im sort of a beginner in electronics...i thought that if i construct my circuits with PCBs it might be easier than using dot-boards...i was earlier thinkin of using a Dalo Pen with Ferric Cholride to etch the copper and make the tracks..is tht ok??or should i use something else, or should i jus stick to the dot-boards for the moment???Also could somebody tell me a good PCB designing software??preferably a free one...otherwise tell me good ones..might b able to get them...

__________________
\"electricity is a good slave, but a bad master\"

 

google for toner transfer. you need access to a laser printer or photocopier but you can make reasonable PCBs that way. google for toner transfer pcb

If you have access to presensitized boards, you can make extremely good quality PCBs. google for photo pcb

 

Use Eagle. Its free for the basic version and is also used by pros so you cant go wrong. Not too hard once you get the hang of it.

 

toner transfer??not heard of it before...tht is i print the circuit out on a piece of paper??pls forgiv me for my ignorance!!!or will those google results giv me an idea??k..yeah..i think i'll go with eagle..

__________________
\"electricity is a good slave, but a bad master\"

 

if you want some urgent pcb board i.e layout for your project,
for a timebeing i will make for you , send me the schematic ,circuit dia.
i will post it to you within a day.
ok
i am from india .

 

oh man!!!!tht's cool!!!i'll think abt it..how much will u charge??im in sri lanka..so it'll b quite easy for u to post...

__________________
\"electricity is a good slave, but a bad master\"

 

to answer your question - just use google.

short answer - yes. toner in laser printers and photocopiers is just carbon particles coated with plastic. Heat melts the plastic and causes it to stick. If you heat up a laser printed document past the fusing point, the toner will stick to what ever it is in contact with. The toner is a decent etchant resist.

 

I've used eagle before, it is quite easy but not all the components are available for example relays.

__________________
Superman returns..

 

do u use the free eagle version??is tht enough for a hobbyist??

__________________
\"electricity is a good slave, but a bad master\"

 

free version of eagle is enough for most hobby projects...

but I don't think making PCB's for everything is a great idea just for simple prototyping as a beginner, I have a feeling you'll find it to be a lot more difficult than using perfboard (or dot-board as you called it)... and to make changes, you either have to hack up traces on your board, or make a new board. With perfboard you can just desolder some wires and fix things easily. making PCB's isn't incredibly hard, but it can be quite time-consuming, which is why I only make a PCB for a circuit after I have it fully working on a breadboard, so I know i'm not wasting my time.

__________________
EEgeek.net

 

yeah..mayb tht's a better method..i think its better for me to do tht..i made circuits abt 3 years ago, but haven't since then..and i've forgotten some stuff..so i regard myself as a beginner!!!lol

__________________
\"electricity is a good slave, but a bad master\"

 

I've wasted a lot of time and PCB last time because of small mistakes..

__________________
Superman returns..

 

eagle is quite powerful but a bit quirky on the interface.

I agree that you should always breadboard first. at least initially. As you gain expertise and confidence, you can skip breadboarding and go directly to PCB. I usually breadboard only the new/uncertain parts of my designs.

On the component libraries - I'd be very careful using the eagle (or any package's) libs. There are mistakes and some put silkscreen on top of solder pads. You should take some time to learn the library editor. Once you've got it, you can pound out the parts very quickly.

 

somewhere i saw a suggestion, to paster a sticker sheet on the copper board, print the PCB layout, paste it on the sticker sheet, then cut it out and etch it..is this also a good way??i was thinkin of printin the layout and doin tht way or tracing the layout and using a Dalo Pen, or etch resist pen..whtever u call it

__________________
\"electricity is a good slave, but a bad master\"

 

It can work but I've only had mediocre luck with resist pens. You need to really lay it down thick. You probably can do 100 mil through-hole stuff that way but I think toner transfer will be a lot more reliable and look a lot more professional. I believe the thinnest pen you can get is around 60 mil.

TT really isn't that hard though it takes a bit of fiddling to get good at it. It took me 3 tries to get my first board but now I can have a double sided board ready for the etch tank in about an hour. I've done around 60-70 PCBs this way.