Etch your own PCB's? Dig this...score!

[Hiwatt25]

A million years ago I asked a buddy of mine to keep an eye out for a shaker for me.  He's retired so he goes to lots of surplus sales at moving/closing businesses and today he scored me this. 



I haven't used it yet but I know I won't be running downstairs to agitate my solution every ten minutes.  Score!

You can operate it continually, or on a timer. 

[Papa_lazerous]

Thats a cool toy 

[nosamiam]

We use one of those at work.  It's about ready to retire, to be replaced by a newer prettier model.  I've got my eye on it!! Congrats!

[momo]

Pardon my newbeeness , but what has this to do with building stomp boxes, or etching PCB's?
Thanks!

[tjcombs]

When you etch pcb's, agitating your solution helps the etching process by keeping fresh solution on the pcb, and keeping the removed copper off the board.

[calculating_infinity]

Pardon my newbeeness , but what has this to do with building stomp boxes, or etching PCB's?
Thanks!

Hey, according to his original post he is going to use it to agitate the ferric chloride (or other etchant) without having to do it manually.  Good idea but I kind of like MarkM's hanging jar style a lot which doesn't require agitation.  

-Jonathan

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

That's verrrry nice!
Another bit of lab gear for mixing corrosive chemicals, is the "magnetic stirrer". It's a chunk of metal a couple of inches long with a glass coating that you put in the soltion, then plave teh container on a stand that has a motor underneath rotatign a magnet - that makes the stirrer go around. But the shaker table is MUCH better for PCB, of course!
You can make your own shaker by having a tray hinged at one side, and the other side restign on a couple of cams (ovals) on an axle driven by a very geared down motor.
Edited to say, use a microwave carousel motor for the drive!

[David]

Or just use muriatic acid and 40% peroxide.  Your board will etch so fast you won't have TIME to go back upstairs...   

[Paul Marossy]

RoCk On!

[MikeH]

Or just use muriatic acid and 40% peroxide.  Your board will etch so fast you won't have TIME to go back upstairs...   

This is totally true!!  I use 1 part muriatic (30% HCl) and 2 parts hydrogen peroxide (3%) and it works sooooo fast.  And you can see the etch happening, not like with ferric.

[Hiwatt25]

Yeah but this way I get another piece of interesting gear to throw on my bench.