oneclick jlc
why isn't there a true one-click order for jlcpcb?
In pursuit of more and better open source hardware, I'd really love it if JLC,
PCBWAY, or $FAVORITE_CHEAP_FAST_BOARD_HOUSE exposed the ability to manage a
whole board package (gerbers, board stackup + assembly configuration, BoM,
selected parts, placement) as a semantic object through their API. I'd like to
be able to:
- click a button and deterministically populate an order package
- query the API for what an order package will cost
- query the API for what parts in an order package aren't available
The historical status quo was that only engineers understood how to get a board fabbed. Now dedicated hobbyists can do this, and it's only getting easier. I think there's a huge market to capture here, and there will be someone who gets it first — the board houses can cut out the middlemen without much risk simply by reducing the friction in ordering PCBs. In the meantime I'm frustrated that I have to keep clicking through the JLC web UI every time I want to change my order and it's not possible to automate (last update 11/2023):
