PCB - Where do you get them?

Jameco is a good place to start.

I used to use the peel off stuff. It works fine but I wasnt able to get anything reliable under 20 mils. Now i switched to toner transfer which is far cheaper and ive gotten good enough at it that i can do 10 mil traces without getting any breaks.

thanks for the links and directions. Soon ill give it a try.

Hey guys I have a problem. After etching I clean the board with paint remover. But I face problem in soldering and the color of the copper tracks change gradually and degrade. I didn't over etch but still the problem exists. Does anyone experience this type of problem.

the copper is oxidizing and/or grabbing a little sulfur out of the air .
any unprotected polished copper surface will do this .
it won't hurt anything ... take a little steel wool to polish it up , solder in the components ... good to go .

Thanks CWB. But while soldering the lead doesn't stick like I do in vero board. If I apply more flux the copper overheats.

And also the copper tracks look like rusted ones in some places especially in the copper fill areas (i.e. like dots)

hmmm ....
this is not exactly the right place to post this subject ... maybe one of the others can move it .
or ... re-start the subject in "pcb .... design" (one step back from here) . i'll delete these posts .

post pictures of what is going on ...
what flux are you using ?

Sorry if I have posted in the wrong subject. But i think these problems result due faults in toner transfer method so I have posted to this subject.

Oops! sorry while reading the discussion I was totally involved and didn't notice the topic heading since all were discussing about better methods for homebrew PCBs.

And Sorry again for pictures I don't have a camera.

I am using soldering flux available from local store. Brand "Quickfix soldering paste"..



This post has been edited by srikanthsamaga on January 20, 2009 02:00 am

does it matter how long you wait after you print the circuit to transfer it?

Although I am an amateur at this, and not to take away anyone's thunder, I though I would post my recent very successful results on making my own PCB. Instead of paper, I use overhead transparency film. It's clear, the toner comes off clean and you don't have to soak in water. It's quick and easy. I used ExpressPCB to make my layout. Here are the steps...

1) Print the image on the side of the overhead transparent film as suggested on the package.
2) Best to cut the PCB oversize and trim it down to size later.
3) Clean PCB with a plastic scrubby and acetone or paint thinner.
4) Put the PCB copper side up on the workbench on top of a flat piece of scrap plywood.
5) Placed iron directly on the PCB using a setting for wool. Leave on for 2.5-3 minutes. Remove iron.
6) Hold the film over the hot PCB positioning it without touching. Place the film image on the PC board. You can feel it stick right away.
7) Used a wood roller, about 1 inch wide, press the film in real hard. Do this for about 1 minute. Especially roll on the edges. If the edges are not adhering, put a paper towel over the film and apply the iron. Keep the iron moving, don't keep it in one spot for more than 5 seconds or it will melt the toner. Continue rolling.
8) Let sit for a 5 minutes to cool.
9) Peel film off, it should come off nicely leaving no toner on the film. If it does not come off clean, use a scrubby and thinner to remove the toner and try again.
10) Etch
11) Clean\remove the toner from the PCB with a scrubby and acetone or thinner. Leave some solvent from the scrubby on the PCB for a few minutes before scrubbing the toner off to soften up the plastic toner.
12) Print the component side artwork on overhead transparency.
13) Drill 2 pilot holes through traces at opposite corners of the PCB.
14) Place the PCB on the flat surface component side up.
15) Repeat step 5.
16) Hold the film over the hot PCB positioning it by lining up the drilled holes without touching the PCB. Place the film image on the PC board. You can feel it stick right away.
17) Repeat step 7
18) Repeat step 8
19) Repeat step 9
20) Place PCB copper side up on a scrap board and drill remaining holes. Placing on a scrap piece of wood will minimize burs from drill through on the component side.

Here are the results, click on the link to see the pic...
PCB before etching with toner applied. The board is 2x3 inches.
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/ken...nt=P1310536.jpg

PCB after etching
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/ken...nt=P2010554.jpg

Closeup of traces
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/ken...nt=P2010556.jpg

Component side before adding parts
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/ken...nt=P2010549.jpg

Completed PCB
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/ken...nt=P2050575.jpg
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/ken...nt=P2050579.jpg

I've used the toner transfer method before but I read that you could use magazine paper as well as ink jet photo paper and commercially made paper. I've only made a few PCBs (just started making my own recently) using magazine paper and have had inconsistent results (I think the paper's at fault). Sometimes the toner sticks well sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it etches well, sometimes not. I don't really know why the toner doesn't transfer off reliably. I want to use commercial paper like press and peel blue or something similar however it's really expensive here (like $40 for a few sheets). Does anyone know a cheap online supplier that ships internationally?

edit: oops, just realised that someone else mentioned ink jet paper.

This post has been edited by Lost in Translation on April 19, 2009 02:32 pm

Try overhead transparent film. It worked great for me and a friend tried it, worked great for him also. See my previous post.

Wow that is cool! - I think i'll give it a try.

Thanks!

yes,it is beter to keep off the track on the board,if you need to hold the board you'd better to wear a pair of gloves.in our factory we also require to do like this.

I've try to DIY my PCB according to way provide by JoOngle.
And I've failed in the first 2 times, then i keep move on, 10 times 7 successes.

And i found it is cheap to make this kind of DIY PCB, but it take me 2 days time to finish this 10times experiment!!!

Time is money.This is absolutely wasting time project if you got more than 1,000pcs to DIY!!!
After my asking hundreds of PCB friends, and finally i figure out an easier and cheaper way to make thousands pcs of PCB.

This way will attract many enemies if i public out here, in order to protect my personal safty. Please remember only if You guys who need thousand pieces of PCB contact me: nicksmsn(a)hotmail.com

This post has been edited by happybee on October 28, 2010 05:41 am

DIY pcb is something I've been experimenting with for some time, on and off. I initially tried the toner transfer method. The biggest problem I had was that I couldn't keep the paper still and ended up with a mess! I was using the laser printer at work but since changed jobs, cutting my experimentation to an end.

I've since been playing around with the UV exposure method. Varying results but overall better than the toner transfer. It's certainly worth trying if you are struggling with toner transfer. I found best results were from a halogen lamp.

As a side note I recently saw a video of a guy who converted an inkjet printer (putting a bit more space between the rollers I suspect) and printed directly onto copper clad board. Whilst the ink was wet he sprinkled toner from a cartridge (like how kids put glitter onto glued paper to make Xmas cards). After tapping the board to remove the excess toner he then put it through a laminator (again converted I suspect). Could be worth a try as inkjet's are often to be had for free.

Never actually tried this but instead of using an iron why not try putting a weight ontop of the paper (like a slab of flat steel)) so the weight is distributed evenly, and putting the whole thing under a grill?

S

I've done the DIY boards and my hats off to you guys and gals that make them work. I decided to take the easy route and ordered some from PCB Universe I know.. I know it kills me to pay more than I have to but I really needed a more durable board than I could make. Boards I got looked killer! I showed them to by boss and he contacted them to start ordering our production boards from 'em.

How wonderfull your guys are! I wonder how many layers do you make it by yourself? We only can make single or double side board at my college.

This is how I make them, including solder resist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHDI18pIv68

Pretty sweet solder resist layer results you have there, Noah.

I'll definitely have to look into that stuff.

I'm way to lazy to for all that, lol but I guess I could give it a try. I usually use xxxxxx cause they're local and don't get upset at me for small orders. haha but money is money, about how long is the inkjet process?

*edit*

Dumping links promoting companies as your first post is a good way to ger banned.

This post has been edited by Geek on May 02, 2012 01:27 am

Better is find a factory to make your PCB, in fact now this is cheap and easy, and you can get professional service.