Make PCB with magazine paper: the 1,000,000th link.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

http://www.riccibitti.com/pcb/pcb.htm
The more the merrier.

[rmo]

I totally agree with using magazine paper, I tried it out after seeing it suggested somewhere and it works great. The smallest traces I've tried are 15 mil, but they came out great, I think you'd have no problem going down to 10 mil with this method.

[markm]

IMO, although this could be good in a pinch or where PNPBlue is not availalable or too expensive, I still think
it's much more work than neccessary.

[Papa_lazerous]

C'mon everyone.......... PNP blue isnt that expensive!!!  ok per A4 sheet it might seem allot but who actually uses more than a fwe inches at a time.  I bought 10 sheets ages ago and still have loads left.  if anything the Etchant is the high cost part!  stop playing silly with magazines its not worth the extra work.  unless its 10pm on a sunday night and you are out of PNP and really want to do a project then just maybe then is it a good idea  LOL  I feel better now

[StephenGiles]

Many thanks, quite fascinating, now I might attempt a pcb using this method  - in the kitchen when my wife is out!!

[Hambo]

Still proudly in the Magazine-much-better-than-PnP category.

In fact I would go so far as to say swap the words PNP and magazines in this statement:

stop playing silly with magazines its not worth the extra work.  unless its 10pm on a sunday night and you are out of PNP and really want to do a project then just maybe then is it a good idea  LOL  I feel better now

and you might be near the mark

I've etched the smallest text size you get in Express PCB perfectly, and so much less hassle than PNP (of which I still have almost 2 full sheets sat around for months doing approximately nothing if anyone wants em...)

I make only one proviso regarding the use of mag paper is use light texty type areas, not dark picturey areas... If you have a TLC electrical near you, get their free catalogue.. Its never failed me yet

[Papa_lazerous]

different strokes for different folks I guess.

PNP has never failed me such and easy to use system too.  Maybe I will use the magazine method just to compare it

[markm]

I've etched the smallest text size you get in Express PCB perfectly, and so much less hassle than PNP (of which I still have almost 2 full sheets sat around for months doing approximately nothing if anyone wants em...)

Sure!! 

[rmo]

I always try to use white areas of the magazine. I've been using the same giant magazine for a while, I guess they like the iPod aesthetic since almost all of it is white.

[Hambo]

I've etched the smallest text size you get in Express PCB perfectly, and so much less hassle than PNP (of which I still have almost 2 full sheets sat around for months doing approximately nothing if anyone wants em...)

Sure!! 

UK?

PM me yer address and I'll post em on tuesday! Better someone should use them...

[markm]

I've etched the smallest text size you get in Express PCB perfectly, and so much less hassle than PNP (of which I still have almost 2 full sheets sat around for months doing approximately nothing if anyone wants em...)

Sure!! 

UK?

PM me yer address and I'll post em on tuesday! Better someone should use them...

Damn!
U.S. 

[GREEN FUZ]

Feeling like a bit of a dork here but I`d be happy to take it off your hands. I`ve never tried it so I`m curious to see if it`s any better than the laser print method.


And I live in the UK.

[tranceracer]

Just for kicks, I had a few scrap Cu boards laying around and needed to etch a few piezo buffers, so decided to try this method...

Well to make a long story short, to my surprise the results were excellent!  Just as good as the avery xfer method and not as much work as the inkjet photo paper method!  I was able to run a thin (Consumer Reports) magazine page thru my laser printer no problem.  Set the iron to high and ironed  the trace onto the board using a cotton rag between the iron and paper, stuck it under water for 30 seconds or so and rubbed off the paper.  A little more rubbing rubs off the white particles and exposes the black toner nicely on the board.  Etched the boards and they came out fantastic.

Here are some pics of the results:
Trace only.  The board on the left is with out additional buffing, boards in the middle and right used a little elbow grease and rubbed with my thumb and removed the paper fibers.


Etched boards with and without fibers came out very well.


I even noticed the really thin guide lines even came out perfectly.  I don't think I'd run a ckt over a trace that thin but it's nice to know that that level of detail can be accomplished with this method.

Needless to say now I have a couple boxes of inkjet photo paper that will be used, uhhh, for photos.  ((;

Thanks Paul P. for the recommendation!

-tR

[StephenGiles]

I'd like an arguement please!!!

[Papa_lazerous]

I'd like an arguement please!!!

Oh?

[xnixiel]

I keep seeing all these tutorials about how to make PCBs but none seem to cover some (what I think are) vital questions. Some tutorials say you have to dilute the etchant (as does some bottles), others say you should NEVER do this. Also, they never state whether you can only etch 1 board with 1 bottle of etchant or whether you can re-use it. Finally, what I think is probably the most important reason I have not started to make PCBs is the fact that I don't know how to dispose of the etchant. Everywhere states that you should never flush it down the toilet or pour it down the sink even if it has been diluted (due to the copper residue?). I very much doubt that Hazardous Material companies with bother coming to collect such a small amount and it would cost me a fair bit too which to be honest, I'm not prepared to pay.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~eseychell/PCB/etching_CuCl/index.html
is a very interesting page showing how to recharge a cupric chloride etching bath by running excess air through it. (not a misprint folks, that was CUPRIC chloride, not ferric.. see the article.)

But more relevant to the question asked above, is the section on disposal, which shows how to precipitate the copper out as hydroxide, which can be dried down & mixed with cement, if you want. Personally, I would add excess iron wool (not the soapy kind) and precipitate the copper out as metal.

Incidentally, anyone wants to do the cupric etching, here's how I would make cupric chloride from readily available chemicals:
Dissolve copper sulphate (also called bluestone) in water. You can get copper sulphate pretty cheap from garden supplies and also some hardware (as an anti-root agent for killing roots growing into drains). Then make a solution of washing soda or else bicarbonate of soda and add the solutions together (slowly in the case of the bicarb because that will fizz) until the blue of the copper is no longer in solution, but in the form of a precipate of cupric carbonate.
Seperate the cupric carbonate, and dissolve it (more fizzing!) in hydrochloric acid. Voila, cupric chloride!!
(people either enjoy doing this stuff or not...)
Incidentally, if you make a large crystal of copper sulphate, you can tape it up to a wart, and it will corrode it away. Worked for me as a child. Coincidence? Placebo effect? Who can say - anyway, no wart..!

[markm]

I think the bottom line on all of these methods is that they work.
How well a certain method will work for a certain individual is really up in the air.
What's good for me, and what works for me personally, may not yield the same results nor work as well for the next person.
Try 'em all, that's the only way of really knowing what's best for you or, if you've had success in your method, stick with it!
These threads start to remind me of the "Best Overdrive" threads. 

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I think the bottom line on all of these methods is that they work.
How well a certain method will work for a certain individual is really up in the air.
What's good for me, and what works for me personally, may not yield the same results nor work as well for the next person.
Try 'em all, that's the only way of really knowing what's best for you or, if you've had success in your method, stick with it!
These threads start to remind me of the "Best Overdrive" threads. 

AMEN Brother Mark! and +1.
"How many roads must a man walk down.... to get the perfect PCB.."

[Hambo]

Feeling like a bit of a dork here but I`d be happy to take it off your hands. I`ve never tried it so I`m curious to see if it`s any better than the laser print method.


And I live in the UK.

PM me yer address then, I will send it, its literally just sitting there gathering dust. So by all means, Ave it! as Tracy would say...