How To Etch Your Own Circuitboards Videos

ageowns Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - Great video. I'll be using that in my lessons!

xorfive Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - It's a lot harder with the thin traces of a real circuit. When drawing your board, try to use thick traces and lots of fill areas (ie grounding planes). Not only does it use less etchant, but also helps the toner transfer properly. Also, you MUST rough up the board or the toner will not take to the copper. 200 grit sand paper or SOS pads work well. I use a power drill to help.

xorfive Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - Tile several copies of your artwork per sheet of glossy paper. If the transfer doesn't take the first time (and it often doesn't), you will have spares, plus you won't be wasting expensive inkjet photo-paper.Most people use Ferric Chloride (available in most places). It's less dangerous to people than hydrochloric acid.Acetone is very hazardous to humans, and passes through the skin. Always use gloves (not vinyl) when handling acetone.

vrogy Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - Acetone==fingernail polish.Where do you get Ferric Chloride? How much does it cost?We're posting an instructable soon, these are definitely problems we need to address.

brunomdinis Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - One question... is the glossy paper you use from a printed magazine? or is it a pretty new sheet?

brunomdinis Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - One question... the glossy paper you use is from a printed magazine? or is it a pretty new sheet?

balloonsarecool Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - that guys name is dutch! his name translated is actually: mike upearly

MeisterHenning Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - good job

BMSWEB Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - I'm not sure what sort of paper you used? Is it Glossy Lazer Paper, or Glossy Inkjet Paper? or something else?

jvm270880 Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - the glossy paper you use is from a printed magazine? or is it a pretty new sheet or photo sheet?

ratgod Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - What is the acid you used? you called it by 2 names in the video, I couldnt quite get the first one but the seconds time you said hydrochloric acid. and was that 2 parts acid to 1 part hydrogen peroxide? great project

lehjr1 Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - That's muriatic acid also known as hydrochloric acid and its most often used for swimming pools. The ratio is 2 parts peroxide to 1 part muriatic acid. Also note that he did this outside. The fumes are toxic and you should really avoid breathing them in. You should also avoid getting any of the acid or the mixture on yourself.

LeoDJ1992 Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - you can just use ferric chloride

addictedtowwe Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - looks like that took a day to etch because it was daylight when you put it into the acid and took it out at night...... does it really take this long??

rmitoday Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - Hi, can anybody tell me what kind of scissors he 's used to cut PCB. I'm looking for one. Thanks

captainmarmalade Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - yeah they're called tin snips. i used to use them when i was roofing. they're somewhat like what you would use to trim small hedges, but they don't have a curve in them. they sell them at pretty much any hardware store if you haven't found them yet.

RudyChickenz Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - ferric chloride is more expensive, non-reusable, you have to use more of it, and it produces a lot of copper salts that are bad for the environment when you pour em down the drain. this method is way better IMO.

TheBypasser Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - I tried both metal-cutting and just strong cardboard-cutting scissors - both worked perfectly.

TheBypasser Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - hehe I use ferrum too - if the mixture is dense, you need like 20-30 minutes per average board, also it's reusable, non-toxic (so you can turn and grab your board with bare hands) and can be restored if overused by putting iron nails in it.

stupidfish100 Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - lol this is much more easy then the make thing and cheaper to

killitb Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - I really liked the part where it showed the copper being etched away. that was pretty cool.

oneskirvin Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - very nice man thanks for the video

obrien135 Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - Do you print the pattern of the artwork out onto the glossy paper you got from magazines? I didn't see that part in the video. Does it have to be white or can there be colors or black printing on it before you print the toner onto the paper, if it's from magazines? It looked like you suggested using magazine pages. Can you use glossy photo paper instead?

coolboarder44 Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - I don't think you can use a picture from a magazine directly and put it onto your copper clab board. What you might have to do is scan the pic into your computer and put it into photoshop or something to trace it out. I think it has to be only black ink (not sure how the colour ink reacts to the acids) plus you can't really get colours on your PCB anyways :) But just as long as you get the image onto photo-glossy paper (ie, printed it off of your comp.) you should be good to go.

obrien135 Says:

Nov 18, 2008 - If you want to etch a two sided board, do you iron both sides, flipping it over after doing the first side, or does the heat transfer well enough through the board from one side?