1 beginner 4 pedals

[ghiekorg]

Today i ordered all the stuff. I will post something as soon as i have everything i also hope i didn't order something wrong
Thank you for now

[Mark Hammer]

There's wrong, and there's unnecessary.  Sometimes back when we were all much younger, I ordered some stuff through Aliexpress.  Time passed, and I forgot all the stuff I ordered.  The roll of solder arrived today, a few months after I ran out and went and bought a spool. 

[ghiekorg]

For sure i bought some unnecessary i bought 10x of each small component to have a discount. And i bought 2x of all the rest, just to be sure that i can replace something if i mess it up. Well, maybe having all this stuff around will make me wanna build more pedals (actually i have already an idea, i need some kind of booster for my headphones...)

Mouser's stuff should arrive today already. Crazy, i never saw anything shipped so fast (if i knew it i would have ordered everything there). Musikding probably beginning of next week

[11-90-an]

For sure i bought some unnecessary i bought 10x of each small component to have a discount. And i bought 2x of all the rest, just to be sure that i can replace something if i mess it up. Well, maybe having all this stuff around will make me wanna build more pedals (actually i have already an idea, i need some kind of booster for my headphones...)

Ayyy!!! 

Now that's the SPIRIT! 

[ghiekorg]

Now that's the SPIRIT! 

I think my wallet doesn't agree. I spent already so much money ok lots of the stuff i bough will remain for the future...

Today the stuff from Mouser arrived and my dremel workstation and the tips and other tools. I am just a bit disappointed about 2 of the 4 painted enclosures... the BB are perfect, smooth, great. The B is a bit "grany" and seem to be really easy to scratch and ruin. The A is really grainy and one corner is already chipped, showing the aluminium underneath. Not big deal as the enclosure is small and i bought it in gray, but still it's a bit annoying. I hope the clean finish will somehow make it less visible.

Now i am working on the graphics 

[jfrabat]

For sure i bought some unnecessary i bought 10x of each small component to have a discount. And i bought 2x of all the rest, just to be sure that i can replace something if i mess it up.

WAIT!  STOP RIGHT THERE!

Either I have been wrong all these years or something has changed...

You mean to tell me buying extra pieces is NOT necessary???

[ghiekorg]

WAIT!  STOP RIGHT THERE!

Hahaha you scarred the s out of me I thought I bought something completely wrong

Edit: I just realised i bought something wrong. The A50k pot for the Tentacle has "steps". I didn't know what "Detents" were, now i do.

[ghiekorg]

So... the stuff is taking way more time than expected to come. Really annoying...
Today i should receive the Ferric powder, is there any drawback in preparing the PCB boards but not put the components on straight away? Is it better to do one from start to finish before preparing the next one?
Thank you

[duck_arse]

do one, you'll find something messed up. better not to have a dozen boards all done, but all done wrong. the easiest messup is not reversing the track/resist image. no probs doing the board and not stuffing immediately.

[ghiekorg]

Hello everyone
here i am with my first update.

Having the ferric chloride i decide to start etching the boards. Luckily duck_arse suggested me to do one at the time...

I started cutting the 4 boards: i marked them with a marker and tried to cut them with a knife. Way too hard and i slipped making a scratch on one of the board, maybe i will have to do it again. Luckily i cut them a bit larger just to be safe, we will see. So i took my dremel and in 3 minutes i had the 4 boards. With a 400 grid sandpaper i smoothed the corners. Maybe next time i will go for the 0.8mm boards...



I decided to start with the 8bitar pedal just because it's small and has less components.
I cleaned the surface with a scotch pad and then acetone. i printed the PCB layout on photopaper using a laser printer (it's important to push the paper, mine got stuck) and i put it on a cloth. I placed really on the edge because there was a dent on the other side and i wanted to avoid it... I ironed it for  about 10 minutes spraying some water on it from time to time (i saw a guy doing it and it said it helps. No clue). While it was cooling down i prepared the ferric chloride (i have it in powder).



I sinked the board into water and i rubbed it with my fingers. It came out pretty well but a corner was missing  I then rubbed all off with acetone and started all over. And i had the same result: one corner was missing. I was ready to start again when i remembered that markers work too, so i used a thin market to paint the missing part (you can see it on the upper right corner)



I sinked the board into the ferric chloride. Mine is way more yellow and liquid then the one i see everywhere and i was scared it wasn't working, instead in 10-15 minutes the copper was gone. I tested with a torch before pulling it out and go to the next step



i mounted the workstation of the dremel to my desk  (i drilled 2 holes in it to keep it firm  ) and i used a balsa wood block as support for the board. I placed a strong light on the side to really see where i was drilling. It's crazy, everything i SO small. Watching other people doing this in video doesn't properly show the sizes.

Edit: of Course before drilling I removed the laser ink using acetone and elbow grease (I always see it vanishing, mine was tough to remove)



I drilled the holes using a 0.8mm tip. It's crazy how helpful the workstation is. I wasn't sure about buying it because it's quite expensive but it was really worth every cent.



Here is a HD pic of the finished board. It's not perfect, especially on the sides. I took it with a macro lens so it should be easy to spot any problem in case of something not working.
https://i.imgur.com/37y5wf8.jpg (it's like 20mb jpg)

Next step will be soldering the components. I am a bit scared, this thing is so small... i am afraid my solder and my tin are too big now  we will see, i guess for now i am quite happy everything worked almost smoothly

[jfrabat]

That is a VERY nice looking board, never mind it is your first one or not!!!  Congrats!

[ghiekorg]

Thanks a lot

[duck_arse]

they are excellent results indeed. for cutting boards, I use a "junior hacksaw" - you can cut nearly anything w/ one of them. spray the board with a sprayer bottle/little soap to damp the dust. sanding the edges! nice one - get em smooth enough to handle in comfort [do wet, also].

yer ferric chloride - you know you need to agitate it constantly to get it to etch, don't you? and you know to wear gloves and old clothes and drop cloths too, because it WILL NEVER EVER come off your clothes [jeans fall apart before the stain fades] and will stain your hands too.

[ghiekorg]

they are excellent results indeed.

Thank you very much, i really appreciate

for cutting boards, I use a "junior hacksaw"

damn! i really didn't think about a small saw. I have one in my tools box... and also i didn't think about the dust. I did it outside wearing a doctor mask (the only ones i have) but i did a lot of dust indeed.

yer ferric chloride - you know you need to agitate it constantly to get it to etch, don't you? and you know to wear gloves and old clothes and drop cloths too, because it WILL NEVER EVER come off your clothes [jeans fall apart before the stain fades] and will stain your hands too.

Thank you for the advices. I wore gloves and glasses all the time, from the cutting till the cleaning. Only during the drilling i had no gloves or glasses (i couldn't see properly but i guess it's kinda dangerous with such tiny tip that could break any moment). I was wearing also some stuff i use to sleep with, just in case, and i did everything inside a carton box, just to be sure no drops were going around... I shook the tupperware with the chloride inside almost constantly (i though it was boring as hell but it's nice to see the copper fade away slowly).

About the chlodide: i made 2 bottles, one with the solution (around 300g) and one with the used solution (around 100g). In total around 400g. Is there a way to see when it has been used so much that it's not etching anymore? Apart from trying and see that it doesn't work, of course
I bought 400g in powder, so around 1200g in total with water. I guess it will last my whole life...

Thanks

[Mark Hammer]

About etching...

All the advice about handling ferric chloride, using rubber gloves, and keeping it away from clothes, should be observed.  Your etching basinful can last quite a while if used wisely.  You can easily do a dozen or more boards with the amount you show.  When it gets used up, do not simply pour it down the drain.  Rather, pour in small amounts of baking soda to deactivate it.  I say "small amounts" because it will increase substantially in volume VERY quickly, so you will need to wait a bit until it stops expanding, before stirring it and adding some more baking soda.  Eventually it will turn into a very thick rust-coloured sludge, which you can then put into a plastic back and put out with the garbage.

Small boards like what you show can easily float, face down, on top of the etchant.  Molecules of the etchant that have bonded with the copper and released it from the board surface will fall to the bottom of the tray and fresh stuff will now take its place, no agitation required.  If I get impatient, I apply some heat source like a study lamp or a hair dryer to the exposed component side of the floating board to warm up the board.  Commercial systems warm up the entire etchant bath but really only the etchant in direct contact with the board needs to be warm, so heating the board directly takes care of that.

I cannot stress enough to KEEP YOUR DAMN FINGER JUICE OFF THE COPPER.  But seriously, a nice buffing and shine may not reveal the thin residue of one's fingers on the copper surface.  I clean the buffed copper with alcohol and dry it off with a tissue before attempting to transfer the toner layout.  "Finger juice" tends to impede successful and thorough transfer of the layout to the copper.  Even after you've transfered the layout, you want to keep your bare fingers away from the copper surface.  There are few things quite as frustrating as having a nicely transferred layout and everything etches well with the exception of a big round copper blob where your finger accidentally pressed against the board and acted like invisible toner.

Personally, once my boards are etched, and buffed clean, I will take a Q-tip with liquid flux and wipe it over the entire copper surface.  I then tin the entire board using small amounts of solder and my iron.  The flux helps it spread easily and quickly.  You'd be surprised how much surface area a sesame-seed-sized bit of solder can spread over.  Once I've tinned the board, I wipe off the leftover flux with some methyl hydrate, and THEN I drill the holes.  I imagine there are other substances that also dissolve flux but methyl hydrate is my own choice.  I will often take an old toothbrush with some methyl hydrate and scrub the copper side of a populated board to dissolve all the flux from soldering components.  I do this because all that hardened shiny flux around solder joints can make it hard to spot solder bridges.  Removing the flux lets me see when things that ought not to be connected are connected.  It's often my go-to first step in troubleshooting.

But nice first etch.  Well done.

[ghiekorg]

pour in small amounts of baking soda to deactivate it.

Thank you, i didn't know that. I will try it once done.
Also thank you for the compliments and the other advices about fingers on copper


Today, as my stuff is still at the border, i went on with the etching:
I prepared first the "custom" tentacle (i hope i did it right):

Here is a full size version of it: https://i.imgur.com/QlchqFs.jpg

After that i went for the chasm. Everything went nice and easy, till the drilling... First of all i touched twice the board with the chuck. It shouldn't be too bad, as i see i didn't scratch off the copper, i just did it superficially:
 

Things went way worse when the drill tip broke :-/ I don't know why it happened, maybe the contact with the soft wood underneath brought the temperature too high? I don't know, in case i now made a "hole" in the center of the wooden block so it holds the board but the drill goes thru without touching it. In any case, really annoying. I bought the tips for 10$ only for the 0.8mm and it lasted 2,5 boards. I am a bit disappointed. I think i will buy the paxxon tips today or tomorrow, they go 8$ for 3 tips (i hope i can use them with the dremel 4486 chuck).
The real problems happened when i did't want to just wait and i tried to make holes with the broken tip. "it's so small, it would not make a big difference". It didn't, for 4-5 holes (i also made a test hole to be sure). Then it went crazy:



I hope i can fix them without starting all over again... I don't know, is it better to fill the holes with tin and try to drill them again or just make a bridge with the tin later during soldering?
None of them is completely detached from the copper trail, but the red and the blue are really at the limit. The green and the yellow don't seem to be too bad. What do you suggest me?

At least i learned a lesson... NO RUSH.
Here is a full size pic: https://i.imgur.com/z3Iz7SI.jpg

After giving this up i etched the last one, the B3K. Here i tried something different: no movement of the iron, just pressure, no water spray and 20 min long. It failed miserably. 1/3 of the layout came off when in water. So i started all over again, this time 12-13min with constant moving and spraying water every minute or so. The result was almost perfect. I just had to paint one line. And Now i just have to drill it.


Here in full quality: https://i.imgur.com/L3WmPNI.jpg

I guess i will have to wait almost another week for the components if they don't pass the border tonight. Swiss dogane are really super annoying and slow. And they don't work on weekends...

Thank you everyone

[Mark Hammer]

I always wear my magnifying headset when drilling.  Small targets and aging eyes are a risky combination!

As for how to fix such errors in hole placement, one can simply bend over the component lead in the desired direction to effectively "restore" the damaged trace.  But this brings up one of the reasons why I recommend cleaning leftover solder flux with some form of appropriate solvent.  The misdrilled holes you point to with the red, green and blue arrows are going to result in solder joints that will come perilously close to where they shouldn't connect to.  It will be difficult to see if they have made an undesired bridge, or managed to stay clear, without removing the excess flux buildup.

That last board is an excellent etch.  I'd be proud to have any of my boards look that good.  But the delay in receiving components is one more reason why I like to tin my boards right away, before drilling.  It seems almost inevitable that there will always be some sort of delay in acquiring parts for a project, and in that time copper can tarnish and make solder joints obstinate.  Having at least a little bit of solder on the board already makes it more receptive to "latecomer" part installation.

[ghiekorg]

Thanks Mark for your advices, once again.
I like the idea of tinning the board. My problem is: the flux comes together with the components and i have nothing to then clean it and i read acetone is not the best option. Here is switzerland the laws about chemicals are REALLY strict. it's almost impossible to find even alcohol... I was thinking about cleaning them using again the scotch sanding pad and the acetone before soldering, when i have all the stuff. Is it a bad idea?

About the wrong holes: I went to the hardware shop and i bought the proxxon tips and then i tried them out. I realised i didn't go thru the board with the wrong holes, so i could drill them correctly:


The yellow one is still a bit messed up, but i hope i can fix it just by soldering it closer to (or directly on) the trail between the hole and the upper one (not visible in the pic). The purple should be no problem now, i guess. Same for the blue. So i guess i will have to maybe bridge only the green one... unless the tin would go filling the hole (as it doesn't go thru the board) and would automatically make a bridge.

I also prepare the b3k board.

HD pics are here https://i.imgur.com/qQtHd6z.jpg and here https://i.imgur.com/ctbPAaa.jpg

Edit: i just realised  from the image i forgot to drill a couple of holes :-D
Edit 2: I checked my tin (i have a huge one i got from my father years ago). It's 1mm thick. Do you think it's too thick?

[Mark Hammer]

Forgetting to drill a hole here or there is a very good reason to install resistors first.  One tends to find the undrilled holes as one installs what is usually the most common category of component: resistors.  And because they are pretty much all the same dimensions, it is possible to place the partially-populated board face down, relatively flat/level, such that the drill bit can approach the board as perpendicular as it did when there was nothing installed.

What do the Swiss thin their house-paint or clean their brushes with?  Surely there must be one usable solvent, other than acetone, that can be found in a hardware or building supplies store.

For bits, I ordered a box of assorted size carbide bits from China ( https://www.banggood.com/Drillpro-50pcs-0_5-0_9mm-Tungsten-Carbide-Micro-PCB-Drill-Bit-Set-for-PCB-Circuit-Board-p-1263255.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN )  They last a long time.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "tin" being 1mm thick.

[ghiekorg]

For bits, I ordered a box of assorted size carbide bits from China ( https://www.banggood.com/Drillpro-50pcs-0_5-0_9mm-Tungsten-Carbide-Micro-PCB-Drill-Bit-Set-for-PCB-Circuit-Board-p-1263255.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN )  They last a long time.

That's a lot of tips When i will finish smashing the new 3 i have, i will give it a go.

That's true. I will have a look at which solvent I can find here... Do you think if i flux and the tin the copper now it will make it difficult to place the components (maybe the tin will close the holes)?

With tin thickness I mean the solder wire (I don't know how to call it). The metal wire that melts when soldering