Perf board or copper clad?

[moody07747]

I have not really don't all the much board work, last time I worked on something with a bunch of parts I used a bread board but that project ever worked.....it was a mixer.

Today I did the soldering on the power supply.
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/moody07747/Uncompleted%20Projects/Power%20Supply%20Two/

I'm waiting on some parts to finish that off.

Anyways I also picked up an etching kit from the shack thinking I would try it for the kit but when I saw the layout I decided to do it on perf board using the component leads and scrap wire.

I was wondering what everyone does for their board layouts on projects.

Do you etch with copper clad boards or use wire and components on perf board?

I think if I get more involved I will etch but with simple projects like this power supply I have no problem using the perf.
As I said, I'm new to board work so if I have left out some other process feel free to post it.

[$uperpuma]

I etch my boards...I really like how nice the board ends up and usually its a bit more compact. There are great layouts for all preferences around here...some very dedicated people spend a great amount of time getting layouts together and then have the unselfish inclination to share it with us freeloaders...  and I try to applaud them on every available occasion...

[Connoisseur of Distortion]

i will etch... but i will also perf. etching is a serious PITA. perfing is also a PITA, but one that is less painful and more drawn out.

if you have a good layout perf is hard to beat. it's fast, you have it, it can look quite neat. if you have a PCB made, you're going to use that. I, myself, love working on PCBs. they're very easy to build, very easy to debug, and make the neatest job you can get.

effective perfing is learned over time, with many terrible mistakes. however, i can offer some tips. use markers to indicate power lines (top side of board, please  ) like V+, ground, and Vbias. check off nodes (areas of connections) on your schematic as you go. check your grounds (this is very easy to mess up, for some reason) and be sure that they're all connected. make sure resistors don't touch their ends together (tape may prove necessary). DON'T bend that cap back and forth for soldering.

I have perfed some real monsters. they all work out, eventually.

[Seljer]

I've gone on a run and etched like 18 PCBs over the past 2 days. I really don't mind it, drilling is probably the most tedious part, all together it makes for nice easy assembly of the circuit.

Now when you get up to the painting the enclosure part in the pedal building process...urgh


I still use perfboard for most simple things

[markm]

I etch my boards...I really like how nice the board ends up and usually its a bit more compact. There are great layouts for all preferences around here...some very dedicated people spend a great amount of time getting layouts together and then have the unselfish inclination to share it with us freeloaders...  and I try to applaud them on every available occasion...

Same here! 

[moody07747]

I also like how etching turns our....nice and clean but yea it is a pain to do as is any board work IMO

BTW, I have heard of PCB123 and Eagle and have tried both...Both seem hard to use IMO

I was wondering, for those who etch, what method do you use to make the layout transfer sheets?

I have a Dell printer seen here:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/print_3100cn?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&~page=14&~tab=servicetab

Can I use programs and this printer to print out transfer/layout sheets?

If so, what do I need to do that?

[$uperpuma]

bancika's DIY LAyout Creator is a GREAT tool for putting together you own PCB's. Its usually on the first page of "building your own stompboxes" area...
That printer should be fine... and for removing the toner from the etched board, I recommend using 100% acetone vs normal fingernail polish remover...

[RaceDriver205]

Etch etch etch! Perf/vero scares me. I picture myself actually trying to make stuff work with it and I get all freaked out  .
Express PCB is absolutely brilliant. Belows an example of a circuit I implemented with it, and it worked first time!
http://www.tothemax.web1000.com/dyntrem.html

[oldrocker]

At this point I perf everything.  I made over 20 DIY's and never etched any of them.  I bought an etch kit but haven't used it yet.  When I do use an etched PCB it'll be one that I did the layout myself.  I like the feeling that I built it and if I buy a PCB already laid out that I feel you might as well buy a kit.  I have never used vero yet not because I have anything against vero it's because I have to special mail order it.  I like the ease of driving to the local Rat Shack and buying some perf, some parts and start building.
My project list.
Big Muff
TS-808
Pro Co Rat
Dr. Quack
Nurse Quacky
Pulsar tremolo
Kay tremolo
Scrambler
Professor Tweed
Noisy Cricket
Fuzz Face
2 Muff Fuzz (Transistor and opamp versions)
Green Ringer
Ne-octavia
Phase 45
Mockman
DOD 250 Dist
ShockTave
Orange Squeezer
Still building a DOD 280 Compressor

[blanik]

my first projects where hand wired (with the components wires bent in the shape of the PCB) like this one, it's a Pulsar but it ended up not working and i was just too lazy to troubleshoot this mess!!! So after that one i started ordering PCBs...

R.

[moody07747]

bancika's DIY LAyout Creator is a GREAT tool for putting together you own PCB's. Its usually on the first page of "building your own stompboxes" area...
That printer should be fine... and for removing the toner from the etched board, I recommend using 100% acetone vs normal fingernail polish remover...

how about that ink resistant liquid that comes with the shack brand etch kit?

it removes the sharpie from the copper after you etch.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

As I have said before, it is dependant on the skill and personality of the builder.
I'm a complete klutz with a fairly poor memory (was ever thus) so, it's stripboard for me.
But, for preference, a PCB.. laid out by someone else!!
Incidentally, the higher an IQ a person has, the happier they seem to be with pad per hole. Personally, I can't remember where anything is for a second....

[sfr]

I like perf for the small projects I want to try *now* - but it just always ends up being too much work for me for anything big.  I'd rather make the initial investment in etching boards, than think I'm going to save any time and spend twice as long doing perf.  It's also easier to leave an etched board half-way through and pick it up later than it is with perf, and if you've triple-checked your layout, any mistakes after the fact tend to be easier to fix.  (Mistakes resulting from an improper layout, however, are harder.)  I certainly go etch boards if I'm building a circuit that there's an available layout for.

I use a photocopier I picked up at a college used office supply sale, (sometimes the one's at Kinko's for anything with incredibly fine traces) and P'N'P blue.  It's more expensive, but it's so much less hassle in the end than any other method I've tried for etching.  I get my Ferric Chloride at Rat Shack, and my boards from Small Bear (or occasionaly mouser, if I have other orders to make there).  I don't like the Radio Shack boards, since I never do double sided work, it ends up wasting more etchant taking off most of that other side. (I have made ground planes out of the other side, on occasion, but it's annoying to try and line up both sides.  I've also ground off the copper from one side when I wanted a board "today") 

Lately, I've just taken to etching boards in large batches out of one piece of copper clad, and cutting them up later as I begin to populate them.  Doesn't take any longer, but I end up with a lot of etched boards I haven't populated yet, a year after the fact, as I start to get excited about other things.  But it's nice because if I just get bored in the house and feel like tinkering without really thinking too hard, there's always several boards I can start working on.  I need to get more boxes now, though.