Nice one, Bill! I never expected muriatic acid to give such good results. And using wax paper really gives good results, as I would expect. Never thought of that. It is a better (and cheaper) alternative to photo paper.

 

Nice step by step

Here is something I found by experimenting that works for solder mask for thru hole PCBs,I have not tried this with SMT. Its cheap, easy, and it looks good.

-any color Sharpie permanent marker, you can even make it multicolored if ya want
blue is my favorite
-clear spray paint, cheap wal-mart clear is what I use .98 cents a can but I dont think they sell it anymore, any other brand I have not tryed yet

1. On a etched undrilled PCB color the side you want solder mask on
2. let it dry
3. spray on a coat of clear
4. let it dry
5. for double side repeat for other side
6. drill your holes (you may want to let it dry for a day before drilling)

I have no problems soldering to the pads the heat melts the coat allowing solder
adhere to the pad.

Ta-Da a pro-looking PCB



A source for Micro carbide drill bits
Harbor freight sells Micro carbide drill bits, 10 per pack 2packs for 7.99 .40cents a bit. One problem is the sizes are random, so I bought couple of packs to get several of each size I wanted
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-solid-carbide-micro-bit-grab-bag-44924.html

 

What type, brand name laminator do you use to success. My GBC Creative is broke down after a small amount of successful boards. I am stuck on trying
wax paper as the toner slides and smears as it goes thru my HP LaserJet
P2015dn printer. A4 type paper bought on E-Bay works real good. Love you post thou. Keep up the good Ideas. Kevin

 

What type, brand name laminator do you use to success. My GBC Creative is broke down after a small amount of successful boards. I am stuck on trying
wax paper as the toner slides and smears as it goes thru my HP LaserJet
P2015dn printer. A4 type paper bought on E-Bay works real good. Love you post thou. Keep up the good Ideas. Kevin

Maybe your laminator was defective? What do you mean when you say it "broke down"?

Many people, including myself, have used GBC Creative laminators with great success for a long time.

Here's a guide I made on making toner transfer PCBs: http://www.foxytronics.com/learn/el...boards/making-pcbs--the-toner-transfer-method

 

What I mean is I tried to put a new board thru the front of the laminator and it went in 1/2 in. and stopped. Now it will not start feeding paper or anything else.
Pulsar pro recomends two versions.
1 GBC H220
2 Apache AL13P This version is supposed to be the best for your money.
Best Kevin

 

Nice step by step

Here is something I found by experimenting that works for solder mask for thru hole PCBs,I have not tried this with SMT. Its cheap, easy, and it looks good.

-any color Sharpie permanent marker, you can even make it multicolored if ya want
blue is my favorite
-clear spray paint, cheap wal-mart clear is what I use .98 cents a can but I dont think they sell it anymore, any other brand I have not tryed yet

1. On a etched undrilled PCB color the side you want solder mask on
2. let it dry
3. spray on a coat of clear
4. let it dry
5. for double side repeat for other side
6. drill your holes (you may want to let it dry for a day before drilling)

I have no problems soldering to the pads the heat melts the coat allowing solder
adhere to the pad.

Ta-Da a pro-looking PCB



A source for Micro carbide drill bits
Harbor freight sells Micro carbide drill bits, 10 per pack 2packs for 7.99 .40cents a bit. One problem is the sizes are random, so I bought couple of packs to get several of each size I wanted
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-solid-carbide-micro-bit-grab-bag-44924.html

My only worries would be the fumes from the clear paint and how good or bad they are for you??

 

What I mean is I tried to put a new board thru the front of the laminator and it went in 1/2 in. and stopped. Now it will not start feeding paper or anything else.

You jammed it.

Try plugging in the laminator and then turning it on while pushing on the PCB. Unless it's waay to thick, you should be able to push it right through (when turned on).

 

I believe one of two plastic gears is melted slightly. That is what I saw when I opened up the rear of the creative. I will try what you said and post later the results. Kevin

 

The creative will not pull the board thru at all. All lights on and ready. Motor bad, gear problem, but not board size at all. I taped the board with one inch of paper sticking out the front to grab first and then the board would connect and be pulled thru. Is that my mistake
or no adjustment made to a stock devise? Kevin

 

Just want to say that until I read Bill's article I had never thought of using the Dremel to cut PCBs. I normally use a hacksaw but the result is usually a bit rough. I just tried the Dremel (well actually a cheap knock-off copy of a Dremel) and it works great.

Thanks Bill.

 

My creative is broke due to my not knowing anything about mods to it. I am going to buy the Apache AL13P recomended by pulsar and follow this post with etchant help in it. In reply to post about dremel I use a diamond saw blade in a makeshift table saw. A circular saw mounted under a piece of plywood and it rips down to size large pieces of copper clad bought in bulk on E-Bay safe, quick and accurate.

 

My only worries would be the fumes from the clear paint and how good or bad they are for you??

Don't know if its better or worse than the fumes from painting and or soldering. Thats why I use a fume extractor or a fan to pull fumes away when I solder with or without the paint solder mask

 

I have a question as to Bill's post. My transfer paper was not working as the ink smeared and was not uniform with a refill cartridge in a HP laser printer. I purchased a brand new OEM cartridge and the test circuit was perfect but when I tried Bill's wax paper I still have no luck getting it to stick to wax paper. What do I try next as I am curious as to how he got it to work and I cannot? Any ideas would help. Best Kevin

 

I have a question as to Bill's post. My transfer paper was not working as the ink smeared and was not uniform with a refill cartridge in a HP laser printer. I purchased a brand new OEM cartridge and the test circuit was perfect but when I tried Bill's wax paper I still have no luck getting it to stick to wax paper. What do I try next as I am curious as to how he got it to work and I cannot? Any ideas would help. Best Kevin

For wax paper I used laser printers

 

I have a question as to Bill's post. My transfer paper was not working as the ink smeared and was not uniform with a refill cartridge in a HP laser printer. I purchased a brand new OEM cartridge and the test circuit was perfect but when I tried Bill's wax paper I still have no luck getting it to stick to wax paper. What do I try next as I am curious as to how he got it to work and I cannot? Any ideas would help. Best Kevin

I've had quite a success with HP Laserjet P1102 and this paper:

 

I have a question as to Bill's post. My transfer paper was not working as the ink smeared and was not uniform with a refill cartridge in a HP laser printer. I purchased a brand new OEM cartridge and the test circuit was perfect but when I tried Bill's wax paper I still have no luck getting it to stick to wax paper. What do I try next as I am curious as to how he got it to work and I cannot? Any ideas would help. Best Kevin

You keep referring to ink and cartridges, it may be a miss-speak, but toner and laser printers is the only thing that works, as riffa said.

You have to have the edges of the the wax paper securely attached to a sheet of paper, as shown in post #2. Wax paper by itself is way too limp to go through any printer.

I am currently experimenting with some other toner transfer techniques, if they work out I will post them on this forum with pictures. I am also playing with a modern HP laser printer to see if it works.

 

Let me clear this mistake up. My Printer is a HP Laser Jet 2015dn 1200 times 1200 dpi bought used $30.00. Wax paper on top of letter size paper toner of OEM brand new laser cartrige will not adhere to wax paper properly. No problem thou with A4 size paper bought on E-Bay from the orient. Your etchant produced
a 4 in by 8 in size board the first time. At that amount of etchant in article is that size normal or under what it should do before discard? It is a cheep but good replacement from last attempt with orient crystals. Nice one Bill. Kevin

 

Bertus had a pretty good idea when he suggested using the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). It gives the exact specs of the toner in question. Manufacturers are required by law to make them available.

I have used a Color Laser Printer, a HP CP1025nw, with good results, though I have not etched with the toner template yet. The old workhorse HP6P I bought for $10 is still working well too, and I have used it lots. 600DPI is more than enough resolution to use for a PCB.

Just make sure the part is immersed in about 1" or more of etchant. You can use it for more than one PCB while it is fresh, but it has a very short shelf life once mixed, as there is a chemical reaction occurring between the H2O2 and muriatic acid. Since it is extremely cheap, just dispose of the etchant when you are finished using it, but do not put it down a drain.

 

I use much the same process, but not quite as elaborate. The net result has been quite good, and I primarily attribute my successes over the past few years to using a laminator that has 140C temperature potential. A laminator is vastly preferred to the iron-on heat transfer method which is generally inconsistent at best...

One of my "engineers" made this little 10-minute video a year or so ago, and for anyone who's on the fence about etching your own boards, I think this should dispel your worries. It's really rather easy to do.

http://vimeo.com/74327192

 

Hello,

Now this is not going to be the first time I will be making a PCB, but it is the first time in a while and under slightly different conditions (college was the last time!). To be safe, I want to ask a couple of questions on this thread (please feel free to delete this post if it is considered too far off topic by the moderators, but also; please, not before answering it) before proceeding, in case someone else knows of or comes across the same situation, regarding the etching medium.

I asked for ferric chloride, and was expecting to be given a bottle of liquid, to be diluted. Instead I was given a packet of powder, dry mud coloured. It smells faintly (from a distance, of course) of borax, what I used to use for aluminium welding flux. I am treating it with the care of nuclear waste. Do you think it really is ferric chloride?

The fellow at the shop gave me some vague mixing proportions. There is 50 grams of the powder, which he stated should be added slowly to 1 litre of lukewarm water. Does this sound right?

Thank you in advance.

EDIT:

Yes, it is ferric chloride. It is now mixed safely - rubber gloves and goggles - and successfully into a 200 ml of water, as a concentrate. Bottled, with a sealed top, labelled with day-glow skulls and corrosive warnings, in a zip-lock bag, under lock and key, ready for the project.

You may proceed to delete this post now, if you will, as it is probably spoiling the thread. Thank you.