Before You Fab

Human pre-fab review

A second pair of eyes on your KiCad project before you pay for boards. Before You Fab's free checker finds the classic mistakes; a review finds the rest.

Limited to a few reviews per week, so every board gets a full read rather than a skim.

Review tiers

Schematic Check

$149 per board, one-time

Schematic only, up to about 60 parts.

  • Line-by-line review of your KiCad schematic (up to ~60 parts)
  • Power tree, decoupling, strapping/boot pins, USB-C, clocks, buses and protection
  • Written report with every issue ranked by severity, why it matters and how to fix it
  • Delivered in 3 business days
  • One follow-up round on your fixes
Request Schematic Check

Pre-Fab Sign-off

$549 per board, one-time

Full Review + a check of the exact fab package you will order.

  • Everything in Full Review
  • Fab package check: Gerbers, drill files, BOM and CPL / pick-and-place (rotation and polarity)
  • One revision re-check after you apply fixes
  • Delivered in 6 business days
Request Pre-Fab Sign-off

Prices are per board (one schematic, and one PCB for the layout tiers). Larger designs, multi-board systems or rush turnaround: ask in the form and you will get a quote before paying anything.

How it works

  1. Send a request with the form below: the tier, your MCU and board type, roughly how many parts, your KiCad version, your deadline and a link to the files. Do not attach files here.
  2. Get a reply within 24 hours with a payment link and a firm delivery date. If the design is outside what can be reviewed well (for example RF layout, high voltage or safety certification), you will be told so instead.
  3. Pay and share access to the KiCad project (a Git repository, or a shared folder with the .kicad_pro, .kicad_sch and, for the layout tiers, .kicad_pcb and your fab outputs).
  4. Receive the written report by the agreed date: every issue ranked by severity, where it is, why it matters, how to fix it, and the datasheet or application note behind it.
  5. Follow-up: one round of questions and a look at your fixes (Pre-Fab Sign-off includes a full re-check of the revised files).

What a review looks at

Everything the free checker does, plus what a netlist cannot show: whether the circuit does what you intend, datasheet details such as absolute maximum ratings and power sequencing, current and thermal budgets, part choices and availability risks, and - in the layout tiers - placement, decoupling loops, ground returns, USB and antenna keep-outs, and manufacturability against the published JLCPCB and PCBWay capabilities. The Pre-Fab Sign-off adds the fab package itself: Gerbers and drill files, BOM against the schematic, and pick-and-place rotation and polarity, which is where many assembled boards go wrong.

Reviews are done by Mahir Patel, an electrical-engineering student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who designs boards in KiCad. The focus is hobby, maker, student and small-batch hardware: ESP32, STM32, RP2040 and USB-C designs are the sweet spot.

What it is not

A review is an informed second opinion, not a certification, a guarantee that the board will work, or professional engineering advice. You stay responsible for your design and for testing it. See the terms for details, including how files are handled.

Request a review

You will get a reply with a payment link and a delivery date within 24 hours. Nothing is charged until you accept the quote.

Your details are used only to reply to this request. See the privacy policy.

Questions

Why not only use the free checker?

Use it first - it is free and catches a lot. It cannot know what your circuit is supposed to do, and it cannot see the layout or the fab files. That is what the review is for.

Do you sign NDAs?

Mention it in the request. Your files are only used for your review and are not shared.

How do I pay?

After you accept the quote you receive a payment link from a standard payment provider. No card details are ever entered on this site.

What if my deadline is tomorrow?

Say so in the form. Rush reviews depend on the week's capacity and are quoted separately.