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Having a little problem with PCB making .

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BGAmodz

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After choosing the right PIC USB programmer schematic i have decided to make a PCB with the help of traditional methods using :
Clothes iron
Ferrite chloride ( copper remover )
Copper surface.
Lazer printer .
Normal A4 paper .
Liquid soap .


Now according to the tutorial , i :
Printed the schematic on the paper ( Normal A4 paper ) , i have done that using lazer printer .
Let the clothes iron to heat up at max temp.
Put the paper on the copper surface
applied heat with pressure on the paper using the iron
After that i have directly put it in the liquid soap ( this is supposed to make the paper peel off easily from the copper surface ) and let it for about 4 minutes.

Now the problem is in the peeling process, i peel off the paper but there is a thin paper layer that is hard to remove , when i try to remove it with my hand the ink gets removed with it too .

Any ways i have continued the process , now i have to put the copper surface on the ferrite chloride to remove the copper and only the copper beneath the ink should stay .

After doing that i see the copper disappearing , i have left to to disappear entirely .

Now i only see the schematic lines alone witch is good , but the problem is that the ink is still hard to remove to let the copper lines appear ( probably because i did not remove all the paper in the previous step ?? )

I hope some one help me out on this .
 
I used rice paper because it dissolves in water better. (this has been years ago)
 
Use acetone or MEK to remove the toner/ink. Nail polish remover can be used, but is more expensive and may leave some residue.

John
 
Thanks , i guess the problem is the paper am using .
What type of paper is advised ?
 
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What type of paper is advised ?
Ordinary printed glossy magazine/catalogue paper gets good reports. I've not tried it.
 
I thought you had the etched board. If you can't remove the toner with solvent, use a fresh razor blade as a scraper, like when you remove paint from glass. Just slide it under the resist and do a final clean up with solvent. You can also use a 3M, non-metallic abrasive pad.

John
 
Thanks for the help , i have actually managed to get rid of the ink manually , the PCB looks nice though , but am sure it will look nicer with the right paper .
 
BTW this is the PCB layout , and i wonder what is a good alternative for the L1 component (VK200 self ) , am not sure i will find one like it easily .
usb_prog.jpg
 
No this is just the layout posted on the tutorial , its not me who designed it , am just making one based on it

As i said before i managed to remove the ink from the copper , now i have to use a small drill .

could i just use a strap as a replacement for the VK200 self L1 ?
 
Looks to me like it is part of a noise filter on the USB 5V supply:
upload_2013-11-3_16-31-57.png


John
 
(Now the problem is in the peeling process, i peel off the paper but there is a thin paper layer that is hard to remove , when i try to remove it with my hand the ink gets removed with it too .)

don't forget to clean the board w/ a solvent (I use acetone) before applying the iron. Make sure it's cleaned and dry.
 
Not bad for a first go and with regular paper.

If you can find rice paper you can give that a try. Color pages from SOME magazines work. Finding which can be a trial.

PulsarPro sells a paper coated with starch. The paper falls off the board about a minute after you put it in the water.
 
Not bad for a first go and with regular paper.

If you can find rice paper you can give that a try. Color pages from SOME magazines work. Finding which can be a trial.

PulsarPro sells a paper coated with starch. The paper falls off the board about a minute after you put it in the water.
Hey thanks

Next time i'll try to make better ones .

Do you have an idea on a good PCB design software ?? i have some PWM circuits to make .
 
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Eagle sounds good .

Right now am reading a book about SMPSs , hopefully i will learn enough from it to make my own , also planning to make PCBs based on that power supply and a
PWM design .
 
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