my first etch!

[eniacmike]

I tried my first etch this weekend. The first board I etched was kind of random I just took one of the etch layouts off a rangemaster instructions that I had printed out on regular laser paper. I had a bit of trouble getting the toner to stick in all the places so I tried to go over it with a sharpie in the spots that didn't stick.

I etched it and I got really impatient and I thought the etchant wasn't working at that maybe I had bought the wrong kind of board or etchant. Then all of the sudden the copper started eating away and I got a little two excited and took it out to fast. I had shorts all over the board and I had to go through and scrape the shorts away, and then parts I had sharpied ended up being missing tracks. I drilled it anyways for practice, but I don't think it will work unless I do some sort of cross between pad per hole and pcb.

I read online that using magazine paper is a better transfer medium than lazer printer so I cut some sheets out of an old magazine and used the manual feed tray on the printer. The paper printed up really nicely. I decided to print up a WHOLE sheet of snarkdoodle layouts. I have probably made more red llamas than any other pedal so I figured I should do something I am used to building. In retrospect it probably isn't a good idea to do a board with a 16 pin DIP package because it isn't easy keeping the holes straight.

The magazine transfer was better, although it did take me 3 tries to get a clean transfer. The first one had missing tracks, the 2nd one came out blurry. For the 3rd try I cut the transfer alot wider on one side and I folded it under the board so that it wouldn't move as I ironed it. I pre heated the board for a minute and the toner stuck instantly. I ironed it for about 5 minutes more to be sure.

Then I let the board cool on it's own, which I think is an important step not to rush it into the water to allow the toner to bond properly with the board.

Then I soaked it for almost 10 minutes. online alot of people say 5 minutes but just be patient and leave it soaking. nothing bad will happen to it if you soak it too long. The paper was still a little hard to rub off and I was scared of pulling toner off so I took my time with this step.

I got a really clean toner image on the board so I was excited to try the etching.

I put it in ferric chloride at regular temp about 85. It seemed like it wasnt working at all but I kept brushing it over and over with a foam brush once It started eating away the copper it was pretty fast about a minute later I had all the copper off. I made sure it was all off this time before I soaked it in a cold water bath to stop the etching. I rinsed it alot and then took the toner off with acetone and had a beautiful perfect board.

I drilled it out on my big drill press with a diamond drill bit which ended up snapping in half, but I used the remaining half and it still worked. I had alot of problems with the drilling because I am blind in one eye so depth perception is impossible for me. The bit does like to sit in the pads though which is nice. I had a little struggle fitting the dip socket into the holes but a little pushing and pulling and it fit!.

I guess all in all it maybe took me an hour to make the board, not bad.

My costs where $5 for a big sheet of copper clad
$10 for etching solution
$5 for drill bits
and I hate to admit it because I am such a bachelor that I don't even own an iron, so I had to buy an Iron for $25 bucks.

I would appreciate any tips on drilling though. I saw a mini drill press at my parts store but it looked really crappy and was $50. My dremel won't go small enough to hold the drill bits.

[gtr2]

Thanks for sharing.  I found the magazine paper to work great.  Like you said the key is to not rush.  As for drilling (the two I etched). I used a very small engraving bit that I picked up at lowes for the dremel.  I forget what size but it is smaller than any bit you could mount in the dremel.  It zips right through, but you do have to use a steady hand.  It worked great for me.

I found the process to be time consuming and costly for a board here and there, so unless there's something I want to build other than what Madbean provides I'll buy the boards from him.  Plus, I think it's only right to support Madbean so he can continue with the great site and projects.  If we didn't buy boards this site probably wouldn't exist, so I'll refrain from etching his layouts anyways.   

[eniacmike]

I didn't mean to take away from madbean's boards, in fact I have an order placed with him right now. I just thought the next step for me was etching my own boards. I am planning on buying most of the fabbed boards too when they come out because they really speed up the building process.

The reason I wanted to learn to etch was because I wanted to try the suhr riot and madbean posted a layout over on freestompboxes but it is not available on this site yet.

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=414.0

[gtr2]

I certainly didn't mean to imply that!!  By your build reports you've certainly have supported what's going on here.  I etched my first board from a layout on this site, after I did the process and thought about it, I bought three boards from him.  It just annoys me a little when some others rely only on etching layouts without supporting the source of those layouts, ever...sorry for the rant 

[upthepunxxx]

I tried my first etch this weekend. The first board I etched was kind of random I just took one of the etch layouts off a rangemaster instructions that I had printed out on regular laser paper. I had a bit of trouble getting the toner to stick in all the places so I tried to go over it with a sharpie in the spots that didn't stick.

I etched it and I got really impatient and I thought the etchant wasn't working at that maybe I had bought the wrong kind of board or etchant. Then all of the sudden the copper started eating away and I got a little two excited and took it out to fast. I had shorts all over the board and I had to go through and scrape the shorts away, and then parts I had sharpied ended up being missing tracks. I drilled it anyways for practice, but I don't think it will work unless I do some sort of cross between pad per hole and pcb.

I read online that using magazine paper is a better transfer medium than lazer printer so I cut some sheets out of an old magazine and used the manual feed tray on the printer. The paper printed up really nicely. I decided to print up a WHOLE sheet of snarkdoodle layouts. I have probably made more red llamas than any other pedal so I figured I should do something I am used to building. In retrospect it probably isn't a good idea to do a board with a 16 pin DIP package because it isn't easy keeping the holes straight.

The magazine transfer was better, although it did take me 3 tries to get a clean transfer. The first one had missing tracks, the 2nd one came out blurry. For the 3rd try I cut the transfer alot wider on one side and I folded it under the board so that it wouldn't move as I ironed it. I pre heated the board for a minute and the toner stuck instantly. I ironed it for about 5 minutes more to be sure.

Then I let the board cool on it's own, which I think is an important step not to rush it into the water to allow the toner to bond properly with the board.

Then I soaked it for almost 10 minutes. online alot of people say 5 minutes but just be patient and leave it soaking. nothing bad will happen to it if you soak it too long. The paper was still a little hard to rub off and I was scared of pulling toner off so I took my time with this step.

I got a really clean toner image on the board so I was excited to try the etching.

I put it in ferric chloride at regular temp about 85. It seemed like it wasnt working at all but I kept brushing it over and over with a foam brush once It started eating away the copper it was pretty fast about a minute later I had all the copper off. I made sure it was all off this time before I soaked it in a cold water bath to stop the etching. I rinsed it alot and then took the toner off with acetone and had a beautiful perfect board.

I drilled it out on my big drill press with a diamond drill bit which ended up snapping in half, but I used the remaining half and it still worked. I had alot of problems with the drilling because I am blind in one eye so depth perception is impossible for me. The bit does like to sit in the pads though which is nice. I had a little struggle fitting the dip socket into the holes but a little pushing and pulling and it fit!.

I guess all in all it maybe took me an hour to make the board, not bad.

My costs where $5 for a big sheet of copper clad
$10 for etching solution
$5 for drill bits
and I hate to admit it because I am such a bachelor that I don't even own an iron, so I had to buy an Iron for $25 bucks.

I would appreciate any tips on drilling though. I saw a mini drill press at my parts store but it looked really crappy and was $50. My dremel won't go small enough to hold the drill bits.

I was gonna give this a shot. How did you pre heat the board for a minute? Just with the iron straight on the board? Also What size drill bit do you use when drilling out the holes on the etched board? I kinda feel like everybody knows the answer to this because in all the forums and online info  no one specifically gives a bit size. Apologies if this in common knowledge. Thanks for all the other info, this really helped me get a couple things straight!

[hoodoo]

Well done mate, and in answer to the question above, it's been a while but i'm pretty sure i used .8mm.

[upthepunxxx]

Well done mate, and in answer to the question above, it's been a while but i'm pretty sure i used .8mm.

Thank you!

[selfdestroyer]

Great job Mike, your etch came out great. The number one thing that I have learned about etching is that there is so many variables that it is almost impossible to have a full "step by step" and have it work for everyone. I have found a tried and true (for me) way I do mine and I did a tutorial but I still have a few people that say it just doesn't work for them. Save your first etch and in a few months pull it out and compare it with your current etches.. you will be amazed.

Cody

[rullywowr]

That's awesome Mike. You are drilling from the copper side...right?   The copper kind of guides the drill in the hole.

I find that the yellow toner transfer paper on ebay is cheap and works very well. I also use .8 mm carbide drills for just about everything.

I'm a big fan of muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide. One gallon of acid will do a lot of boards. I warm the container while I am etching on top of my toaster oven helps speed up the process. Keep up the good work!

[gtr2]

You guys do realize that this thread is from 4 years ago    Mike hasn't been on the forum in years 

[rullywowr]

You guys do realize that this thread is from 4 years ago    Mike hasn't been on the forum in years 

Zombie thread.... Damn tapatalk!  Oops.

[selfdestroyer]

You guys do realize that this thread is from 4 years ago    Mike hasn't been on the forum in years 

HAHA I do now.. I hate when I do that. Well I bet Mikes etches are crazy awesome by now. lol

Cody

[upthepunxxx]

You guys do realize that this thread is from 4 years ago    Mike hasn't been on the forum in years 

Totally my bad guys, apologies 

[upthepunxxx]

However, while I have your attention I was gonna order some boards from tayda. I read in a Pcb beginners guide that manufactures use fr4 boards.  Tayda has copper clad single sided boards made from both epoxy fr-4 and phenolic. The latter being a dollar cheaper. Just curious if it made a difference as to which one I ordered?

[selfdestroyer]

However, while I have your attention I was gonna order some boards from tayda. I read in a Pcb beginners guide that manufactures use fr4 boards.  Tayda has copper clad single sided boards made from both epoxy fr-4 and phenolic. The latter being a dollar cheaper. Just curious if it made a difference as to which one I ordered?

I'm not a 100% sure if its the same as phenolic but I got some CEM (Composite epoxy material) single sided copper clad, and did not care for it since the stuff is prone to chipping and splitting when cutting it. Also the dust is really toxic and a mask must be worn when sanding. I only use FR4 now for the fact that the laminate is much easier to cut and work with.

Cody