ilovefuzz.com

Is this a legit way of etching?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWnfnt2rNO0[/youtube]
Any tips/tricks that make would make it easier, or things you don't agree with in that video?

Also, is this a good kit to buy for etching?
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... Id=2113244
Or should I order stuff elsewhere?



Also, I was thinking of trying to etch the MadBean Cave Dweller. Is that a bad idea as a first? The layout is super tiny <1.5"x <1.5"

Thanks for any insight, ILF!

imho i would just bypass learning how to etch and just get small batched of pro boards made.

while it is totally cool and amazing to be able to etch your own boards it is really a big of time suck and you have to deal with chemicals and invest in certain tools. especially if you are already designing the layout in a cad program, all you have to do is send that file to a pcb fab joint and shortly after you get a nice set of pcbs with soltermask, thoughole plating, silkscreen and other wonderful things your home production likely wont have. plus if your layout works you can probably sell or swap the rest with other people and who knows maybe even profit off the experience.

all that said, i used to do something similar to that video but to transfer the layout i just used a iron (like for clothes) to get the toner off the overhead and onto the board. there are some pics here of how to do that.

http://mtlasm.blogspot.ca/2008/03/pcb-etching.html

Etching your own boards is good for one offs, but if you plan to build more than a few of something there is a definite advantage to having boards made. It's a pretty big investment, but worth it in my opinion. I despise soldering to hand etched boards. A professionally manufactured board however... it's like Zen meditation.

I get mine from here; http://oshpark.com
They do 2 layers and 4 layers, so you can get your boards much tighter.
I just use the free version of eagle

Thanks for the responses guys, but I just want to learn to etch for my own personal enrichment.

multi_s wrote:all that said, i used to do something similar to that video but to transfer the layout i just used a iron (like for clothes) to get the toner off the overhead and onto the board. there are some pics here of how to do that.

http://mtlasm.blogspot.ca/2008/03/pcb-etching.html

This is good. I like this way better! I'm going to have to give it a shot.

thats one way, the photoresist boards are cool but a bit pricey. You'll need a laser printer (laser photocopies wont transfer properly). You can use magazine paper, transparencies, satinated paper to print the artwork and transfer with the iron (depending the paper and heat the lines could grow a bit). Cool it off with water and then peel off the paper, the key is getting a paper that wont stick to the copper, so the transfer is flawless.