Best home made DIY PCB method?

[polo16mi]

Hi folks:

I had been making some pcbs, for ruby and for a bluesbraker.  In past, i had been etched other PCB in my secondary school (around 90's) , i.e. for a laboratory power supply, really, no big deal, big traces, no very difficult at all. I used to make it with a couple of indeleble marker´s (a thin and a thick one). Then, it goes to Perchloride ferric bath.

Lately, when i mess around with ss-amp hobby, start using the "print with a laser printer, transfer to the pertinax with an iron and put the pcb in to Perchloride" method.

Its looks easy and better than pencils for difficult designs, but i can´t find the optimun combination between:

- wich paper best to use?: i tried regular bond paper and illustration coated paper, always printer with HP Laser. Bond worked acceptable, but not good enough, cause some track looks slighly corroded. Illustration coated paper didn´t work well with the printer. Looks like toner cant fix properly to the paper and see some "ghost" appear on the sheet.

- I use an iron of 1200W. Wich better? The hottest temperature that it can reach? I´m affraid that if too much hot, take off/detach copper of the pcb. How much temperature? How much time?

Any know a cheap, home made, method better than mine?

Can any name his own method that use? No industrial, of course.

Not sure if it is the right place of the forum to put it post. Please move it if not.

[joecool85]

I always hear people recommending to use Press 'N Peel blue.  You can get it from SmallBearElec.com for only $2 a sheet.

Since you asked for a homemade solution, I would recommend using paper from a magazine.  Not the covers, but the thin inside sheets.  I haven't tried it myself, but evidently is transfers the toner very well.  You just soak it in water after the ironing to get the paper off and you're done.

[Alexius II]

Not the covers, but the thin inside sheets.  I haven't tried it myself, but evidently is transfers the toner very well.  You just soak it in water after the ironing to get the paper off and you're done.

Indeed it does. I used photo paper for a while, but returned back to magazine paper for it's simplicity.

While my photo paper needed no soaking afterwards, the timing and iron temperature was just too tricky to get right every time... with magazine paper I just set my iron to "middle" temperature and press for 2 mins. Then I drop it into cold water and gently rub the paper off with my fingers - and it's done.
(then I clean it with acetone and coat with flux) :tu:

[polo16mi]

I see.  Magazine paper seems to be better than any else (..usually existing at home). Ironed around 2 mins at half temperature.

But one more question remains.... there are a lot of kind of magazine paper. To make an example, wich one to use? Say.... similar to newspaper? I mean... some magazines papers (inside pages, of course) looks similar to newspaper.  Other magazines.....let me think one similar for any country.... perhaps playboy centerfold page? (ejem....never see one, a friend of mine told me 8|)

Or wich other your says?

I hope be enough clear...

[rowdy_riemer]

I always hear people recommending to use Press 'N Peel blue.  You can get it from SmallBearElec.com for only $2 a sheet.

Since you asked for a homemade solution, I would recommend using paper from a magazine.  Not the covers, but the thin inside sheets.  I haven't tried it myself, but evidently is transfers the toner very well.  You just soak it in water after the ironing to get the paper off and you're done.

Press-n-Peel blue works pretty well for me.

[DJPhil]

It took me half a dozen boards to get fairly good at making them at home, and I continue to experiment with different things to see if I can get better results. I'm using an old laser fax machine that sometimes prints when it wants to, magazine paper (mostly), a laminator for heat transfer (I wasn't talented enough to get consistent results with an iron), and either FeCl from Radio Shack (in winter) or air regenerated copper chloride (in summer) for etching. I'm lucky enough to have access to a drill press that'll hold just about any size bit, so I use that for drilling, but I could put my $8US pin drill to the task and get the job done if I didn't mind sore fingers.

The most important single thing I can think of is keep trying! Don't let bad results deter you, just keep at it and you'll get it. Being able to knock out a custom PCB in a few hours is incredibly helpful when you're tinkering with electronics. You can also take your time and make a masterpiece. It's a lot like baking, except that you can plug your guitar into it when it's done and it'll last a few decades longer.

I'd always intended to do a good, comprehensive writeup on home PCB manufacture. I must admit that I don't have a whole lot new to add to the sum total of what's on the internet, but if there's any interest I'd be happy to try to consolidate my findings in a guide for the forum. It's an odd passion of mine, as it's one of the first victories I achieved after returning to electronics.

[J M Fahey]

For one-offs I use Laser Transfer on Epson Photo Paper, which has perfect surface, not finger grease (which often mars magazine paper for obvious reasons).
If I need over 5 of any board, I silkscreen them, since I already have everything set up for that.
It's the real deal.

[rowdy_riemer]

I've thought about doing silk screening, but I've never needed to do enough boards to justify it.

[Alexius II]

But one more question remains.... there are a lot of kind of magazine paper. To make an example, wich one to use? Say.... similar to newspaper? I mean... some magazines papers (inside pages, of course) looks similar to newspaper.

Yep, this thin ones work the best (= are very easily removed, soaking in water)

I found that the best of them is an advertising brochure, that I get in the mailbox every day
It is very thin, what makes it somewhat difficult to print on - but I tape it to a harder paper and print that way :tu:

[JPHeisz]

Best paper for the toner transfer method is http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06c/A10-12771-215517-3445097-3445097-1830369-1830370-1830373.html HP glossy presentation paper (or equivalent). This is thin like magazine paper but ready to use and white (of course). It soaks off very easily and is cheap -$15 for 300 sheets.

No chance the iron will delaminate the copper from the board - use the highest heat lots of pressure.

The key to a good transfer is cleaning the board. Many say scuff it with sandpaper or steel wool but I`ve found that all it really needs is to be cleaned with a good strong solvent, like acetone. I use lacquer thinner, which is nearly the same thing.

For etchant, I use a mix of 1 part muriatic acid and 2 parts peroxide. The acid is available in most hardware stores - it`s used for cleaning brick, concrete, etc. The peroxide at the drugstore - 3%.

I`ve made MANY boards this way.

[phatt]

I've not actually done this but I did do a big research on the subject and I did pick up a few things from my reading that might help.

Two things seem to be an issue besides paper;

1/ The actual stuff your brand of printer uses can be an issue, they are not all the same.
(something to do with the size of the particals used)

2/ Apparently Not all printers allow you to adjust the density.
(I get the impression you need *max density of toner* for this to work well)

Can't remember all the names but *MJL21193's* comment about HP paper definitly rings a bell as being very good.

For me I just don't do enough to justify the outlay and most of my stuff is simple one side boards so I just center punch all the holes from an Eagle layout then join the dots with pencil and after double checking I then ink it by hand,, etch drill and I'm done.

ED;
Forgot to mention that those laminators can be modified to raise the temperature (apparently not that hard,, do a search) Otherwise you will be rolling those boards through many times to get the toner to melt and stick to the board.

hope it helps, Phil.