How to make PCBs at a hobby Level (affordably)?

[markmick]

hobby pcb

The one show-stopper I've had to deal with for many years as a hobbyist is the creation of PCBs. I'm not into buying all the etching material & associated supplies, but getting a vendor to create a single PCB gets pricey after a while. Is there an inexpensive solution to this? Thanks.

Mark

 

[electronicus]

pcb hobby

goo tere: **broken link removed**

 

[Abu Ammora]

hobbyist pcb

1- Get the PCB board , clean it well untill it become so clean like a mirror

2- print your Layout on a Tranparent papper that can resist the high temp.

3- you must print it by Laser printer (Not inkjet)

4- put the printed layout on the cleaned PCB by fixing it well , and using an iron heated to Max. degree begin move it over the PCB and try to press the front part of the iron .

5- after ironing wait untill the whole work cooled , wait about 10-15 mins

6- After that begin remove the tranparent paper slowlly and carefuly , then you'll find all the layout is on the PCB and nothing exist on the trasparent paper

7-Get a container with half cup of water , then put the PCB and pour some HCL (33% concntration is enough) after that begin move the chemical using plastic spoon , then after 1 min you'll find reaction is stopped , put O2 chemical and wait for another 4-6 mins and you'll se that reaction speed is increased and the unwanted parts of PCB copper is removed

8- clean the PCB by warm water , and remove the ink as to see your copper tracks

This method i do it for 3 years , and it really great !

Thanks

 

[the_risk_master]

hobby pcb board

Hi,

I wonder why some PCBs are colored, is it varnish?

 

[sstainba]

pcb hobbyist

I have some changed to the above mentioned method that will probably make this easier. First, use a laser printer to print a POSITIVE of the board onto glossy photo paper. I have successfully used "JetPrintPhoto Multi-Project" paper. It is available at Wal-Mart in a green and black package. Set your printer (if you can) to a darker setting so you get good toner coverage. Clean your board really well with some steel wool and alcohol. Lay the printed schematic face down on the board and use a household iron on the hottest setting with NO steam. Hold the iron on the schematic for about a minute to get it good and hot. I used a small plastic roller (available at craft stores) to press the paper onto the board. I repeated this iron/press procedure for about 5 or 6 minutes. After you think your design has been tranferred, drop the board (with paper still on it) into very very very hot water. The paper will bubble up nicely and just fall off. Drop it in your etchant and then use some alcohol or acetone to clean off the toner. Works perfectly.

 

[Microemission]

hobbyist pcb design

Do the old Laserjet printers also work?
As the toner from these is different from the new ones, as it is like a powder that is fixed by heat, and the black does not get all shiny like it does on the new printeres

 

[sstainba]

how to make professional pcb

From what I've heard, some of them do. The guy who wrote the article I read it from used an old HP laserjet 4, I think. The only thing that might make this more difficult is poor resolution of a dirty drum. You need a good drum to make sure you don't get any pinholes or breaks in the print. Cause when you etch the board, you'll have those tiny breaks in the copper.

 

[Microemission]

pcb for hobbyist

Good news then will have a try, have a Laserjet 5 which uses the same toner as the Laserjet 4.Crossing my fingers!

 

[cyber1]

pcb board hobby

make PCBs at home

 

[me_guitarist]

hobby pcb creation

you need to print as high resolution as you can to get perfect result.Probably 600dpi above.If your drum is not that good,touch-up with permanent maker after iron process.

 

[wakaka]

+pcb +hobby

I'd did the paper toning method, really works for me, but slightly different then wat is mention above.

For me:

1.Print the layout track on an A4 paper using high resolution laser printer.

2. Put the paper on a copper plate and start ironing. U need to apply pressure on that and it takes around 15 to 20 minutes.

3. When the paper is sticked on the copper plate, put the copper plate into the water.

4. Start peeling off the paper. U will noticed that the track will atached to the copper plate.

5. Etch the copper plate with acid, shake the container as well to make the process faster.

6. Use a brush or watever is convinient to u to remove the paper track on the plate.

7. now u hv the nice PCB.....

enjoy

 

[louisnells]

hobby pcb layout

Just draw the PCB layout on the PCB cladding with a permanent marker. Then etch the PCB. Simple and quick way.

The one show-stopper I've had to deal with for many years as a hobbyist is the creation of PCBs. I'm not into buying all the etching material & associated supplies, but getting a vendor to create a single PCB gets pricey after a while. Is there an inexpensive solution to this? Thanks.

Mark

 

[newelltech]

how to create a professional quality pcb

I can't believe anyone makes their own boards anymore. There are many companies that offer free schematic capture and PCB layout tools and low cost boards.
For about $50 US you can get 3 small miniboards (3" x 4" approx) delivered in about 3-5 days. And the quality is far superior to anything you can make yourself.

If you're doing it yourself, just to get started, you need to buy containers, tongs, PCB size drills, gloves, saws, etc. If you want to do it right you need a bubbler and heater which can be over $100.

For each board you etch, you have to buy the acid which is about $10-15 if you can find a distributor who will sell a small quantity. And if you are an ethical person, you will have to find a proper place to dispose of your used etchant which will cost a fee.

And then there's the mess. No matter how careful you are you will spill some etchant on yourself, your clothes or your table.

Please tell me why you would want to do this. If you think it's cheaper, I would disagree.

 

[Beowolf]

what make it difficult to have a hobby?

newelltech, I totally diagree.

First of all, not all of us live ina country with affordable and (my problem) fast PCB producing services adre available.

Secondly, the equipment is much cheaper than 100$. I have an hobby 30,000rpm drill I bought for 25$, and I use proffesional PCB drills which sells at 4$ a piece(U need only 2-3 of them, properly used, they last for 100k holes).

And the chemcals ara a bargain: 1l HCl at 35% is used for toilet cleaning and sells at 1$, nad H2O2 is used for hair die and is also cheap. And there is an elegant alternative, ferichloride (4$ for 1/2l).


Main reason I do DIY PCB's is speed. In my country, commercila service takes 1-2weeks, and the price isn't high, 10€/dm2 for a two sided PCB. But, sometimes, I can't wait for two weeks, as I can produce a PCB and solder it within 2 hours.

 

[Element_115]

hobbyist pcb printer

Here is a great company that does fast & cheap PCB's.
You just have to use their software.

https://www.expresspcb.com/

 

[louisnells]

cupric chloride pcb

Creating PCBs is not a difficult thing atall. When I was a kid I used to build PCBs on common purpose PCBs. All you need to have is a common purpose PCB and some transformer winding wire (around 26 SWG). Draw the schematic on a plain paper then just solder the copper wire on the PCB. This is a very neet and simple technique to build small circuits.

I can't believe anyone makes their own boards anymore. There are many companies that offer free schematic capture and PCB layout tools and low cost boards.
For about $50 US you can get 3 small miniboards (3" x 4" approx) delivered in about 3-5 days. And the quality is far superior to anything you can make yourself.

If you're doing it yourself, just to get started, you need to buy containers, tongs, PCB size drills, gloves, saws, etc. If you want to do it right you need a bubbler and heater which can be over $100.

For each board you etch, you have to buy the acid which is about $10-15 if you can find a distributor who will sell a small quantity. And if you are an ethical person, you will have to find a proper place to dispose of your used etchant which will cost a fee.

And then there's the mess. No matter how careful you are you will spill some etchant on yourself, your clothes or your table.

Please tell me why you would want to do this. If you think it's cheaper, I would disagree.

 

[newelltech]

make smd pcb

I think that we're all talking about different types of PCB's. My main interest is in double-sided, smt, some thru hole dips and parts, etc. and small foot prints. I can't believe that anyone can make these types of boards on their kitchen table without some fancy equipment. And double sided board alignment is very difficult by hand. The main problem is that with narrow conductors & thru paths, etching has to be done properly. If you etch too long, you may lose some traces or shrink eyelets which will then lift when you solder. If you don't have a heater or agitator, you will end up etching too long for some spots and not enough for others. I just can't be done without them.

If you're talking about large parts like power supplies, etc, then you can probably make a decent board with big traces and holes. But then a generic proto-board works just as well and is faster to make.

The only reason that seems logical to me is that you just have to have 2 or 3 boards that day. But then who needs that really? Is this a hobby or business?

As for ordering boards in Europe/Asia, some of the best shops are there, and others ship world-wide. Don't forget too that these inexpensive boards are double sided, plated-through which means you generally don't need jumpers. And you have to consider your time. It takes 6-8 hours to make a few boards, including setup and cleanup, purchasing materials and tools, etc. And you have to buy the for the board stock, chemicals, etc. So maybe you're saving $25, probably less if you're honest about it. That's $3-$4 an hour. I suppose in some areas that's worth it.

 

[AR15]

hobby pcb etchant

It is possible to make professional quality PCB's at home with little cost. I have made several double sided boards with surface mount packages as small as 0402, and 100 pin LQFP microcontrollers. I just etched a transceiver board with 0.008 inch wide traces without any problems, and the trace edges were very "clean". Could have easily gone down to 4 thousandths, but that was unnecessary.

So far I have only tried the toner transfer method, and I found that greatest factor that effected quality was finding the right photo paper. I must have tried 15 different types of photo paper, and there are two kinds that work very well: JetPrint Photo Multi-project, and Staples Photo Basic Gloss. The JetPrint paper has the advantage of falling off the board on its own after 30 minutes of soaking, but it tends to produce small pitts in the ink that get etched away. The staples paper produces almost perfect results, the traces come out clean and completely covered (no pits). The drawback is that the paper is much harder to get off. However, the ink adhers to the copper very well, you can almost rub the board as hard as you want with your thumbs and the traces hold up fine. You just have to make sure you remove all traces of the paper or the board won't etch the way it should.

As for etchant, I use cupric chloride. The cost for me to make it was $10 and it NEVER goes bad. The solution only grows over time. All you have to add is a little HCL from time to time and bubble air through it to regenerate it.

This is what it costs me to build professional quality boards at home:
1) Staples PhotoBasic gloss, 100 sheets (8.5 x 11) - $19
2) 3 Gallon Acrylic Fish tank with bubbler - $15
3) 2.5 Gallons of Cupric Chloride - $10
4) PCB layout software - free
5) Double sided cu clad board (1oz.) - 4 cents per sq. inch
6) PCB size drill bits set (solid carbide) - $22

I already had a laser printer and clothes iron, but you should factor that into the cost if you don't.

 

[cyberrat]

cupric pcb

I'm curious how you came to reply to a 2 year old thread?

 

[alfus]

pcb hcl 33%

Very easily, apparently.

Anyway, what does it matter?

Others will surely read it and profit from it.