DIY PCB Video

[amptramp]

This is a 3:58 minute:second video that shows a successful printed circuit board etch:

[hex_void]

I do my PCBs using the UV sensitive photoresist method (with POSITIV20).

For etching I use ferric chloride. Heating it up (to about 60 degrees Celsius) to accelerate the process helps a lot especially with my etchant which comes in 40% concentration.
One way I do it is get 2 plastic trays, put the etchant and the board that needs etching in the smaller tray and boiled water in the bigger tray then put the small tray in the big tray to heat it up. Agitating the etchant is still required.
With this setup etching my boards takes less than 20 minutes and I can use a really small amount of etchant. I'll have to make a heater and an agitator so it makes things easier since I'll have a lot of PCBs to make in the near future.

Hope this helps...

[artifus]

i recently threw together a little lofi heater and agitator for small boards. it's simply a sealed two gang electrical outlet box with two wire wound resistors fixed to the lid to provide heat, a rumble pack style weighted motor from an old game controller with a pot and a flashing led to remind me its on, running from a junk shop 1a 9v dc power supply. a small plastic tray containing pre heated fc is placed on top and pcb dropped in. works quite well.

[deadastronaut]

^ pics?..sounds cool.

[artifus]

i've got a couple of boards to try next week so i'll dust off the camera. it's very basic but not bad for £2 of parts and a sunday afternoon.

[artifus]

[deadastronaut]

^ ha ha thats brilliant!....

[artifus]

ha ha, yeah, it's pretty sh!t but it works. 60mm x 80mm in 10 minutes so it's halved my etching time. (depending on concentration) i have a little plastic brush, the kind you get with electric shavers, that i give the board a swipe with occasionally to help it along - it's very gentle agitation. it sits on a foam rubber foot. i toyed with a little neo mag on the motor weight with a little plastic coated magnetic stirrer in the ferric but it didn't work out too well so i just went with the vibration. it's ok for what it is.

*oh, and i just had a bunch of flashing led's from hacked toys that i had no other use for*