DIY Flexible Printed Circuits

Step 4 Etch it

Put the printed sheet in ferric chloride (copper etchant) for at least 5 minutes. Keep the etchant from getting on your eyes and skin. The etch time will depend on temperature, copper thickness and other conditions, taking up to 25 minutes, so keep watching for copper areas to dissolve and the polyimide film to show up. Bubbling with an aquarium pump, and heating up to 35-40 C will help the etch proceed faster and more evenly.

The remaining wax can be scrubbed off with a ScotchBrite pad and warm water, or isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). This can take some effort.

Comments

[megg]

great instructable! just wanted to say that i learned how to do this last week and we used acetone and a soft brush to clean the remaining wax off the etched board.