Not sure who PJRC uses for their main boards...
Today all Teensy boards are assembled by
SMTNW, located in Tualatin, Oregon, USA. They are close to us. Robin and I drive over there regularly. If you contact SMTNW for a quote, let them know PJRC referred you. We don't get anything tangible (like a discount) for referrals, but it's nice. SMTNW is generally only about production, so I don't recommend wasting your time & theirs if you're prototyping.
Our experience buying bare PCBs in the USA has been less than ideal. Some time ago we used a company in the Chicago area, but they started to have quality issues. We believe they started outsourcing to somewhere in India. I've recently come to learn that pretty much any USA company offering a competitive price for production volume is almost certainly outsourcing.
Today we buy production volume PCBs directly from several Chinese companies. Here is a list of the companies who've consistently delivered good quality.
Code:
Linghangda www.lhdpcb.com.cn Salley Tsang <salley@lhdpcb.com.cn>
LHD Tech lhd-pcb.com Penny Wang <sales03@lhd-pcb.com>
HX Tech hx-technology.com Jerome Jin <jerome@hx-technology.com>
Key Circuits keycircuits.com Penny <sales06@keycircuits.com>
Fusheng Tech fspcb.com Cherry <m2@fspcb.com>
If you contact any of these sales people, please mention I referred you.
Generally speaking, the way it works is you email them the gerber files for your PCB, info about how you need them panelized (if not drawn in a gerber file), a list of specs (usually in a readme.txt file included with the gerber files). The 2 specs that matter most for pricing are the PCB material type (PJRC uses FR4 Tg170) and the finish (PJRC uses ENIG 2u inch). They'll get the number of layers, trace spacing, drill size from your files. When you get the quote, usually it will list all those specs. Best to double check they got them all correct on the quote, as sending money involves fees. Some of these companies accept Paypal, but others can only accept bank transfers. Normally the point where bank transfer costs less than Paypal is around $900.
For production PCBs, one-time setup fees in the $200 to $500 range are the norm.
Also, before you send an email, be aware that many of these Chinese sales people can be quite persistent. Mentally prepare yourself for *many* messages! If you email them all the same files to compare prices, I highly recommend setting up filters & folders or some other way to manage the communication. Dealing with several of these companies simultaneously can become quite overwhelming.
Some of these companies also offer assembly (PCBA) service. So far PJRC has never used any assembly service outside the USA, so please understand this referral is only based on experience buying bare PCBs.
For prototype PCBs, I usually choose
OSH Park. Even though their price is often higher for normal size boards, their service and quality have always been excellent. To me, that's worth paying a bit more. But when the board is larger and especially when I need more than 3 pieces, I sometime get protos from
JLC. For example, the breakout boards for the Teensy 4.0 beta test were from JLC.
On the rare occasions when I need a PCB made very quickly, I use
Sunstone. If you go with 2 layers and no solder mask, they can make the board in 1 day. Generally that costs $100-$200 for 2 pieces, which is remarkably cheap when you really need it as fast as possible.