Not really, SMT is really easy, you just have to stick the component on traces on the board.. then into the oven (I customize my oven with a controller). The glue / solder on the legs will melt and Bob is your uncle.
Besides I am cheap. PCB printer charges by the area, so the smaller the component, the cheaper it will be.. there are a few other tricks I use.
Arduino is supposed to be for prototyping and learning about ATMega. It is primarily for you to wire up and test ideas. In all honesty.. if you use a Arduino board for everything you build, it gets expensive really quick. Do iterative Test on Arduino until you get the result you want, Layout on a PCB software and Build. Typically I use only a small portion of the controller board.
If you are interested in getting started use Eagle.. it is free for most hobbyist uses, you can do 2 layers to start.
Free EAGLE PCB Design Software, Layout Software - CadSoft Freeware Most PCB printers (you find them at the back of magazines like Make, Circuit Cellar etc).. accept their files.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MG1
OK, multilayered and surface mount. You're seriously into the stuff - not just a hobby.
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