Ordering metal core PCBs, what things to consider?

Over the years, i have etched and build many PCBs, some at home, some i ordered in different parts of the world.
The whole process with FR4 is not new to me, but i have never ordered MPCBs, but i have done some reading.
Besides staying within the design rules of the PCB manufacturer, are there things to consider that are different from normal PCBs?

The board is very, very simple.
Those are two different versions, one just has a bunch of holes along the perimeter for some crazy reasons, i just removed all the silkscreen on the bottom ones so you can see the copper better.
http://i.imgur.com/yxpmdIF.png

Not much on there besides a 0805 NTC, four pads and the footprint for three LEDs.
At the moment i am a bit unsure if which version i want to order but that is all on me.
The PCB will only be populated with one or two LEDs, never all three.
The other footprints will be just shorted out with some wire in that case.

Anything in particular i should look out for?

I'm not super experienced with these, but since it's been a day and nobody else has said anything, I do have a few things to say:

You are probably using MCPCB for the thermal properties. One thing that makes a big difference is the thickness and material of the insulator between the traces and the substrate. If it's important to you, make sure you get the information from the manufacturer and run the calculations before you buy.

Another thing is that prices can vary hugely. Several of the super-cheap online places from China are now doing MCPCBs. I've used Seeedstudio for normal boards and had good luck. If I was on a tight budget I'd try them or one of their competitors. I saw an ad today for 10 boards for $5.00 (FR-4, 100mm x 100mm), but I didn't note the name. Seeedstudio charges $9.90 for that, and I'm not dropping a vendor I've had good history with for $4.90. Both do MCPCBs. If I was in that market, I'd probably shop around there.

I hope you have a good plan for soldering. It is really difficult to solder to these things with an iron unless you have a good preheater. Based on your board, I'm guessing you plan to reflow. While this is certainly a good plan, note that profiles can be very different for MCPCBs than for FR-4 boards.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Thanks for the reply!

DIWdiver said:

I've used Seeedstudio for normal boards and had good luck. If I was on a tight budget I'd try them or one of their competitors.

Click to expand...

Yep, i am pretty much set on Seeedstudio.
The 30 to 50 MPCBs i want to order will cost around 50 bucks, that is not too bad.

I hope you have a good plan for soldering.

Click to expand...

Yep, was planing to use a PID controlled heatplate, solderpaste and hot air.
I have a tiny bit experience with soldering small metal PCBs, i think i should be able to pull it of.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Click to expand...

On my first PCB i had so many things wrong, here is a improved version:
http://i.imgur.com/y7lO5aF.png

If you are interested what the thing is for, you can have a look here:
https://hackaday.io/project/21001-brightenmacher