PCB etching

[Chris60601]

1st attempt - no too bad, me thinks. Tomorrow this will get the appropriate bath, drilling and milling.



Cheers
Chris

[Synsound]

That looks way better than my attempt. I tried a couple tiny boards that turned out super shitty. That was with heat transfer. I may try photo emulsion in the future.
Well done.

[Chris60601]

Thank you, sir! It's far from done but I'm pleased so far

[Muadzin]

I ordered some stuff to etch my own boards from Smallbear a while ago. Never got around to using it though. It doesn't help that I find soldering to etched boards to be problematic. Soldering to a fabbed board? No problem. Easy peasy. Soldering to a vero board? No problems again whatsoever. Soldering to an etched board? The solder refuses to flow right, it refuses to stick, it becomes messy, more often then not the build becomes a problem.

Nowadays I just stay away from etched boards.

[dexxyy]

I`ve been etching a lot of pcb`s lately and I`ve tried a lot of methods floating about on the net.
For the transfer I`ve used glossy magazine paper and photo paper with good results although cleaning the excess paper of is a pain, if you want to get serious etching pcb`s then press`n`peel is the way to go. I`ve also tried using an iron and a modded laminator, I`d say that the laminator makes a better job but is no quicker than using an iron.
Etching was another trial and error routine, first I tried the normal bath method which worked fine but took ages, tried heating the etchant and this sped it up slightly. Next I read about bubble tanks and made one by utilising an old air pump for a fish tank that I had lying around, this was a real improvement and halved the time to about 7 or 8 minutes. Then I read about the wipe method and it was a fucking revelation, basically just usea sponge dipped in etchant (remember to wear gloves) and wipe the board with it. Board done in less than a minute and only a fraction of the etchant I was previously using, result.
In summary, for best and fastest results I`d suggest, press`n` peel, laminator (although iron can work as well) but definitely the wipe method for etching.

[rocket88]

that came out great chris. i think you got the hang of it pretty quickly.

[Chris60601]

Dexxyy -

Yanno, someone told me the same thing (the wipe method) on DIYS but wasn't sure if it was someone just being a smartass .

But hearing it here, I figured I'd give it a go. No F'in shit!!! Not only does it work but fast too!
I completed the Sabbra Cadabra PCB about 20 mins ago. I'll do the milling and drilling tomorrow after work then I can build.

Too bad this is going to someone at work but what the heck. Anyways, I am currently working on the PCB for the Phase90 and here again, someone other than me will get that

While this has been fun, the end goal is doing this using Eagle (I have a pretty good grasp thus far). I have actually sent out a few boards to OSH after using Eagle. Should get 2 of the 3 this week!

Cheers
Chris


EDIT - It's a Phase90 - my mistake, head was stuck in the thread about the P100.

[Chris60601]

Thanks Rocket! I can't wait to try this on enclosures!
Anyways, I pretty much owe much of my success to you as a mentor.
Failures are just mine for not reading and jumping ahead in excitement

Of course, keeping my mouth shut and just watchin/reading what folks post here has been equally helpfull.
I guess y'all are my mentors and to that - I raise a glass

[rocket88]

lol. glad to help. i've done the whip method on the enclosures, but wasn't too crazy about how that worked. yes it works well, but for me its more work. i usually put the enclosure into an acid bath and just shake the enclosure back and forth while watching tv. i'm usually done in about 10-15min by alternating between acid and water to get off the etched metal.

so i see you got a little business going already?

[Chris60601]

rocket88 wrote

so i see you got a little business going already?

Na - it's just some folks I know. Maybe in time, but that's a long way off.

[Travis]

Dude if you get Phase 100 PCBs done hook me up with one or two!

[Chris60601]

LOL - Well, here's the first step in the Phase90. Crap... I miss type cuz I was reading the thread about the P100. I'll go back and edit if so. Anyways...

[rocket88]

i hear ya chris, i'm just teasing. glad yo see you're now designing/making your own pcb's, which i've been avoiding like the plague.

but anyways, so far everything looks good. the only thing different with doing an enclosure if you need to heat it up a lot longer, because the enclosure acts as a heat sink.

travis, there might be a board somewhere for the 100, check DIYSB or FSB. it would be freaking awesome to build, even it's it's pcb and not vero.