Hello everybody !!!
One of the most aggravating things when creating DIY circuits is the making of the PCB.
Up till now, DIY methods require alot of work and time on each board.
If you have struggled with other methods of DIY PCB prototyping you've likely figured out the hard way that they can be frustrating - provide spotty results - and require alot of steps and work.
Well here's another method to throw into the bag of tricks that might just work out for you!
It's really only 3 steps and turns out perfect everytime!!!!
This method has served me very well over and over for dozens of boards!
It uses a vinyl cutter/plotter to create a mask in vinyl to resist the ferric chloride etchant.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- Prepared vinyl mask (if you don't have a vinyl cutter - sign shops and many hackerspaces do!)
- Etchant solution and glass or plastic tray
- Fingernail Polish remover and acetone safe container
- Blank copperclad PCB
- Standard chemical safety materials - gloves, eye protection, etc
- Pliers/Tongs
That's about it!
We will skim over how to design and cut the pcb design into vinyl and at this point assume that you have a cutter or know someone with access to one (local hackerspace or even a local sign shop!)
It's the same as making any vinyl cut sticker.
See the additional pictures in this intro for some educational pictures of the preparation of a vinyl sticker in this step.
Next Step! - Placing the mask onto the PCB
One of the most aggravating things when creating DIY circuits is the making of the PCB.
Up till now, DIY methods require alot of work and time on each board.
If you have struggled with other methods of DIY PCB prototyping you've likely figured out the hard way that they can be frustrating - provide spotty results - and require alot of steps and work.
Well here's another method to throw into the bag of tricks that might just work out for you!
It's really only 3 steps and turns out perfect everytime!!!!
This method has served me very well over and over for dozens of boards!
It uses a vinyl cutter/plotter to create a mask in vinyl to resist the ferric chloride etchant.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- Prepared vinyl mask (if you don't have a vinyl cutter - sign shops and many hackerspaces do!)
- Etchant solution and glass or plastic tray
- Fingernail Polish remover and acetone safe container
- Blank copperclad PCB
- Standard chemical safety materials - gloves, eye protection, etc
- Pliers/Tongs
That's about it!
We will skim over how to design and cut the pcb design into vinyl and at this point assume that you have a cutter or know someone with access to one (local hackerspace or even a local sign shop!)
It's the same as making any vinyl cut sticker.
See the additional pictures in this intro for some educational pictures of the preparation of a vinyl sticker in this step.
Next Step! - Placing the mask onto the PCB
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Signing UpStep 1: STEP ONE - PLACING THE MASK ONTO THE PCB
STEP ONE - PLACING THE MASK ONTO THE PCB
This only takes about one minute.
Notice that I'm doing two boards at once!
This is much faster than the iron on method - you don't even have to clean the board or prepare it for the mask!
Place the vinyl mask paper side up and remove the wax paper backing by peeling it up and over.
The clear transfer tape holds the vinyl in place!
Line up the mask and lay it onto the blank PCB.
The clear transfer tape makes alignment as easy as it can be!
Once it's down - use a squeegee, plastic card, or just your fingernail to rub the top of the transfer tape thus pushing the vinyl to the board.
Starting from one corner - peel the transfer tape off and the vinyl mask will stay onto the copperclad PCB.
NEXT - STEP TWO Etching the PCB
This only takes about one minute.
Notice that I'm doing two boards at once!
This is much faster than the iron on method - you don't even have to clean the board or prepare it for the mask!
Place the vinyl mask paper side up and remove the wax paper backing by peeling it up and over.
The clear transfer tape holds the vinyl in place!
Line up the mask and lay it onto the blank PCB.
The clear transfer tape makes alignment as easy as it can be!
Once it's down - use a squeegee, plastic card, or just your fingernail to rub the top of the transfer tape thus pushing the vinyl to the board.
Starting from one corner - peel the transfer tape off and the vinyl mask will stay onto the copperclad PCB.
NEXT - STEP TWO Etching the PCB
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I really like the toner transfer method, since I'm doing the design on the computer anyway. I use the Pulsar Fx paper, and seldom fails. I transfer it with a hot laminator. The paper releases quickly, completely. No need to soak, or scrub paper pulp. After the etching, toner wipes off easy with a paper towel soaked in acetone. And I mean wipes off, no scrubbing here either, it just dissolves away.
About the only better way, would be a CNC router, which could also drill those holes too. Maybe some day...
I honestly just take the new board with no care at all and put the vinyl sticker or mask on it.
Dunk in into the FeCl - pat excess off after etch... wash... dunk in fingernail polish remover - vinyl just falls off but stays solid for easy disposal - and then wash again. no scrubbing and stuff!
Thing is - cutting out a bunch of small steps is really useful when making a big board.
Also - if your cutter is calibrated well... SOIC and really small traces come out just as perfect - all depends on the quality of the cut!
It's just an alternative method... they each have their pro's and con's of course... and we all have preferences. I repurpose the use of a cutter in many ways... so I'm really used to weeding and applying really fast.
Maybe I'm just terrible at the toner transfer method... always a little spotty for me...and burning boards and finding out after is terribly expensive. Not to mention alot of prep work for say 10-20 boards in a run.
Cheers - thanks for the comment!
I messed up 2 toner cartridges for my laser printer using the toner transfer method and PNP-Blue. At $150 a cartridge that can get a bit pricey. I don't do it anymore. Photo resist is the best method.
I can't agree with you that milling is better than etching. It is slower, the tooling costs more, and it cannot achieve anywhere near the resolution chemical etching does. Milling also sets you up for ragged edges and random string shorts because copper doesn't machine cleanly. It tears and smears a lot. Has a bad habit of sticking on bits too. It is a mess. I know people do it but then again people bungee jump naked too. Which is saying that not everyone is always doing the smartest things in their spare time.
I'd imagine if milling was better then every commercial board house on the planet would be doing it, but none of them do. They all etch. They CNC drill, but I bet if they could figure out a way to etch the holes they'd be doing that too!
I've looked around and haven't seen any vinyl that is specifically chemical resistant, other than sand blast resistant vinyl, so most stock vinyl should be resistant to FeCl, right?
Just wanting to make sure before I dive into printing and etching 5 circuits and eats up the vinyl.
Actually you're way off. There are probably more vinyl cutters out there than there are CNCs (or guys making PCBs) - they're just in the hands of a totally different user base that you probably don't interact with much.
Next time you're in a Hobby Lobby or Michaels, check out the Cricut section.
Big mass market stuff. And the folks who take it seriously have a choice of dozens of other brands they can get (usually by mail order - Cricut has the high-street shops sewn up) with differing capabilities (bed sizes, cut depth, pressure settings, etc) and prices. But for around $400 you can get a well-engineered tool that will let you cut arbitrary designs. In comparison a CNC is more expensive, and an old style pen plotter is harder to find on the used market nowadays.
Now, to change the subject - has anyone experimented with paint-on etchant such as Armor Etch? Sold in Hobby Lobby etc for etching glass.
regards,
Graham
What kind of cutter plotter do you use and what is smallest trace that you can achieve?
Thanks,
Ovidiu
I think it's a roland clone... very basic standard cutter plotter.
It's really not calibrated as well as it should be but even so I can get soic traces even though it's sometimes hard to weed because the condition of my cutter.
It seems to be limited by only how small the cutter can cut - which will vary from cutter to cutter and condition of it.
Second I've only ever seen one vinyl cutter once in my life. They're not very common equipment. So the whole premise of your article is like saying it is easy to get rich as long as you have a goose that lays golden eggs. The hard part of course is getting the goose to begin with. Any Jack with magic beans can tell me that!
If you have robots with lasers to make then I suggest you get to it. I don't think a Shopbot will help you with that task.
Aloha.
As far as the chemical comments... I think it safest that someone unfamiliar should be urged to read the warnings. If you already know about it all - then those comments shouldn't really apply to you. I just went with what I felt was most sensible for the general public which sometimes involves children or teens - and it's usually best to push carefulness when regarding chemicals... I know that when I was young that I would have just jumped in fast! This is my first instructable - and as I have written laboratory manuals in the past - I was actually trying not to go too crazy on the overstressing safety issues. From my experience though - you never know what someone will assume and I feel it my responsibility in part if instructions are not stressing of safety and care. If a company doesn't have their customer in honest interest and tries to sell more product - I have no control or place to comment on that.
If you don't have a cutter or access to one - well it's not quite a goose that lays golden eggs. I know that they are much more common than they used to be (It was pretty high tech when I got my first one 15 years ago). I hope some people that have access to one might find this useful.
Your last comment makes me wonder if I offended you somehow.
I'm sorry if I did - but I was just trying to share!
Cheers!
You know water is treated with Ferric Chloride so it can't be that dangerous. Being as people drink the stuff all the time.
My comment about the label was more what the label lacks. Which is any decent information on how to get any performance at all out of the product. Nothing a little HCL and H2SO4 can't fix up though.
I think it is fairly safe to say that about 99.99999% of the population has no access to a vinyl cutter. I might be off +/- by a decimal place or two there though.
You don't even know me so I am offended that you think you could offend me :) I was born and bred in Jersey. I'm a big boy. It takes more than most can muster to offend me. Although every time I say anything someone gets horribly offended. What? What'd I say?
I know some rivers not too far from where I grew up that if you dunk your boards in them you should get a good etch. heh