Tutorials

Fotoresist method PCB etching tutorial


Find a schematic on the net or make your own  PCB layout that you want to etch.

I made this one, the Mini Man, in DIY layout Creator. (se links)

 

  

 

Print it out on a transparent film with a laser printer or a good inkjet. Some tutorials may tell you to print the same film twice or more times to getnontransparent lines. I have always printed just ones and never failed because of to transparent lines so forget that. Then cut a piece of cupper with fotoresist in appropriate size. Remove the cover and place the printed film on top. IMPORTANT,  mind what side you use. Remember that you need to make a mirror image of the PCB to have it right when it is exposed. Put a piece of glas or plexiglas on the transparent folio to ceep it flat. You dont want any light to leak in under it. Use a small fluorescent lamp with a UV tube. you might see the blue light from the tube in the pic below. I expos the  PCB for aproxematly 10-12 minutes. The lamp is  aprox 5 cm over the cupper. The time is dependent on the cupper you are using and the lamp you use. you just havre to test. It is better to overexpose caus you can always compensate with less time in the etch bath if to much copper goes off. If you use a to short time under the lamp you will not be able to compensate with longer time in the etch bath. Its just to start over again with a new piece of cupper. I bought my lamp at IKEA and the UV tube at a special lamp shop. all together about $20

 

 

Now its time to process the exposed PCB to get rid of all the redundant fotoresist . You can se how the brown fotoresist resolves.
 

 

 

Now its time to etch but before that rinse carefully in warm water. Rock the bowl constantly and keep the liquid warm. I heat it to near boiling in the micro before I drop in the PCM. It usually is enough to keep the fluid warm long enough for the cupper to etch. About 7-10minutes.

 

 

 

Ready to drill. IMPORTANT. Clean the cuppertraces with acetone or something like it to get rid of the fotoresist on top of the traces or you wont be able to solder or at least have serious problems with the soldering.

 

 

OK from printout to ready PCB (not counting the drill job) 25 minutes.