Questions on PCB making

[livingnote]

Well there is indeed the issue of having too much glass going on after a while and things
getting heavy and difficult to take apart and clean - though I have seen entire glass
constructions with aquarium like the totally crazy:

http://wdprivat.de/html/spruhatzanlage.html

Spray etch tank. For my requirements (19") it would be too small, but the idea is great.

Spray etching is a fantastic method and is industry standard for speed at etching, however
it must be said that the consequences of having one of these in a room where there are
electronic devices or anything else for that matter can be more than you bargained for
(atomized Fe(III)Cl yum).

 

[zayance]

Not the Cleanest job but whatever, i found good aquarium silicon only in black.
Waiting patiently to see if this one will take the business....

J-2  8) 8)

 

[hobiesound]

nice! gotta make me one of those too. BTW for the people in holland/belgium (don't know if they ship elsewhere...) i just found a great and cheap etch tank with pump and heater for just 65,- euro. check it out

http://www.hf-electronics.nl/Webwinkel-Product-4169762/Etstank-met-verwarmingselement-en-pomp.html

greetings,

Thomas

 

[zayance]

Done Deal  8) 8) 8), finally found some time to finish this, all went well after drying for 2 days, absolutely no leakage.
This one takes 5 liters of solution  , i wanted 4, but i'm not an Aquarium Professional  , here is just water because i'm trying to find out the time it takes to get to temp.

So i went Etch 1 / Rince 1, enough for my use.

I've epoxy glued 3 Suckers underneath to keep the bar in place, not in the picture tough.
EDIT: I've Silicon glued, same one used for the bath, Epoxy doesn't stand the Bath, and for making sure the ballast will last, i always empty the bath after use...

Again Thanks a lot Lukas for your help in making this one  8) 8) 8)


And here is the "Bain Marie" (Warm Water Bath) just to keep the developing solution at a better room temp, it's cold where i'm working.
I've first epoxy glued the aluminium handels but it wasn't working, so i used the Black silicone.
That cost me 25euros, and the heater is of course an All Submersible one, i've used 100W.
Of course a better solution would have been a top plastic can that is at exact inner dimensions
of the bath, to confine the heat, but that is working for now...

All in all all the setup, etching developing, takes 2 hours to get to temp, going from my Room temp of 12°C, in Winter time got to be patient  ;D

 

[livingnote]

WOWWWWW! Awesome!

 

[zayance]

Hi Guys, well getting back for some feedback on this for people who could be interested.
I finally had some time to use this one   , I've done two days of etching  8) 8) with this system and i got to say that it's working very well, the etching bath is very efficient, it takes some time to do his job but when it's there you got to be quick it just washes all away nicely, i work at constant 48-49°C.

Now had some issue at first try because as Lukas said before you can have blurred traces and markings if the light passes between photopositive and PCB, with some good weight on the board it corrected the problem, your educated guess was right Lukas  .

Concerning my UV box, well it does his job ok, but has 4 neons that are a little too spaced from each other i believe, doesn't seem like the light is evenly distributed, could be nice to add some more neons between them, thinking about it, but will have to build another box for it, Wood or whatever, simple enough.
So for upgrading for now, i just tried one simple thing, i just added a blurred transparent paper on the glass, and it looks like the light is better distributed, but i'm always making three layers of photopositive for a deep black, and as Lukas said "when photopositive is good the you can bombard with light for long time with no problem", wich i do and the result is now good each time, no more failures  8) 8) 8).

Again Thanks a lot Lukas for your help on this, so far i'm really lovin it, it's always a pleasure to see a nicely done board after patiently waiting for it, and yes patience is a baker's virtue...


PS: Next step, double sided board, and SMD (if my printer is nice with me  )

 

[zayance]

My first attempt on a double sided board, first try, success! ;D ;D 8) 8), well seem to have slightly moved on one side, but it's ok.
Vias will be done withe simple resistor legs, and legs soldered on the upper side as needed of course, not the illest layout since i'm not a pro in that domain and it looks like a wire mess
but wanted to have a quick something to try out and use. Should work, i need to experiment a little more and find a more consistent way of doing them.  8)

EDIT some other new stuff: Double sided, and pretty tricky...

 

[Ptownkid]

Congrats man, looks great!

 

[Rybow]

Wow! That's some nice work zayance. Really impressive stuff!

I have just started making my own boards as well, and I have a question. Do you get raised edges around the drill holes? I ask because I do, and I am not sure of the best way of dealing with it without possible ripping the pad off. I usually would grab a big bit and " counter sink" a hole a bit to take any burrs off.

I have been doing the drilling with a dremel and a 1mm high speed steel bit from a local store. I didn't have a collet small enough for the bit, so I used some electrical tape around the bit. Ghetto, but it worked! I also don't have a press, but I found that center punching each hole with a nail did wonders.

Just ran out of 2oz board to work worth. Made a couple of boards using some 1oz stuff that I had lying around. After this experience, I am getting some more 2oz ASAP.

 

[zayance]

Thanks Guys!

I have just started making my own boards as well, and I have a question. Do you get raised edges around the drill holes? I ask because I do, and I am not sure of the best way of dealing with it without possible ripping the pad off. I usually would grab a big bit and " counter sink" a hole a bit to take any burrs off.

I would say it's because you're using high speed drill bits, or because you also drill on the copper, meaning the inner hole isn't well exposed, i found that when bad etched boards have the holes covered with Copper it's just a bit breaker and also could do as you say using HSS bits,
But get yourself some reshaped Cardbide Bids found on ebay, as Ptownkid suggested before or some of those Bungard ones, they will make nice holes like they should be  


PS: Of course without a press i think those Cardbide bits won't like it at all, so if you think of doing this often, maybe invest in the Dremel press and those clamps?

Hope this helps  :-\

EDIT: i actually edited the drilling clamp part on page 3, just a little note on my experience on that one...

 

[3nity]

Alright i have a few 2 layer boards later this year!
We will stay in touch!
Thanks.

 

[livingnote]

Awesome Work Zayance. Drop me a line sometime again, would be great to catch up.