Make your Own PCBs for your R/C stuff

[jf_moreira]

Hi all.

If you´re interested in building some projects but doesn´t know how to make your PCBs, here´s the solution for doing it at home with NO complicated stuff like guys publish around. Hints are for FREE.. :)

http://www.geocities.com/jf_moreira/pcb_en.html

[vintage1]

That's excellent. I had thought to print onto a transparency and use photoresist, buut that is even EASIER.

That should go in the 'hot links' sticky thread.

[Kwok_Yu]

Never made a pcb before, but this looks easy enough for me to try. Thanks for the nice tutorial.

[opualuan]

I've tried this, even with paper meant to do this. I even have a $300 press meant to transfer the image to the pcb.

it doesn't work for me.

only part of the image ever sticks, I don't know why it looks so easy for this guy.

[Mr.RC-CAM]

It isn't easy for me either. Simple single sided boards with large traces are not too bad, but even so it is still a messy and troublesome thing to do.

My advice: Be sure the board is PERFECTLY clean (don't even think of touching it), wear old clothes, and expect to ruin or stain something that will pizz off your wife. ;)

My hat is off to those of you that are good at kitchen sink etches!

RC-CAM

[Cas123]

There is an easier way to do it.
http://www.minute-man.com/acatalog/Online_Catalog_Pre_Sensitized_PC_Boards_240.html
Try this site. They have precoated pcb boards and all the other things needed.
I can usually have a small board finished ready to solder with holes drilled within 30 minutes of the transparancy coming off my printer. Very easy to do after you've done it a few times and are set up.
Ron...

[j8m8l]

I have used a similar technique several times with perfect results.
The key is in using INKJET glossy photo paper.
Some people have found that glossy magazine paper (ie Time) works well too, just use a page with as little colour as possible so you can see it toner!

Josh

[Cas123]

The ideal medium is A4 overhead projector transparancies available at most large news agencies or Stationary stores. ask for laser printer compatable ones as they take the high temperature of a Laser printer better without distorting. For a printer I use an old HP Laserjet4.
But its suprising what you can get away with. Generally forget about using Inkjet printers.
Ron...

[lovefool]

I use very fine sandpaper ( waterproof 2000 ) to clean copper board. I have tired scotch brite, more rough sandpaper but this is perfect for me. When I used 200 grit of sandpaper, it have found several cut of pattern after etching. ( can't see it w/o magnifying glass. )

I have never tried photo paper, but I love press-n-peel from www.techniks.com/how_to.htm . Toner transfter system's paper type didn't work well for me. Also I use home-made cheap etching solution. Muratic acid from Lowe's and Hydrogen peroxide from phermacy. I heard sulfuric acid for car battery works.

I use HP4050 Laser printer with normal fuse temp. I have tried lower setting of fuse, but normal setting was better.

[XJet]

Toner transfter system's paper type didn't work well for me. Also I use home-made cheap etching solution. Muratic acid from Lowe's and Hydrogen peroxide from phermacy. I heard sulfuric acid for car battery works.


You don't want to use an acid for etching.

An acid reaction will produce bubbles of gas which act to lift the resist from the PCB and thus produces a very irregular edge and the complete loss of thin traces.

*Real* echants, like ferric chloride or amonium persulfate work produce a chemical reaction that produces no gassing so the resist is not lifted and a very sharp edge (thus preserving narrow traces) is produced.

Although it's messy and stains like hell, I still use ferric chloride in preference to amonium persulfate -- mainly because a given amount of solution lasts a lot longer and it doesn't have to be heated to get a quick etch.

[lovefool]

XJet - thank you for your comment. Actually I have never used a real enchant. When I started PCB making, I have found this home-made enchant on someone's homepage, and I was satisfied with this. I believe etching in this enchant is faster too. Since etching time is short, I usually use chopsticks to move PCB constantly in the enchnat. :) ( Yes, I see bubbles ) I discard enchant everytime after etching, but it cost a few cents per use. ( $5~$7 for 1Gal Muratic acid, and $1 for one bottle of hydro peoxicide)

[clipclop]

If you coat the overhead projector film with PVA fiberglass release agent then print on the PVA side the lazor toner comes away cleanly in water -the pva disolves in water .
Stewart

[rcflyboy66]

OK one question for all you smarties! Whats a pcb??

[FlyByMike]

Hey hey, I know this one. Lemme have it guys !

Well, it is not Polychlorinated Biphenyls -that's a bad bad chemical.

It is -drum roll please- Printed Circuit Board. :D

-Mike
sorry. couldn't resist. pun intended :)

[KOEZE]

Tried it once with Epson glossy inkjet photo paper. Results were very decent.
I'll try the pva trick once too.
The trick is AFAIK to use the right type of toner. I know that the original HP toner works good. Many of the refill cartridges appear to work less.

Print on the darkest setting to get the best coverage. Correct minor errors with touch up. and don't touch the part of the paper where the traces will be. The same applies to the pcb. Any trace of grease and the toner will not bind.

EJK

[OmegaDot]

I've used toner transfer a bunch of times with good results. As someone said, the idea is to use an InkJet photo paper in a laser printer. I have found that JetPrint Multi-Project Photopaper #07033-0 works well for this purpose. I do use a hot water soak to aid in stripping the paper from the board. The particular paper listed has a dye receiving layer that is not very robust, so it works well (ie: falls apart in water).

The method I use is documented here (not my page):
http://www.5bears.com/pcb.htm

[xdissent]

i've used toner transfer a million times. eventually though, i found it easier to just print out the layout on normal paper, tape it to the board, drill all holes through paper, then play connect the dots with a NEW sharpie. eventually you'll have to retire the sharpie because it will not produce good thick lines, but i got a lot of life out of them. anyway, its not hard, and honestly ends up taking less time than struggling with toner transfer. atleast it did with me. and man. do yourself a huge favor and get ammonium persulfate instead of ferric chloride. that is the NASTIEST stuff i've ever seen in my life. after etching boards for a few months in a decently ventilated room, all the metal objects in the same room because dull due to the ferric chloride in the air. then i spilt a little on the floor and it wasnt pretty. stains anything it touches permanently and stinks - and causes cancer. atleast the ammonia etch is clear! =)

of course if you want the ultimate in non cancer causing solutions, build a cnc pcb router like i did! now THATS much faster! =)

[xdissent]

oh. also, you dont even have to soak and scrub the board afterwards if you only use sharpie, just solder away! awesome!

[Quacker]

Well...I have managed to print the resist directly onto the copper with a modified Inkjet printer and an ink that I developed--eliminating all the steps in between. The ink works but is prone to clogs and other annoyances. This picture is of my first successful effort. The lines/spaces are mostly .010" with some even smaller. I stopped messing with it while I waited for the new archival inks to become available. I expect that these will form a better basis for a resist ink. We'll see.

In the mean time, here's a tip: take your well cleaned board and dip it in your etchant for a few seconds, then rinse thoroughly and dry. The board will be clean right down to the atoms!

Q

[Mr.RC-CAM]

** EDIT: This free Item has a new home. It is no longer available. **

For those that want to try a PCB etch, I have a Radio Shack #276-1576 PCB etch kit I no longer need. You can have it for FREE.

Details to the free offer:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2266841

RC-CAM

[simingx]

I just use good 'ol Ferric Chloride (a bottle lasts AGES!) and normal photoresist developer (actually extremely dilute sodium hydroxide) for my boards.

The trick here is, I don't use transparencies. Toner doesn't stick well, and transparencies are expensive....

I just use 90gsm tracing paper. Mirror the layout so that it will expose correctly with the toner touching the photoresist layer (so you get proper exposure).

Results are shown below: This is a 28SSOP IC package.... For an idea of scale each big hole is 0.1 inch apart. The PCB is a 28SSOP -> 28DIP adaptor.

[simingx]

Also, don't forget to spray your board with a layer of PCB lacquer... this prevents the copper from oxidising (very important!!) and acts as a soldering flux.

[MAVA]

Guys,

I tried it all in PCB DIY...

Tape and Dot-Works super for simple circuits, but you can not duplicate the PCB or a large PCB.

Photo resist boards- Works good, but gets expesive with goof-ups. It is hard to do a double sided.

Manual application photo resist-challange in it self..I have used a phonograph turntable to flow out the resist.
Here in "Union of California" in the USA,where every product you buy says" may cause cancer" The good electronic chemicals have been banned.
In the late 80's and early 90's GC Electronics made a real good Negative resist for PCBs with excelent results.

Don't dispare I think I have found the best procedure to date for a true DIY PCB's-yes you can cheat have your protos made, but that gets real expensive on large PCB's

1)Use a free pcb/schematic editor such as autotrax/easytrax
http://www.protel.com/downloads/index.html or
http://www.expresspcb.com/

2) Print like this posting.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189805&page=4&pp=50
See posting 170

3) etch your pcb and coat your board using MG chemicals "Liquid Tin" to help solder.
http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/421.html

4) Soldering your desired method, but there are people using toaster ovens to solder.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=171214
there is even a yahoo groups on the DIY PCBs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/

There are many good threads on DIY PCB construction on Ezone just do a search.

Martin

[jf_moreira]

Allright, I see many people like the thread on doing their own PCBs.

The KEY for the process to work is TO USE INKJET PHOTO PAPER. Run away from the cheaper papers. Like I said on my tutorial (http://www.geocities.com/jf_moreira/pcb_en.html) go for EPSON or Kodak Papers. Kodak has been the best until now, 20 seconds "iron-pressing" and the image is fully transferred.
I wish I could show personally what is possible to do with this process.

Some REALLY REALLY small tracks are perfectly made by that.

The board have to be very clean (but no paranoia over that!) A steel wool first and then a few drops of Isopropil Alcohol are ENOUGH for it.

I´ll be doing a sample board with small lines and some text and will post here for you to check out.

Have fun!
Jeffo

[jf_moreira]

Oh, and one more thing: I came out with this process after studying dozens of sites and techniques, but MAINLY because here in Brazil we don´t have such a easy way of finding "minute-man" stuff, or good and easy to use kits for this kind of thing.
So, this is really a CHEAP and NICE way of etching your own PCBS. Inkjet photo paper on a laser printer. Hold there, doing tests and publishing soon.

Regards!
Jeffo.

[jf_moreira]

Allright. Here are the tests. Until 0.176mm tracks are still good! (that´s 0.006"??)

Remember: my printer is ONLY 600 DPI (Hp laserjet 1100)

Things were done in a rush. And temperature here is LOW today (59F).

Any comments email me thru the site.
Regards,
Jeffo

[slowgorazd]

I use this technique for many years - but for tranferring image I use Avery/Zweckform labels for laser printers. I take one sheet of labels, remove all labels from it (throw them away or give them to your mother for labeling marmalade jar's) and print directly to glossy base paper. Do not touch printed image - just put it over board and iron. I also put few sheets of newspaper between iron and artwork.
For etchig I use
1 part of 30% HCl
1 part 0f 30% Hydrate Peroxyde (H2O2) - for hair bleaching
2 parts of water

Regards!
Fly slow and quiet....

[lazy-b]

Guys,I guess Photo paper is more expensive and you can not buy just one sheets, I've tried thin sheets of paper, i've use a NEWSWEEK magazine paper....one dis advantage of using thin paper is you have to dip it in water for several minutes to destroys or melt the paper.....at least this is cheap.

another method: a friend of mine, both a CD labeler small printer, he just modify the CD holder tray, so that it can hold a small PCB... just print the image directly to PCB.....its work perfectly....No need to buy Photo Paper, NO need to dip in water....Ink is readily available.

ELLION CHAM

[Jason_WI]

I have made dozens pd PCB's using the toner transfer method. I have used the tansfer paper from Pulsar and from Techniques. They both work the same as far I can tell. I have the super fuser and the wavemaster etcher from Pulsar and that really saves time. It takes about 45 minutes to go from an image on toner transfer paper to a finished silver plated PCB. I have done two sided PCB's using copper eyelets for registration. I use sodium persulfate from MG chemicals. Alot less mess and you can see the board etch. It will last up to 4 months if you keep it refrigerated. Just don't mistake it for blue Cool-aide - yuck! :eek:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=302414&stc=1

I have included a picture of my home made Basic Stamp 2p40. I make these for 1/3 the cost that Parallax sells them for.

Jason

[rheslip]

My results with toner transfer just improved about 80% !

Check out http://www.fullnet.com/u/tomg/gooteepc.htm

Tom recommends Staples Picture paper and he's right - its great. I was using DynaArt Toner Transfer paper but the Staples paper is way better. Paper is harder to remove, but the toner transfers much better with no pinholes.

There are some good tips on the DynaArt site www.pulsar.gs however:

"contact tech" method with ferric chloride and a sponge - 1oz board etches in about 2 minutes. They sell a special toner protective coating for this - with the Staples paper you don't need it.

They also describe how to modify a heat laminator to do the toner transfer. My conclusions are that for toner transfer to work well and consistently you need to control heat and pressure, and this looks like a good way.

I've made my own experimental PCB fuser with an old HP laserjet toner fuser assembly. Initial results on 1/64" PCB are excellent ! Picture attached is a TSOP Micro RX PCB test - the PCB pattern is 13/16" x 1/2"

Rich