pcb-kit (somebox) errors

6 recurring problems engineers report in pcb-kit (somebox), ranked by impact.

#78 by errors trackedECAD

Recurring pcb-kit (somebox) errors, by impact

  1. 1JLC's placement preview caught three parts rotated wrong on the siebenuhr controller v3 quote, one of which would have shorted USB VBUS. Neither package had a rule, because KiCad angles and JLC angles disagree per package and the only fix is a hand-kept corrections table plus a person looking at the fab preview.ECAD · Agent failure · 1 report74
  2. 2Real JLC assembly orders kept landing SOT-23, SOT-363, and SOP-4 parts a quarter or half turn off their pads, a trimmer wiper ended up on an end pad, and a second order caught USB-C at 180 degrees.ECAD · Agent failure · 1 report74
  3. 3The placement preview for a real JLC order still had four parts a quarter or half turn off their pads, the HRO USB-C rotation was wrong on every board using it, and the BOM page left rows unticked at quantity 0 when designators ended in a letter.ECAD · Agent failure · 1 report74
  4. 4JLC placement rotation mistakes were caught only by zooming in on the preview, and on a clock board, 528 LED rows collapse into one line.ECAD · Agent failure · 1 report66
  5. 5KiCad's EasyEDA importer points every 3D model at EASYEDA_MODELS/<title>.step and writes no file there, because EasyEDA's STEP URL returns 404, so imported boards show bare pads in 3D. EasyEDA's outline also sits 0.15 to 0.5 mm off the model origin on USB-C, switches and JST parts.ECAD · Agent failure · 1 report66
  6. 6pcbkit fab always exported Gerbers with --subtract-soldermask, erasing silkscreen placed in mask openings on purpose. One black-mask diffuser board with white numerals in the windows had to bypass the tool and call kicad-cli directly.ECAD · Agent failure · 1 report66

How it fails

  1. Agent failure6

Sourced from public community reports. Costs and delays on individual entries are modeled estimates, not measurements.