PCB making/etching

[charloman]

Hi again y'all

Does anybody know of any sites dealing with making a PCB from scratch? What kind of equipment is needed? What is the process involved?

I'd love to make my own board from scratch and have it as professional looking as possible...

Thanx in advance

Charloman

[Marcos - Munky]

To start, you need only paper, pencil and a schematic, or a PCB software (like ExpressPCB) and a schematic. Start to draw layouts for simple effects following the schematic. Draw the parts side, with the traces in the bottom. After you get some practice, pick the effect that you want to build and try to draw the layout for it. Remember that you can use jumpers to jump the traces. Take a look in some layouts to get some ideas of how they are made. Then get a board, a pen with resistive ink (the "for transparencies" ones do the job) and a etch substance (I don't know the name of it in english). Draw the layout in the board with the pen, put some etch substance in a PLASTIC can with some water and leave the board inside of it. Keep shaking the can to get a faster result. Remember that you need to draw the layout in the board reversed.

[Paul Marossy]

Check out the picture essays at www.tonepad.com
There's two pages on etching boards there.

[Fret Wire]

http://www.5bears.com/pcb.htm

http://www.geocities.com/thetonegod/etch/etch.html

http://www.philmore-datak.com/POSTIVE.htm

http://www.bps.cc/gizmo/photopcb.html

[Nasse]

If you are serious, you should buy R.G´s book, it is bargain prize vs. quality (I have not read it but so the little birds say...)

Look backwards, there was lots of discussion about it a week or two or thereabouts ago. And maybe more info at Geofex