I have a laser printer and heard about an easy way to iron on the PCB template? I always used the boards that had all the holes drilled in it and wires. Now I wish to make my little projects look better then having wires all over. What is every thing that I would need to start making PCBs?

Thanks,
Kyle

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It all started back when I was 3yr old and I put my toung on a 9V.......

 

If you intend to do pcbs on a regular basis, you'll need
1. positive photosensitized raw PCB boards
2. etchant eg. ferric chloride
3. something to cut the presensitized boards to shape
4. developer eg NaOH
5. some light source eg fluorescent, UV box
6. developing tray (I used simple plastic containers) or etchant tanks
7. a drill for the holes (drill press, motorised hand drill)
8. kerosene to clean off the developer
9. clear lacquer to prevent copper oxidation

This is what I can think off hand, There are lots of guides off google.

Cheers

 

There are several processes which don't use the presensitized boards.

There's spray-on photoresists, I seem to recall there was another system which was pour-on and used hydrocarbon solvents as developer.

You can also get raw laminate film which can be ironed on, but it requires technique. I've used it and the results were quite superior to spray-on stuff.

The film uses a weak base as a developer (sodium carbonate) and a strong base (NaOH) as a stripper.

They're more complicated to use than presensitized boards, but much cheaper and more versatile. Also calibrating your exposure time is easy enough to figure out without throwing out a few boards in the process.

 

there is also the toner transfer method.

it is the method I use, and for those that don't want to mess with a ton of different chemicals it is very good.

http://www.fullnet.com/u/tomg/gooteepc.htm

I have made 10-15 boards using this method. If you use the recommended paper (staples picture paper) and allow plenty of time with the iron, the method is very reliable and i have had good luck with trace widths down to 12 mils, traces between IC pads, etc. And just today I made my first dual-sided board with this method and it came out great. This method is also great because you can use the cheapest blank boards. the ones that I use are from electronics goldmine and cost about 3.5 cents per square inch.

you need some blank boards, a laser printer, some staples picture paper, and an iron.
drilling is an entirely different story, but that is the same with any method. I use a 10" drill press (about 100 bucks from home depot) and a bunch of solid carbide drill bits that i got on ebay. I also picked up a 4" table saw on ebay for $40 that has a diamond blade and cuts PCB like butter.

I have also built a simple little etching tank using some acrylic sheet, silicone, and an aquarium bubbler.

All told I probably have about $250 invested in my whole setup but when you consider the prices charged by most PCB houses (like expressPCB - i seem to remember it being about $60 for three 3x5 boards) it has already paid for itself.

also, I find that this method is cost-effective for me because not only do I get to make PCB's with it, I also have a perfectly good laser printer and clothes iron to use for more normal purposes

 

Thanks for all the help guys I personaly like the picture paper idea sense I have a laser printer and iron already.

Thanks again,
Kyle

__________________
It all started back when I was 3yr old and I put my toung on a 9V.......

 

Tired of manual drawing, I want to start with the toner transfer method + iron. Basically you put the iron on top of the copper side for 10 minutes, and then you remove the paper by putting the board on hot water and rushing??

 

basically... did you read the page at the link i provided? it's got everything you could ever need to know. if you clean the board well beforehand (scotch brite), use staples picture paper, and give it plenty of ironing time (5-10 minutes) with good pressure and even coverage, you're practically guaranteed good results.

 

Hi Kyle,
Over here in Australia you can get a product called press-n-peel paper which you print out using a laser printer then just simply iron it on your copper pcb. I've used this method quite a bit and it pays to have a hot iron and use even pressure otherwise it won't transfer properly. For etching the boards I use Ammonium Persulphate in my own pcb tank I made.

Cheers Bryan1