how design hits real production and what breaks there.

Will read here and try to help with questions about PCB fab, assembly and parts. Also want to learn more about new tools.

What are you working on now?

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

cstanton — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:27:08 GMT

PCB RoadTest when?

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

meera_hussien — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 20:02:34 GMT

Welcome onboard Sergey Zorin

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

OwainM — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:46:28 GMT

We'll have more RoadTests coming soon.

I did my my internship in my degree at a company called GSPK Circuits near Harrogate, UK.

I was part of their special projects department from September 2019 to September 2020 and helped develop new processes. I wasn't there long enough to be trained on any individual process.

I usually supervised the drilling, bonding, photo imaging, plating, etching and routing teams with the non-standard parts of the job and if needed I also would microsection boards.

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

DAB — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 01:40:19 GMT

Welcome to element14 Sergey.

I am not working on any projects currently, but I look forward to your participation.

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

geralds — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 22:38:45 GMT

Hi Sergey Zorin,

Welcome!
I’ve had experience with PCBs since my apprenticeship at ITT Austria in the 1970/80s (later Alcatel in the 2000s—that company no longer exists).
Back then, ITT had its own in-house PCB production line, where I also worked for a time.
Computers were already in use, but they had to be laboriously fed with data via punched cards.
But unlike today, PCB design was done "by hand"—the "old-school" way, using physical film overlays.

😎 Back then, I routed my own PCBs by hand, single-layer, double-layer, and multilayer.
Nowadays, of course, the computer is the primary tool for the job, PCAD was my first EDA tool in beginning 1985.
For over 45 years, I’ve been working on circuit and PCB design using my own EDA tools, then sending the data off to my PCB manufacturer.
My focus is primarily on building prototypes and small-batch assemblies.
Well, how time flies...

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

colporteur — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:01:24 GMT

Welcome. You no doubt have access to commercial software tools. As a hobbyist I don't have the coin for licensed products so opensource tools are my option. KiCAD from concept to PCB is my software of choice. There are a few members here that have a lot more strips on their shoulders than me when it comes to the capabilities of the software. Piqued their interests in a posting and you have a human with experience and knowledge that would compete with AI. I know they have solved many an issue for me.

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

battlecoder — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:47:40 GMT

Hello Sergey, welcome in!

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

Sergey Zorin — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 06:26:32 GMT

Thanks Owain. RoadTest sounds interesting, will check the list.

Where did you do PCB fab, which part of the process? Most of my time is on assembly side, but fab problems come to us first anyway.

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

OwainM — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:05:51 GMT

Welcome Sergey,

It's great to have you on the Community.

I'm Owain and I run our RoadTest program on the Community, where members can receive products from us for free and keep them in return for posting a review to the Community. It would be great to hear your insights in a review of some of the products we offer, given your experience in electronics manufacturing. Make sure to check out the new RoadTests we have coming.

I also used to work in PCB fabrication for a short time as part of my degree, so I'd be intrigued to hear what you think.

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

Sergey Zorin — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:04:16 GMT

Thanks all for warm welcome.

@embeddedguy solar node is nice. Watch sleep current, most of battery goes there, not on active time.

@manojroy123 depends what you want to make. For 1-2 layer prototypes simple setup is ok: laser or UV for etching, drill, maybe dry film for mask. Multilayer and real plating at home is very hard, cheaper to order. Tell what boards and how many, I can say more.

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

manojroy123 — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:02:38 GMT

I am working on building a small home based PCB manufacturing lab need your technical guidance for setting it up.

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

dang74 — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 11:24:14 GMT

Welcome Sergey Zorin .... I can't wait for your insights. You have a unique inside position. 👍

RE: Hello from Turkey - EMS and PCB sourcing

embeddedguy — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:17:54 GMT

Hello and welcome to the community.

I am working on my next PCB project. A solar and battery powered sensor node.

Help me convert allegro .alg file to Altium .pcbdoc

abtAmit — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:28:00 GMT

Hi everyone,

I recently came across the SK-AM62P-LP Evaluation board on TI.com. TI included the design files, and I thought analyzing them would be a great way to expand my knowledge of PCB design.

The project seems to have been designed using Allegro, and the provided file has an .alg extension. Since I don't have the software to open or convert this, could someone who has Altium Designer do me a huge favor?

I've attached the file. If anyone is kind enough to convert it into a .PcbDoc format and attach it in a reply, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for the help!"

[View:/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/76/5873.PROC164E2_5F00_BRD.zip:415:123]

RE: Help me convert allegro .alg file to Altium .pcbdoc

SamW1993 — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:13:10 GMT

I add the coverted project with rar format

RE: Help me convert allegro .alg file to Altium .pcbdoc

SamW1993 — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:12:41 GMT

community.element14.com/.../Imported-PROC164E2_5F00_BRD.PrjPcb.rar

RE: Help me convert allegro .alg file to Altium .pcbdoc

shabaz — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 06:11:46 GMT

Hi,

That's just an image but the OP wanted the converted project.

You can attach the file (for example, a zip file) by replying, and clicking on Insert -> Image/video/file.

(see screenshot here):

RE: Help me convert allegro .alg file to Altium .pcbdoc

SamW1993 — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:55:57 GMT

I got the altium pcbdoc file from attached alg file.

RE: Help me convert allegro .alg file to Altium .pcbdoc

SamW1993 — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:50:23 GMT

I have experience performing this type of work. I would be happy to assist you and would like to discuss the project in more detail.

High current, high voltage PCB design

geralds — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 17:55:31 GMT

Have you a project with a high current, high voltage PCB design?

Then please read this design guide from Cadence:

https://resources.pcb.cadence.com/pcb-newsletter-september-2026/high-current-and-high-voltage-pcb-layout

Here you can watch this demonstration video as well:

https://resources.pcb.cadence.com/pcb-newsletter-september-2026/how-much-current-can-your-pcb-copper-actually-carry-ir-drop-in-sigrity-x-aurora

Best regards

Gerald

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RE: High current, high voltage PCB design

embeddedguy — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 15:39:26 GMT

Thanks cstanton !

RE: High current, high voltage PCB design

geralds — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:08:47 GMT

Thanks!😎

RE: High current, high voltage PCB design

cstanton — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:22 GMT

PCB Design, Prototyping and Production would be a better fit, moved 🙂

RE: High current, high voltage PCB design

geralds — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 07:41:16 GMT

Hi,

yes, I see.

How can I transfer my post to the members area, or members forum?

Now I've copied the post into the members forum.