beginner board etching

[daviddoria]

i bought this little kit at radio shack to make your own circuit boards.

what the instructions refer to as a "resist ink" pen seems to be an ordinary Sharpe. is this correct?

also the boards it came with are double sided.. would you ever have a double sided board?

other than that seems very straight forward.

 

[Gene]

I have seen the pens and they do look just like a Sharpe. By double sided I assume you mean it has copper foil on both sides. That sounds a little strange for Radio Shack but I have used these for RF circuits.

 

[daviddoria]

the question still holds though, is it a sharpe or is it special? hehe

also, how would you make use of 2 sides of a board?? how would you mount it?

 

[Mosfet]

Yes sir, the Sanford Sharpie, a nice new one.
[now don't take one at work like me]
I like nail polish for larger areas.
Two sides lets the connections cross over each other.
Best to draw it first with two colors of pencil.
Your parts leads provide the connection thru the board.

 

[daviddoria]

so pretty much this $15 kit has about 2 bucks worth of chemicals and 2 bucks worth of copper plates lol. well it was nice to get it all in one kit for the first time hehe.. now i know what to do.

i'll let you know how it turns out.

ps.
can the plastic be used over and over again (the tub)?

 

[Gene]

David - Did you catch the thread several weeks ago about using a printer? I want to try that!

 

[Mosfet]

I never used 'the tub'.
I like those baggies you can hold over someone's head.
I put the bag in a tray of hot water [heat helps acid work].
I put all that on top the washer on spin cycle. [vibration helps too]
The trick is getting rid of all the copper you don't want,
before it starts eating thru the copper you want to keep. :evil:

 

[kinjalgp]

Before etching, I tie up my PCB with insulated wire and use it to move the PCB in the FeCl3 solution. This way etching is done in 15 minutes in hot solution. Otherwise it takes more than 3 hours.

 

[Chippie]

I have a tutorial on making pcb's using the UV transparency method, on here some where I think.......

Any how, here's my tips......

Make sure board is clean and grease free prior to drawing pattern.

I make my Fecl3 up as a batch.......250gm of xtals/pellets etc to 500ml of water.

When ready to etch board, warm solution in microwave oven, 10 secs at a time til its warm( 40deg C )

Place board in suitable container with pre warmed solution.....agitate gently.rock to and fro, warm as necessary in m/wave oven to maintain temparature.....

Upon completion of etching, wash board, then plate with tin plate solution.

 

[Pilot]

Here is the link to Chippie's DIY PCB...

https://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/electric-light.825/