I've been making hunderds of pcb's at home for the last 30 years. They look professional. I even make engineering prototype boards for some of the companys in the area. Here's my technique: Use a good cad program to lay out your board. I started out with Wintek's Smartwork. Then graduated to Tango which I use today. It runs in DOS or a Windows shell. There is a Windows version but I like the DOS version. Before CAD, I used the old cut and paste tape layout on mylar. I made hundreds of double sided boards that way. All artwork was outputted 2:1 (twice the size). I then took the artwork down to the local printers in town and had them reduce it to a negative film. A 12" X 12" film cost me about $14.00 to produce. Smaller sizes I could have done for about $6.00. Find a good small printing shop in your town and make friends with the cameraman. Sometines I could have the artwork reduced while I waited. In and out in 10 minutes! I used to sensitize my own boards and still do but I like the consistancy of Kepro's boards. http://www.kepro.com A 12X12 single sided board is part # S1-1212G. You can buy smaller pieces but the big ones are cheaper per sq in. The cost of the material is a little high but the consistency is better. Boards are here: http://www.kepro.com/cclad-s.htm I use an old paper cutter to cut the size board I need. Just cut it about 1/4 inch larger all around. A local photo shop is where you will find a contact frame to hold the film against the board for exposure. Expose the board for about 12 minutes under a #2 photoflood. Develop the board with methelyene chloride or the stuff Kepro sells. I think its Tolulene. I use Sodium Persulfate (or Amonium Persulfate) also available from Kepro for etching. Ferric Chloride is messy, stains and is hard to dispose of. S.P. is clear and looks like blue Windex glass cleaner when spent. I etch the board in a glass dish with a heat lamp overhead or hot plate under it. It takes about 10 minutes to etch. Once etched, I use some old developer solvent to remove the resist. Some people leave the resist on the board to keep it shiny but it's a little harder to get solder to flow onto the pad if you're not careful. I use a Dremel drill and drill press to drill the holes. Use a good carbide bit to drill clean holes. Bits are also available from Kepro. #67 (.032") bit for most components and #65 (.035) for headers and 1N4001 size leads. I use a variac to slow the speed down on the drill. No need to run it at 10,000 rpm when a third of that will still cut a smooth hole. Just be careful, the bits are fragile and will snap if you look at them wrong. I still have two bits I've been using for over 10 years! Still sharp. A small table top circular/belt sander will finish the edges to professional looks. If anyone wants, I'll put pictures and directions on the web for those that want to see the process more clearly. Good luck, Rick Pic Dude wrote: > Couldn't find a good answer to this in the archives or web, so... > > Trying to figure out how to make professional-quality PCB's at home. > These will be one-offs, so I'm avoiding the option of using a PCB service. > But I would like them to look professional. > > The Ferric Chloride etch method is great, and I have all the stuff for > that, but I always have 2 problems: drilling holes neatly, and laying > out the pattern onto the board. > > For the holes, I've circumvented the problem by surface-mounting my > components. It takes up a little more space, but I can mount one > circuit on top, and another on the back of the PCB, so I can actually > save space. For more complex circuits requiring a dual-sided PCB, > this is not so great though. Here's an example... > http://www.avn-tech.com/stuff/speedo_conv_pcb.jpg > > The real problem is laying out the pattern on the board. I can draw > some nice board layouts using a CAD program etc, but I've been using > rub-on transfers to create the circuit, and it never looks professional. > Been looking at the photo-sensitive board process, but that probably > means I need a laser printer. Most photo-copier places won't let me > put any special paper in their machines. > > However, I've heard/read that with the photo-sensitive process, once > I get a transparency with the circuit on it, I can lay the pattern out > under the sun, and don't even need a UV lamp. (Lots of sun here > in Texas!) > > I've seen the iron-on transfer system, but from the instructions, they > seem like they would be a major hassle to get perfect. > > Any thoughts, or options I may be missing here? My priorities are low > equipment/materials cost. Labor is not a problem ... see, getting > laid-off is not all bad. :-) > > Cheers. > > -- > http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! > email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body