On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 1:27 AM, William "Chops" Westfield wrote: > It depends. Couple bucks for blank copper clad. > Agreed. > Couple bucks for etchant. > That's a one time thing. A bottle will last a LONG time. If you use the HCL/H2O2 method, you can make it last forever and it's VERY cheap. > Significant bucks for the high-grade ink cartridge (for > direct to PCB printing) (which may or may not dry up between PCBs (I > hate inkjets!)) Or, just a laser printer (that most people have anyway) on label backing paper that you can get for free. > or a couple bucks for special transfer paper or > transparency paper. It'll last you a lifetime. > Couple bucks for drill bits. Tungsten carbide bits will last you pretty much forever and they're pretty cheap. > Couple bucks for tool to cut the PCB material. Again, it'll last you forever. > Moderate amount for an inkjet printer > to modify, or for a laminator, or for an iron, or for a contact > exposure frame. Couple buck for other chemicals, sandpaper, etc. > Sandpaper costs pennies, most people already have a laser printer, most people have a clothes iron. > I dunno. I've spent a couple $K for an LPKF (mill) to get that > "instant turnaround." But it's not really that "instant", and I'm > increasingly uncertain that it was a worthwhile purchase. So what you only really need is the copper board. Everything is already lying around somewhere or will last "forever" or costs pennies. --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .