Best method of making PCB .. Toner tarnsfer or Photoresist or what .. help?

[ktek]

Ok Ok Mario

I agree with you

In past  I made   own  cs, but I do not say how many dresses  damaged  from acid
and then  considering  the lost time, drilling, manual jumping vias, etc

actually with more few  euros  I have a very professional result

[ChaosReigns]

Step by step instructions along with pics. Hope this helps somebody.

http://www.riccibitti.com/pcb/pcb.htm

[Magnox]

I found that making the kit required for photoresist-style PCB making was part of the fun. I suppose it depends on whether one is mostly a hobbyist or serious student/professional though. I've always been a hobbyist, so the extra time required to make my own boards and fact that I can do everything myself, and save money, is appropriate. If I wanted to publish anything I would probably have a board made.

Anyway, I've tried most of the available methods and find making a transparency with a laser printer and using a pre-sensitized board the best for fine pitch. I can reliably do down to 0.5mm tqfp double sided. I've used Brother, Oki and now an HP laserjet printer, all with good results on laserstar film. I made a double-sided UV exposure box from thin wood and a heated bubble etching tank from acrylic sheet, an aquarium air pump and a chain of power resistors in heat shrink tubing.

For etching I much prefer ammonium persulphate to ferric chloride. It's much cleaner and easier to see how etching is progressing.

For larger scale stuff, i.e. nothing smaller than 0.1" (maybe with a single trace between i.c. pins) then I print onto glossy photo paper and do the iron-it-on and soak-it-off trick with an iron. That works OK, but not perfectly.

I did buy a high temperature (180 Celcius) laminater that can take 1.6mm thick material, but it takes so many passes through that it's quicker to just use the clothes iron!

Plated though holes are possible by using PCB repair kits like the Copperset tubes. A bit fiddly to do but with care they work perfectly. These days I stick to SMD parts as much as I can though; it's much easier.

[night_mare]

Here is my one......
I ve use "Readers Digest" magazine Paper 
Its work very well for me 

[hodahel]

I'm using the sticker paper backing......the yellow one and I get amazing result!

[bigmaurizio]

Photoreist is the better, but not fast and more expensive. Toner transfer using photo paper (for ex. hp glossy is economic and work very well) is good too, but less resolution and maybe hard to make a good pcd for smd devices. I usually use toner transfer for double layer, photoresist for single layer. To etching a mix of 20% solution HCl  and 9% solution H2O2, it's very fast, clean and economic

[Mentor]

I already tried with dry-film (from ebay) and the toner transfer method. I use a cheap Scotch laminator (TL901) that I bought from Amazon.

Both works fine, as soon as you learn how to work with then. For instance, with this laminator and the transfer method, printing with a Xerox printer, I have to pass the board about 20 to 25 times in the laminator to guarantee that the toner will fully transfer to the board.

On the other hand, I had some problems with bubbles when applying the dry-film. But carefully working with it and the bubbles were gone.

Definitively the dry-film have a better resolution.

[pickit2]

old topic seen this  no heat toner transfer
https://youtu.be/cVhSCEPINpM

[ratovarius]

Good method! I didn't know about it!

[PICker]

I'm doing some experiments with the UV-curable paint usually used for protecting PCB tracks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvU2yyfH-XE) for making a PCB  by using a cheap UV oven (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QDpAUkfjY8).  This seem to work no so bad but I need further tests. In alternative the Heat tone trasfer with laser-printed ink on copper works very well, maily when I use magazine paper.

[Ahmad_k]

I always use UV PCB method. you can get the highest quality in that method. also all methods (Except milling) require some sort of Ferric-chloride or similar for etching. So there is no reason why people don't use this method.

you can make your own exposure box using old scanner

[FTL]

I think most nail polish removers are acetone based. Apparently there are non-acetone based ones that use methyl acetate (easier on skin?). The one in the video does not say "non-acetone", so I'm guessing it is acetone based.

[Parmin]

Jumping into this topic once more time
Lately I have been getting PERFECT results by using my laser engraver.

The technique is very simple:
1. coat the blank PCB with engineering blue (dykem) or cheap spray paint from dollar store   - try to get thin and even coating, the thinner the better)
2. Use a laser engraver to burn the paint off the part you wish to etch (I use either my CO2 but you can also use a cheap 10 watt diode engraving machine)
3. etch the exposed board.

I managed to get quite consistent 0.1mm lines and separation with this method with dykem coating.

Cheers - happy trying.

[Vineyards]

I opted for a mini CNC from China many years ago thinking that it would be the best solution. Ever since that time, I have been working to make that solution work but I haven't lost my hope in any way.

[optikon]

I opted for a mini CNC from China many years ago thinking that it would be the best solution. Ever since that time, I have been working to make that solution work but I haven't lost my hope in any way.

I have a desktop 3018 and can get consistent, clean results. what trouble do you have?

[REZA]

1) wash your board and clean it
2) print your pcb in glass paper
3) put it your paper on board and with ironning it
4) next put ypur board nad paper to cold water
5) after 2 or 3 minute dig your paper slowly but just becarefull
6) after with nail clean it very carefully
7) put it in acid and shake it
when it finished you can pick up your board and wash it
9) then you must drills the pad but carefull
10) the last step solderring the board