Photo tutorial on how to make Printed Circuit boards

[John Lyons]

There are lots of ways to make PCBs but this is how I do it.
How to make PCBs
There will be some typos and mistakes but I wanted to get this out there. I'll revise it in the days to come.

John

[O]

Great photoessay!  I use the exact method and so far, all my PCBs have turned out great. I think the most crucial step is how you prep the board. It doesn't matter if you use PNP or photo paper, if your board isn't prepped well, the toner won't stick. Like I mentioned in another thread, I wet-sand with Acetone and I've had excellent results.

BTW, you're right... the Staples glossy inkjet photo paper is the best for this application.

[db]

I think it's really good.  It might be worth adding a few words regarding disposal of said chemicals for people like me who have little experience in that department.  I'll certainly book-mark it.  Thanks.

[mojotron]

That is pretty awesome John! 

I always wondered how people were using HCL - saves trips to RS for FeCl3 (who knows what they will stop selling next!); I'll give it a try.

[calculating_infinity]

Nice job John!  Great pictorial.  I will have to try muratic acid and peroxide!  I think this is the only pictorial I saw that uses it.  Thanks!

[funkbass187]

Thanks!... i think i might give etching a try for once. i just need to find a laser printer to use.

[spudulike]

Ok, anyone know where to get muriatic acid and peroxide in the UK ?

[John Lyons]

O
So you use 220 grit wet sanding with acetone right?
That's worth a shot. Maybe not quite as rough a grit as that but making the board rougher may be a way to get the toner to stick better.
To be totally honest I always have a little toner flake off. Maybe something like 400 grit, I'll have to try it.
#0000 steel wool is about as fine a grit as they come.
It's the last step I use before I polish with wax and a cloth for my workworking etc.

As far as disposal of the stuff...er.. I usually just pour it down the drain with the water running!
I honestly don't know how to dispose of it better...
Anyone?

[funkbass187]

O
So you use 220 grit wet sanding with acetone right?
That's worth a shot. Maybe not quite as rough a grit as that but making the board rougher may be a way to get the toner to stick better.
To be totally honest I always have a little toner flake off. Maybe something like 400 grit, I'll have to try it.
#0000 steel wool is about as fine a grit as they come.
It's the last step I use before I polish with wax and a cloth for my workworking etc.

As far as disposal of the stuff...er.. I usually just pour it down the drain with the water running!
I honestly don't know how to dispose of it better...
Anyone?

i'd say mix the acids with baking soda or another base before you pour them down the drain. if they etch copper clad boards, imagine what would happen if you had copper plumbing.

[coitmusic]

John,
Awesome tutorial! I would have loved to see that back when I started etching my own a while ago....

Some personal quirks you might like to try and/or add:

I like to clean my board with Barkeeper's Friend scouring powder and a green scrubby. The scrubby scratches the surface slightly and the Barkeeper's has an mild acid in it that completely deoxidizes the copper to super bright pinkish copper. I then rise and dry and wipe several times with toilet paper and an electical cleaner solvent "safety slovent and degreaser". I check the TP for discoloration and keep wiping until it stays white. Just make sure any lint is off before you iron. (You should be able to get Barkeeper's at any supermarket near where the Comet and Ajax are.)

I've had great luck with thin glossy paper like the ads you get with your mail...pizza coupons, thomas kinkade minatures, etc. It floats right off after 2-3 minutes of soaking. Sometimes the ink will transfer, but you can carefully clean this up with a Q-tip and solvent, but I don't think that it really acts as a resist like the toner does.

If you're using photo paper or other heavy papers, after the inital soak, pour a good teaspoon or dishwashing detergent right on the damp board and work in gently with you fingers and return to soak. This really speeds things up.

Thanks again!!
Chester

[O]

O
So you use 220 grit wet sanding with acetone right?
That's worth a shot. Maybe not quite as rough a grit as that but making the board rougher may be a way to get the toner to stick better.
To be totally honest I always have a little toner flake off. Maybe something like 400 grit, I'll have to try it.
#0000 steel wool is about as fine a grit as they come.
It's the last step I use before I polish with wax and a cloth for my workworking etc.

250 has worked for me after trying all the other grades (I try to also refinish guitars in my spare time so I have sandpaper all the way to 2000 grit). I don't really push down much when I'm using the sandpaper, just enough to scuff the surface. The 0000 steel wool takes care of the major gouges and smooths things out enough for the toner to "bite". On my last PCB thread here I only had 3 places that needed touched up. When I was just hitting the pcb with steel wool, I used to get a lot more voids in the toner.

Anyway, I think everyone will find something that works for them. For the ones out there that aren't sure about etching or not, it's not as hard as people make it out to be. Read John's photoessay and post any questions you might have. Once I went with PCBs, I never looked back.

[John Lyons]

O
I see now, you used 250 then #0000 steel wool.
Going from 250 grit to #0000 steel wool is a big step between grits so that may be why the toner sticks well for you.
There will still be some scratches left behind from the 250.
I'll have to experiment some more.

Coitmusic
The scouring power is another things to try. And the glossy magazine/add paper is a good one as well. I've heard that the glossy fassion magazine paper works well. I use some magazine paper but it dind't work too well. It was more papery than glossy though...

Thanks for the tips folks!

John

[Hamfist]

That cheap Staples photo paper works great.  I made the mistake of buying HP Advantage-something  photo paper because it was buy one get one free.  The results were ugly (but usable).  Pretty frustrating.  Almost made me want to give up on making my own PCB's. 

Last night I got some of the Staples stuff and got the cleanest, neatest results I could imagine.  I scrub the copper with a green scratch pad, then #0000 steel wool, then paper towel with nail polish remover until "black stuff" stops showing up on the paper towel. 

Iron, soak, scrub with old tooth brush, etch, done.  I just drill with a Dremel.  I have about 1/4" of the bit exposed from the chuck.  Lowest RPM setting on the Dremel.  I haven't broken a bit yet. 

I appreciate everything I've learned here for sure.

[zjokka]

if you're using inkjet paper too and it doesn't peel off by itself, I'm confused, maybe it's because I punch holes in the transfer before applying it? after a minute or 5-10 the paper loosens by itself....

http://modman.blogdrive.com/archive/30.html

[QSQCaito]

That's cool, thanks a lot! I'll give it a try. But one doubt remains. Is photo paper... common, as when you sent your old cameras to reveal.. Or is it just a very glossy paper that works for photos, but not professional? I ask this because I live in Argentina.. and want to know what's the most similar thing I could get.

Bye bye

Thnks

DAC

[John Lyons]

Ziokka

I think the paper releasing has to do with how much the paper is coated on the back and if the paper can be saturated with water.
The Old paper I used which was also the same brand (staples) came off in a couple minutes with water. The same brand and numer paper now has a coating on the back that repels water a good bit. When you soak it you can never see the traces through the paper. Getting the paper to come of requires either peeling it slowly or soaking it a longer amount of time and using dish soap as a wetting agent to help the water penetrate the pores of the edge of the paper. Punching small holes is a good idea. I will try that. Also I notice that you use #000 steel wool which is more course than the #000 that I use. The toner may stick better to the clean yet rougher surface. I'll try this as well.

Your site has some good info on it. I'll have to look at some more things there.

QSQCaito
What is meant by photo paper is the paper that you print photos on with an ink jet printer. It is different than photographic paper that you get when you have your photos devoloped.



John

[Dean Hazelwanter]

Thanks for the tutorial, John!

The supply of ammonium persulfate I bought about 6 years ago is running out. Thanks to your tutorial, I'll try your etching method when it's gone. I haven't seen any updates on proper disposal. Is there any consensus? Baking soda, added slowly to neutralize?

I've tried various coated papers and photo papers repeatedly, but I've never been able to end up with a usable board. With PNP blue, I've never had a board that wasn't usable. I can never get enough of the residual paper off without taking the off toner with it. I might the parchment paper or label backing sheets next, but probably won't until I'm out of PNP.

[remmelt]

I've recently had my first success etching an enclosure with photo paper. Not bad. I went a little too fast at the end, so some of the etchant came through the paint which is a shame, really... I wanted to make a clean design for my clean boost, but it doesn't look so clean any more. I've also tried a tin layer with this tinning stuff I bought. Very cool and extremely easy to solder onto.

I love your iron there, it looks REALLY cool.

[John Lyons]

I'm no chemist but it seems baking soda will work. Neutralizes acids....

I tried the sanpaper metohod and it worked well. 220 is way to course. I used 400 grit and all the toner transfered fine.
The rough surface make a lot of sense. I sanded both directions twice and th4 board was bright.

Dean
PNP works well as it's made for the purpose. The photo paper method is going to seem a lot more fiddly and laborious.
Try poking small holes and using 400 grit (or something equaly course) to rough up and clean the board.
The coating is fine to stay on the toner transfer. As long as the traces are clean the coating can only help.
My problem now is pitting. Pretty much every board I do has some pitting. I can usually rub this off with #0000 steel wool after etching though. The Hcl acid is probably stronger that Ferric Cloride or Amonium Persulphate so it eats through the toner more....
I can not afford PNP so I'll make the photo paper method work...

John

[spiderman2812]

Thanks for the lesson john. I've been wanting to do this for some time but it almost seemed more economical to use perfboard or just buy a board because all of the kits i've seen were about as much. This is a great affordable way to etch and I'm glad you decided to share it with us! Thanks