Notice: Several of the process that will be shown are very hazardous if not treated with respect. If you try to replicate these results you do so at your own risk. These process are carefully and safely performed by hobbiests all over the world, and I am not responsible for accidents.
by..................Help with pictures by
Wendy Marsden......Jim Marsden (AKA, TheFox)
List of Materials
Nitrile Gloves
Safety Glasses
Apron
Paper Towels
Muriatic Acid (swimming pool chemical, AKA hydrochloric acid)
Hydrogen Peroxide (sold at any pharmacy or grocery store)
Acetone
Pure (91%) Isopropyl Alcohol
PCB stock (copper clad printed circuit board stock)
2 pieces of 8X11 scratch paper
Scotch tape
Wax Paper
Scotch Brite scouring pads
Tupperware container (large enough for PCB stock)
Tupperware bowl of water
One large glass for water (bigger the better)
Soft sponge (disposable)
Laser Printer (and finished print)
Laminator
Microwave oven (to heat water)
Dremel Drill Press
There are many variations on how to DIY printed circuit boards (PCBs). I am not going to recommend any method over the other, but show how I do it with pictures. One of the oldest ways is with photographic techniques. This works, but it isn't how I do it. As far as I can see, all the techniques have points where it is finicky, where it seems it can go badly wrong. Basically the hobbiest just has to keep experimenting until they solve all the various problems that come up for their own home setup.
I use the toner transfer technique. It also works well, but only with some laser printers. I bought a laser printer specifically for this job (though it does occasionally print other jobs out too). It is a HP6P, an old but reliable workhorse of the HP laser jet series. I paid around $30 for it. I had to download a manual soon after because some of the materials I tried for the transfer medium wrapped themselves around the fuser. This means I can not use one of the favorite transfer mediums used for the job, photographic paper. The thick paper stock gets stuck in the printer (though regular paper works fine). Fortunately for me I found another medium that seems to work as well without getting stuck.
A quick word about how laser printers work. Basically they are a off shoot of copier technology, they use a powered plastic toner that is transfered to the paper by using a drum similar to copying machines that uses high voltage to make the powder stick to the paper using electrostatic fields. A copying machine uses a selenium drum that is photosensitive, and the static charge on the drum is affected by light. I don't know what the laser printer uses, but it is a very similar process, only using a laser instead of a scanning plate. After the plastic powder is transfered to the paper it is melted in a fuser, one or two hot rollers that melt the plastic into the paper. This is what makes toner transfer possible. If the toner melts into a porous substance such as paper it is permanent, but it is possible to use materials that it will stick not quite so securely.
A really good resource for doing this technique could be found at Tom Gootee's site (gone now). Tom was also an active member here at AAC. I have no idea what happened to him (I call this the curse of the internet).
First, you need to layout the PCB in a manner that can be printed onto the laser printer. For this exercise I used ExpressPCB. This package is given away by the manufacturer for the express purpose of allowing you to design a PCB, sent them the results, and they will make the PCB for a fairly economical price. It is also useful for doing it yourself, it is extremely easy to use. I will not go through the trials I went through learning this package in the last week, but if you are interested it was pretty much covered in this thread. A company that sells a professional package also gives away a crippled version, but with all the bells and whistles I have found it hard to use. This is Eagle by CadSoft. I'm probably going to have to learn it someday, but not today.
OK, I made the layout. I didn't like the pads, so I cleaned them up by using M/S Paint, which can manipulate the image OK but has lousy printer drivers, and Gimp, which can handle high res images and print them out at 600 dots per inch (CPI). Eventually I'm going to have to really learn Gimp, but not today. It got me to this point, this schematic has been thoroughly gone through and polished, I redid all the pads to meet my personal preferences.
Note that both images have been flipped to mirror them. You can see this in the text for the silk screen side. This is important. If you use Express PCB to make the PCB layout be sure to do this mirrored, it is a pain otherwise. This is why I am using Gimp to print it out, I got it wrong first time.
This is now ready to print, now I have to prepare the transfer medium. Ron H, another member of this site, suggested something I have found very handy, wax paper. It may not be the best thing for the printer fuser, but my printer has shown no bad effects to date.
by..................Help with pictures by
Wendy Marsden......Jim Marsden (AKA, TheFox)
List of Materials
Nitrile Gloves
Safety Glasses
Apron
Paper Towels
Muriatic Acid (swimming pool chemical, AKA hydrochloric acid)
Hydrogen Peroxide (sold at any pharmacy or grocery store)
Acetone
Pure (91%) Isopropyl Alcohol
PCB stock (copper clad printed circuit board stock)
2 pieces of 8X11 scratch paper
Scotch tape
Wax Paper
Scotch Brite scouring pads
Tupperware container (large enough for PCB stock)
Tupperware bowl of water
One large glass for water (bigger the better)
Soft sponge (disposable)
Laser Printer (and finished print)
Laminator
Microwave oven (to heat water)
Dremel Drill Press
There are many variations on how to DIY printed circuit boards (PCBs). I am not going to recommend any method over the other, but show how I do it with pictures. One of the oldest ways is with photographic techniques. This works, but it isn't how I do it. As far as I can see, all the techniques have points where it is finicky, where it seems it can go badly wrong. Basically the hobbiest just has to keep experimenting until they solve all the various problems that come up for their own home setup.
I use the toner transfer technique. It also works well, but only with some laser printers. I bought a laser printer specifically for this job (though it does occasionally print other jobs out too). It is a HP6P, an old but reliable workhorse of the HP laser jet series. I paid around $30 for it. I had to download a manual soon after because some of the materials I tried for the transfer medium wrapped themselves around the fuser. This means I can not use one of the favorite transfer mediums used for the job, photographic paper. The thick paper stock gets stuck in the printer (though regular paper works fine). Fortunately for me I found another medium that seems to work as well without getting stuck.
A quick word about how laser printers work. Basically they are a off shoot of copier technology, they use a powered plastic toner that is transfered to the paper by using a drum similar to copying machines that uses high voltage to make the powder stick to the paper using electrostatic fields. A copying machine uses a selenium drum that is photosensitive, and the static charge on the drum is affected by light. I don't know what the laser printer uses, but it is a very similar process, only using a laser instead of a scanning plate. After the plastic powder is transfered to the paper it is melted in a fuser, one or two hot rollers that melt the plastic into the paper. This is what makes toner transfer possible. If the toner melts into a porous substance such as paper it is permanent, but it is possible to use materials that it will stick not quite so securely.
A really good resource for doing this technique could be found at Tom Gootee's site (gone now). Tom was also an active member here at AAC. I have no idea what happened to him (I call this the curse of the internet).
First, you need to layout the PCB in a manner that can be printed onto the laser printer. For this exercise I used ExpressPCB. This package is given away by the manufacturer for the express purpose of allowing you to design a PCB, sent them the results, and they will make the PCB for a fairly economical price. It is also useful for doing it yourself, it is extremely easy to use. I will not go through the trials I went through learning this package in the last week, but if you are interested it was pretty much covered in this thread. A company that sells a professional package also gives away a crippled version, but with all the bells and whistles I have found it hard to use. This is Eagle by CadSoft. I'm probably going to have to learn it someday, but not today.
OK, I made the layout. I didn't like the pads, so I cleaned them up by using M/S Paint, which can manipulate the image OK but has lousy printer drivers, and Gimp, which can handle high res images and print them out at 600 dots per inch (CPI). Eventually I'm going to have to really learn Gimp, but not today. It got me to this point, this schematic has been thoroughly gone through and polished, I redid all the pads to meet my personal preferences.
Note that both images have been flipped to mirror them. You can see this in the text for the silk screen side. This is important. If you use Express PCB to make the PCB layout be sure to do this mirrored, it is a pain otherwise. This is why I am using Gimp to print it out, I got it wrong first time.
This is now ready to print, now I have to prepare the transfer medium. Ron H, another member of this site, suggested something I have found very handy, wax paper. It may not be the best thing for the printer fuser, but my printer has shown no bad effects to date.
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