UK Home Etchers!

[hammerheadmusicman]

So, i do a quite a bit of etching, as well as buying stuff from bean to support the cause, but every now and again i come up against a bit of a problem whereby, if i put a component in, and have made a mistake, and have to take it out and resolder a new component, sometimes the copper pads come off the board, does any one else have this porblem? The Board i have is from maplins, as i was in there and saw the board and decided to buy a big bit and give it a go, well i'm working my way through it, but i have come across this problem several times! Was wondering if any of you guys know where i can get some better board that is prehaps more resilient!


Thanks again

George

[LaceSensor]

the stuff from Rapid is decent. allows multiple resolders. use a decent desolder pump or other tool and dont over heat the board if possible.

[hammerheadmusicman]

That's what I do anyway, des older iron, and I am super quick with the iron these days too.. I never hear the board up too much, I just think the maplins board it shite!

[stevie1556]

Another vote for the boards from Rapid! I use the economy photo board, it's white in colour. A pain to cut, but still easier then the FR4 board they sell.

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[hammerheadmusicman]

Is that the photo sensitive etch stuff?

[stevie1556]

Is that the photo sensitive etch stuff?

They do a photo etch board which is what I use as I have a UV tank. They also have just a plain copper board as well.

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[jeffaroo]

im building a exposure box now ! note to self, pull power after testing (FLASH)

[stevie1556]

im building a exposure box now ! note to self, pull power after testing (FLASH)

Are you using UV tubes? If so, I can send various measurements of my box if that helps. One thing I will say is that the manufacturer says a 3 min exposure time, I've found I need a 5 min exposure time. Also, make sure all the sides are blacked out as the UV light can hurt your eyes quite badly.

If you get the right UV LEDs then you can build a exposure box using them.

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[jeffaroo]

yep, leds ...just got them friday
id still be interested in your build. send some pics over

[stevie1556]

yep, leds ...just got them friday
id still be interested in your build. send some pics over

Mine was a shop bought one. I was going to say I could measure the tube distance to the glass, the angled mirror bottom, etc to help you get the correct exposure. But if you are using LEDs then the distances would be different.

If you want a board that is fairly easy to cut, I highly recommend the economy photo board from rapid.

I very nearly bought loads of LEDs to make an exposure box like you're doing, the main reasons being that I like building stuff and the cost issue, with the latter being the biggest factor. My small, basic unit was £141! Daylight robbery tbh!

[jeffaroo]

nice   

[stevie1556]

Also, make sure your printer can print on transparency film. I bought some Jetstar sheets that are designed for PCB artwork and my printer wouldn't print on them. It kept running the sheets through the printer then saying I needed reload the paper. I tried everything, even sticking the sheet to a piece of plain paper and it still wouldn't print on it. The printer is a Epson Stylus SX600FW. In the end I was about to buy a cheap black and white laser printer, but a shop had a decent end of line colour laser printer going cheaper then a cheap black and white one so I got that. Had to get different sheets for it though, and the only problem is I have to print the artwork out twice and then put one of top of the other to make the artwork thick enough to stop the UV going through it.

Hopefully the above will save you some clueless hours as to why it may not print on the artwork film.

If you're running a inkjet printer and it takes transparency sheets, PM me your address and I'll send you mine as I can't use them.

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