PCB lettering

[AZdave]

What do you use for lettering your PCB's?

 

[bmcculla]

If you are looking for the while lettering its called silkscreen. Unless you want to spend your life writing white letters on PCBs your best bet is to have a fab house do it for you.

Sparkfun has an unbeleivably cheap offer: $2.50 / square Inch with solder mask and silkscreen in quanity 1. They have some batch deal with a PCB fab in China. **broken link removed**

 

[Dean Huster]

On the foil/solder side or the top side if a double-sided board, my lettering is in copper, etched right along with the circuit. If a single-sided board or a double-sided board where I'd like to have black lettering, after etching, I use the toner transfer method to apply lettering to the top side of the board, then fix it in place with a few light coats of Krylon clear spray, allowing each coat to thoroughly dry before applying the next.

Dean

 

[AZdave]

bmcculla,

Yes you're right manufactures do silkscreen white lettering on their PCB's. However, I don't have that kind of equipment. Also, I do agree that I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life writing on PCB's. I also would not want to try rubbing on dry-transfer lettering.

I am just curious, so asked the question: "What do you use for lettering your PCB's?"

 

[DirtyLude]

Lately I've been adding text to my PCB's just in copper, using Eagle. I just label things to make assembly easier. like pin 1 location, positive power connctions, positive sides of capacitors, stuff like that.

You might not be able to see it all that well, but like this:
**broken link removed**

 

[checkmate]

I am just curious, so asked the question: "What do you use for lettering your PCB's?"

If you have done component soldering on a PCB before, you wouldn't be asking this question. :lol:

We generally don't get excited about hand soldering components on a pcb. You see a space marked for a component "R1", you refer to the component list and find out that it's a 330 ohm resistor. You find the required resistor and solder it on. Now imagine if components are not marked. Next, imagine if there are 100 components on the board. I personally don't derive much pleasure from reading component layouts.

 

[AZdave]

WOW! What a hostile group... :twisted:

I thought I would have some interesting, fun to read, feedback :? like DirtyLude's and Dean Huster's replies. Thanks for your inputs!

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checkmate, I have been soldering PCB componets as a hobby for about 30 years. I make my own PCB's and enjoy it. I find it relaxing to design, test, make the PCB, solder the componets and see my creation operate.
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Once I make the PCB there are sometimes items I like to identify for information or furture reference/enhancements. For instance, an LM34 (TO-92) temperature sensor looks like a transistor so I labeled it, another example would be the unused pins of an IC that could be used in the future for enhancements/changes or the pins on a µC.

For those that are interested... I use clear Avery labels (inkjet), print the info in 6pt, cut them to fit, stick 'em on (componet side), then coat the board with a couple coats of clear spray. For double-sided boards I mask the solder pads as well, using 'removable' label material, before spraying the board.

 

[checkmate]

My apologies. I somehow misread your question into why we provide silkscreens. So sorry about that. Must have been too tired.
Anyway, I do it like the rest, which is to provide them as copper traces. They last once we lacquer the whole board.

 

[AZdave]

Checkmate,

8) Apology accepted! I too mis-read information when I am tired but also a lot of times even when I'm not tired.

Do you do electronics as a hobby? Also, do you have your boards made in order to get the lettering when it's etched?

I don't have my boards made as it would take some of the fun out of the hobby. I don't have a lazer printer to do the iron on trick so I hand draw the traces etc. using a Sharpie and straigt edge. The first few I made looked terrible. Now that I have made a few they look pretty decent.

Here's how I make 'em. I use PCB CAD software to create the traces, solder pads etc. Save the drawing as a bitmap file. Then bring the file into Paint Shop Pro, reverse the image, resize if necessary and print it creating a template. I tape the printed page to an old piece of plywood and use the point of a scratch awl to put a series of pinholes along the centerline of the traces. I cut the PCB image down to the board size and tape it to the board along one edge. I tape it along one edge only so I can flip the template back out of the way if I need too and flip it back to the exact same place. Using the Sharpie I draw over the traces on the paper copy template leaving dotted lines (from the pin holes) on the board. Using the template I play "connect-the-dots". I etch the board, add lettering as desired then spray it to seal the lettering.

Of course I can't do 0.007" trace lines but it works well on 0.030" traces and larger. A simple circuit on a 3"x4" board I made for a benchtop powersupply took less than 2 hours. A more complexed circuit on a 6"x6" board with a 3-digit clock took me the better part of a day.

 

[checkmate]

Well, I'm an EE student, but I also do electronics as a hobby.
I make my PCBs via UV exposure. I DIYed a single-sided UV exposure box from a spoilt scanner.
Can do 15mil tracks and SOICs with reasonable success rates. Havent tried any smaller SMDs yet. You should really try using photoexposure. Quality is better, and it's fast. 1 min to print, 6-7 mins to expose and another 10-15 mins to etch. When I spoil one, I waste at most 30mins.
The rest of the time is spent drilling boring holes.
My "silkscreen" is simply copper like the others. Like what I said, the last process would be a lacquer spray, which would pretty much protect the wordings and all copper tracks reasonably well. And best of all, this lacquer can be soldered through, and actually makes solder flow a little better.