Hardware Podcasts

An Interview with Laen - Purple PCB Philosophy

The Amp Hour · 12 Jun 2013 · 1h 17m · Episode 149

What this episode covers

Lane (James Neal), founder of OSHPark, explains how his PCB fabrication service evolved from a volunteer effort for the Dorkbot PDX hobbyist group into a full-time business. He details the technical challenges of panelization software, the critical importance of US-based fabs for quality and speed compared to Chinese alternatives, and the strategic decision to use a distinctive purple solder mask to ensure brand consistency across multiple factories. Lane also discusses the shift in CAD software dominance from Eagle to KiCad, the complexities of international shipping, and his plans for future features like open-source hardware sharing and assembly services.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
OSHPark, Advanced Circuits, SparkFun, resistor.io, Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, Circuits.io, Seeed Studio, Sunstone Circuits, Tektronix, Intel, Maxim Integrated, Xerox, Danaher Group, Fluke
Products
BatchPCB
Tools
KiCad, Eagle, Altium
Also
Dorkbot PDX, IPC

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