DIY PCB Toner Transfer (No Heat) & Etching

[@charlesworton4020]

Gareth, I tried to make this work several times, and got no where. It finally occurred to me that you're using nail polish remover, which isn't acetone; it contains acetone. A quick check of the product MSDS reveals that the specific gravity is .82 to .85; since pure acetone is .787, this means that it probably contains about 75% acetone (ignoring the confounding variables of aloe vera oil and scents). When I diluted my pure acetone down to 75% - 3 parts acetone to one part distilled water - I got much better results. I also found that a towel placed under the PCB - as you did - absorbs excess solution, and prevents it from being reabsorbed into the work, where it can cause damage. One difference I introduced was the use of a kitchen rolling pin; this allowed me to exert much greater vertical force, while keeping horizontal force at zero. Thanks for an excellent video. >Charlie

[@electrobification]

and thank you for the information and efforts

[@0x2a1A4]

I tried this with acetone as well, and mixes of acetone, nafta, ethanol. but i did get it to work either with these things.. one thing that nail polish almost always contains is ethyl acetate,, so i suspect this is what is also needed, illl try some nail polish remover and see, it could also be a toner thing, as not all toner is the same.. im using a brother DCP-7030 with brother brand toner

[@charlesworton4020]

@@0x2a1A4 , I'm also using a Brother BW printer with Brother toner. Gareth is - I believe - using an HP laserjet. Don't know whether it makes a difference or not. Keep me posted on your further attempts with nail polish remover; I never got a result as good as Gareths using any mix of acetone and water.

[@DougWoodrow]

@@charlesworton4020 Laserjet 1100 according to 0:46 - I wonder whether that's with original HP toner?

[@charlesworton4020]

@@DougWoodrow You have amazing eyes, Doug - thanks for the clarification. Only Gareth knows what toner he was using.

[@georgealbertacanadaeh1038]

hello from Alberta, Canada I am semi-retired now turning 65 years old this year. Took electronics in 1984-1984, Graduated with honors and began my electronics technician career. In all my years I have made a few electronic projects but my pcb boards never turned out well. If I would have seen this 35 years ago I could have made so many projects. I have a few on my mind now and was looking at how to get these done when I came across your article. Well done, many thanks from a former Brit born in Manchester, left in 1975. Much appreciated you sharing this. I can't wait to try it!

[@jayc2469]

The title ought to read - _"DIY PCB Toner Transfer (No Heat) & Etching - with _*_one_*_ hand"_ Every respect for coming up with this brilliant no-heat transfer method! I've not etched anything in years but I will try this for sure. Thanks! I understand that the additive that is used to make glossy magazine paper is China Clay.

[@K.D.Fischer_HEPHY]

"Heat the oil in a large pan over a high setting. Add the onion, garlic and chicken and cook until it browns" - Got it ! Thank you very much.

[@RussellTeapot]

Don't forget to add the etchant, for enhanced flavour! Trust me, your guests will _die_ for it

[@pradeepkumarps3613]

Superb.. am just a hobbyist, have been searching for the right solution for toner transfer, this is the best method i could find on the net/youtube so far.. Thank You.

[@TheSageSpeaksB4U]

Thanks, Gareth, for taking the time to pass along this great way of transferring the circuit design. I'm glad I won't have to buy another piece of equipment, just to use it for an occasional PCB. I'm also impressed that you did it with one hand. Not bad at all.

[@iantobyclark]

after a few imperfections, I'm now getting perfect results nearly every time. Total game changer! Thank you Gareth.

[@AmadeusRel]

Dear Sir, I don’t know how to thank you for sharing this method which is much better than transferring the toner with a hot iron. It’s not giving good results and sometimes the heat causes the copper layer to separate from the plastic. I followed your method using acetone instead of that polish remover I couldn’t fine here. It gave the same result. Just brilliant. Thanks again my friend. ☺

[@dennismorier8032]

Hi Gareth, thank you very much. I'm deeply impressed. After using the iron for years i still had pcbs that didn't looked that great. I tried your method with three different polish removers and a piece of gift wrap and it worked right from the start. Unbelievable!

[@dennismorier8032]

One thing for German etchers: I used the "today Nagellackentferner, acetonfrei - mit blumigem Duft" from REWE

[@k.mohmed7868]

You are a genius. Your idea saved me 1month waiting for the material which is not available in local stores here. Thank you very much

[@grahameskate3741]

Tried this this afternoon, on a piece of scrap board with 0603 smd components. The results where perfect first time. Very professional looking board that worked first time. Thank you for sharing this method its now my preferred method of prototyping.

[@matrixdexter270]

wait, you tried it with 0603 components, was it a double side..kindly share that.f%^&in amazing

[@djruido1]

Grahame Skate please show a video

[@williammccarthy2588]

A student of mine, Greg Smith, got me interested in electronics around 40 years ago. Haven't done much since then but now I am retired with a great hobby. After watching your video I am ready to try PCB making. Thanks for a great introduction.

[@allthegearnoidea6752]

I used to make my own PCBs back in the day but I have never seen your method using the solvent. I am massively impressed. Thanks for sharing

[@gordonyoud5975]

I have spent years making pcbs by the old heat transfer method and you have just brightened my life. 😎✔❤😍

[@adamkerr7548]

I have used your exact method with my high school electronics class and have had great success. You have simplified my life and health and safety issues and provided an expert level result with very little cost. WELL DONE!!!!!

[@treasuretotrash2067]

High school electronics class? Where do you go to school?

[@sama1s2d3]

Fantastic video- I have tried the toner transfer method many ways, but it's hard to do reliably with pressure/heat, even if you have expensive toner transfer paper. Thanks for sharing. Couple things I will share that helped me: 1) The final step (removing the toner after etching) works great with pure acetone... it just slides right off in a couple wipes. No risk of abrading/tearing small copper features 2) Ferric Chloride liquid can be hazardous/expensive to ship- try ferric chloride anhydrous (dry powder, add water to make acid) 3) Etching is messy; most reliable/clean way I've seen is with Ziploc bags (double-bag!). Sand off sharp edges of board; fill bags 1/2 full of acid & drop board in. Seal both bags. Rub gently with fingers & slosh acid around. "Massaging" the copper increases etching rate a lot and you can work the areas that need it most; best of all, you can bring it to the top of the acid & see progress as often as you like. Takes a couple minutes; Pull out board & reseal bags or dump acid into container. Hardly spills a drop.

[@johnwest7993]

Great ideas! Thank you. I'd just add that if the layout is done with a copper 'fill' in all the empty spaces it uses up hardly any of the etchant's strength, makes the etching go quicker, and makes it last long enough to allow you to do additional boards with the same etchant.

[@CapnGuitars]

BEST METHOD YET!! Apart from exposing a board, this has been the most successful. You sound close to Formby..?? Info like this is priceless. Thanks again

[@ttttonyyyy]

Tried this myself with pure acetone, different types of glossy magazine, different pressures and different durations soaking the paper. Only one gave a partial transfer. Then I read a comment here about adding water to the acetone (2 parts acetone, 1 part water) and it worked! (Samsung toner). Definitely some chemistry taking place as I tried different colour toners, they start out the toner colour at the time of transfer but then slowly change and become darker. So I would suggest giving it time to rest before etching to 'cure'.

[@Sazhnikov]

I confirm. Acetone works well with water (1:1) and glossy magazine paper! 🤔

[@creepyloner1979]

laser toner dissolves in acetone but not water. with the right mix of acetone and water you just get soft, sticky, tar-like toner that sticks to the copper and the water weakens the paper enough to peel it off.

[@ministeriomundialliberando8403]

Thank you, very creative method for trasnfering the pcb toner. For corrosion process I use a combination of hydrogen peroxide+sulfuric acid+faucet water; I've used it for many years with very results.

[@VinothKumar-cr5cg]

Great video man, the best and easiest method for DIY PCB making in youtube so far. Any body can make a video with expensive printers and special papers but no all the viewers will be able to follow their style. Your's is unique man, All house hold items used. I like your style, Make it simple with what you get( The actual DIY way) Keep making useful and simple videos like this man.

[@Subswithnovideos-gv9qi]

🥳✌️👏👏👏

[@AlessioSangalli]

Sure but honestly, my printer is the cheapest 99$ canon with integrated scanner, I also use junk mail to print on (no need to tape it to printer paper first) and yeah I use a small, unmodified laminator, no need for expensive stuff

[@king_james_official]

i don't think ferric chloride is a household item

[@robinconnelly6079]

Looks interesting. I see that a lot of people are commenting that they can't get it to work with acetone and there are many types of nail polish remover out there. Not all of them work. So far I have always used Positiv 20. It's a bit of a pain but once you get your technique practiced, exposure times right and so on, it can produce very nice results. I will definitely try this some time

[@JumbleLane]

Going back in years before pc’s and home printers I used to draw out the track with nail varnish, quite crude but either on very simple pre-IC circuits. Definitely will try this method now I have all tech in hand. Thanks for sharing

[@olmostgudinaf8100]

It's been _decades_ since I made my own PCBs as a young hobbyist. Drawing the traces with a sharpie and etching with FeCl3. One thing I remember discovering very early on was that a PCB floats on FeCl3 if you place it on the surface gently. You can then avoid stirring since any etched away material will simply fall off and sink.

[@mrimmortal1579]

You could also attach a piece of styrofoam to the opposite side, using double-sided tape or even hot glue. This will allow the pcb to float on top of the ferric chloride solution. Then you have the ability to agitate the workpiece or remove it to check your progress without the risk of it sinking.

[@ammusments]

It's a huge upgrade of iron method. Man, where you've been ten years ago? You could make those 10 years much easier for me ;)

[@herrytech1644]

Did you tried another method of screen printing??

[@kalvenism]

Brilliant. I use this process now for all my boards and it works great! Thank you Gareth!

[@DenisKozlov_Blindfold]

I'm quite impressed (and surprised to be honest) that acetone can do such a great job transferring toner on to a copper. Great idea! Kudos to you, sir!

[@mandelbro777]

it was very impressive indeed ... so much easier and quicker than screwing around with a 3D printer to etch a board - aka, ruining a perfectly good piece of blank copper pcb, because most of the attempts I've seen took over an hour for even small boards and totally munted the copper tracks up.

[@qumefox]

He really should have been wearing gloves for the acetone part too...

[@АлександрРоманько-п4о]

Этот способ давно известен

[@AlessioSangalli]

@@qumefox nail polish remover is designed to be used without gloves

[@qumefox]

@@AlessioSangalli you generally apply nail polish remover to the fingernails. You don't soak your whole hand in it

[@viswanathanramakrishnan7613]

Great information you have parted to those who are hobbyists who cannot afford to get the Pcbs of their circuits then and there. Thanks a lot for the help.

[@Berghiker]

Why so many dislikes? You just got rid of the damn iron! This is great! Perfect!!! Thanks.

[@anthony4acre]

The best DIY printed circuit board single layer procedure I have ever seen.

[@Luigi_Jam]

Thank you man! I've always strugled with the heat transfer and your video has just saved my life. Definitively going to share this everywhere. Greetings from Guatemala.

[@rfpcs1]

I printed out a pattern on a mag and had a spare PCB so I tried it and it worked. The next step it to make one that I will actually use this was just a test and it passes with flying colors,. I poured less than a teaspoon ( small board) worked it in till the remover dried , slowly peeled and there it was , even the small lines came out, Traces between components came out clean , lettering crystal clear. Thanks for this valuable tip.

[@Jim7550]

Your approach is so neat. After drilling holes, to remove the black transfer from the copper lands, use acetone on a cotton schwab or cloth, being careful not to destroy the top surface component placement. Much better than the steel wool approach.

[@rajivnarayan5214]

Brilliant work, I was about to buy thermal transfer paper to perform the etching, thankfully I saw this video I really appreciate you sharing this will definitely be trying it out today. That silkscreen method is really the cherry on top it's so well done.

[@hackinblack7102]

I got this way to work quite well! i bashed out three PCB's yesterday. using a brother laser and semi-gloss finish office paper; it peels without leaving fuzz embeddd in the toner; i used it because i had some, and my printer tries to burn magazine paper...! you may get away with any old crap. 80) Clean the copper using Acetone, NOT nail varnish remover which, as well as being over-priced, contains oils to stop drying of the nail and a large percentage of distilled water...neither of which help at all for this purpose! the stuff i used is about 98% pure, and sold in the 'cleaning-products' isle in the local supermarket's for around 4 euro's a litre. Wipe the board dry with paper tissue. keep your oily fingers off the copper. I soaked the BACK of the paper with a few drops of acetone, which seeps into the paper and dissolves the toner; the reason i soaked the back was to make sure the toner was well dissolved and to avoid smudging the tracks when placing it on the copper. (if you drop acetone on the brother toner it almost dribbles off the paper) the ideal is nothing between the toner and the clean copper...and that includes a layer of acetone... While the paper is still wet, place it carefully onto the copper PCB, press down with your fingers or a flat board padded with tissue ( i used a rubber roller from a dead inkjet printer to roll it firmly on) leave to dry. Soak board in warm water (NOT hot! you don't want to re-fuse the toner ) warm water seems to speed up the 'soaking'; which releases the paper/clay from the toner. you may get away without soaking. Peel off the paper, and you will have the toner firmly stuck to the copper by some strange alchemy... Any traces of the clay used to make office/magazine paper 'shiny' can be gently scrubbed off using your fingers. Etch, and grin like a loony at your wonderous new fab lab.

[@Grants2251]

Hack In Black what min trace / spacing could be achieved?

[@AdoobII25]

@@Grants2251 technically it depends on the resolution of the printed image, for me a trace width of 6 mil and 4 mil spacing worked.

[@runstreetsofvegas]

Holy fuck dude. That was great

[@brunocabral1578]

Do you have a video of your method?

[@Galova]

can you show how you did this?

[@robbmar-1o998]

You probably get a lot of comments. But i like how you keep it mellow and not all hyped up. Excellent video man.

[@mariodistefano2973]

This is one of the best toner transfer systems I've ever seen !!! Congratulations!!!

[@luppa79]

I tried to use the ironing method a few times, but I did not get good results with it. I saw this video and tried to use pure acetone, had bad results. Then I tried to dilute the acetone, and the results were not much better. Then I bought a dirt cheap bottle of mostly acetone based nail polish remover, and it worked perfect the first time! Thanks man

[@runstreetsofvegas]

By far one of the best how to on KZbin for a diy pcb. I've watched this a few times. Dude! You make it look easy!

[@NeoMorphUK]

I used to use a thermal pocket laminating machine I modded with a custom controller to make my custom PCBs... but I put it somewhere safe and can I find the darn thing now I need it. This not only gets around that problem it shows how to do a silkscreen too. Thank you.

[@ilyap5457]

Great job Gareth! I’m really impressed with the resultant quality and simplicity of your method. I guess it would become my favorite one. Greetings from Russia )

[@MatSmithLondon]

Bought two types of nail polish remover. Tried with two different laser printers. My Samsung ML1850 and acetone free nail polish remover (Superdrug pink bottle) didn’t work at all. Lexmark 360 and Sainsbury’s nail polish (doesn’t state acetone free, presume it has acetone) worked AMAZINGLY! Couldn’t believe it. The tracks are SO nice. Can’t wait to do more, with finer tracks. All I can say to others is... if it doesn’t work first time, try a different printer, different nail polish remover, different paper, press harder. This is an EXCELLENT way to make homemade PCBs, no question about it.

[@davidsekula5300]

I've reached significant improvement by using other mixture of chemicals and their ratio and that is 8:3 alcohol and acetone (both pure = assurance of real volume of chemicals). But the magic was actually in using rolling pin :) I've combined other manuals, very similar to your video. Many thanks for inspiration!

[@davidsekula5300]

@@BlondieHappyGuy Exactly, just fun :) Btw, I've also tried the other approach of toner transfer and that is by heat. But I didn't found out a proper paper, also in that way a equally distributed heat and pressure (!) is even more important. I saw a few tutorials and those guys used a fine tuned roller from lamination machine.

[@earthlightsmusic2743]

Rolling pin is a good idea. How about a brayer? As long as the nail polish remover doesn't dissolve into its roller and make it sticky..

[@davidsekula5300]

@@earthlightsmusic2743 Well, there is no other way how to find it then try it :) But I guess that pressure wouldn't be such uniform and sufficient as with rolling pin. If you're going to test it, let me know about the result, I'm interested.

[@lmy1314]

Great video tutorial! It covers almost all the complex production processes in a simple and step-by-step manner. I have a new question: how should I proceed if I want to make a transparent PCB board?

[@sanjibroychowdhury2873]

This is a super easy method for super professional pcb etching! Thanks a lot. I regret that I never came across this video earlier.

[@mrzemm1645]

I just can't wait to try this method. I've always used inkjet photo paper in a laser printer and then ironed it onto the copper, and has always been working fine, but requires a lot of scrubbing of that micro clay afterwards. Your technique seems alot faster, cleaner and more precise since the ironing technique has more work to it and also need to hit the right heat & timing to avoid smearing. Thanks👍✌

[@montagistreel]

you probably just saved me some wasted time and heartache, thank you

[@nigelwilliams7920]

Nice job sir! I've just made a couple of small nameplates this way onto bits of pre-painted wood. Works wonderfully and gives a very solid clear print finish. Opened up a new world of fun projects. Thanks.

[@jasonschreiber9984]

Brilliant method. I was not going to do any proto PCBs until I saw your vid. Thank you for taking the time to edit and shoot this instructional.

[@nikolaypetrovich6813]

You are a magician? Одной рукой снимает, другой колдует. Чувак - волшебник.

[@orojasp]

xaxaxaxaxaxa

[@bonez1305]

I have made single sided boards as your method , but used heat from an iron. Never have I thought by using acetate it would work the same. Takes a bit of time off , but never the less, fantastic !!

[@wickeddubz]

Every day i discover new amazing things in this life. Huge thanks for this, it saves the most important , it saves time. I cant leave without sharing lifehack. If you screwed up with hot glue, just poor it with isopropyl alcohol, and hot glue will fall off almost instantly.

[@thedillestpickle]

damn really? I wonder if that goes for medium heat glue and high heat glue. Ok life hack... hmmm. Use 3.5mm audio jack cables as "wiring harness" for sensors that require 3 wires. Just make sure audio cable has 3 wires. makes a quick disconnect to sensors and looks tidy.

[@wickeddubz]

@@thedillestpickle I have only one type of glue in my area, I assume that if heat glue has the same chemical structure, isopropanol will work . As for sensors - 3.5 mm jack is really better than those small breadboard pins.

[@thedillestpickle]

@@wickeddubz hmmm that's really cool about the alcohol.... I put my last project in the oven on low and used a spatula to pry off the hot glue LOL. Yea those breadboard pins don't inspire a lot of confidence. I

[@wickeddubz]

@@thedillestpickle I tried to remove hot glue from my project (modded small ikea table) , but I saw that if i continue to remove it mechanically, I'll screw up everything. Few minutes of intensive search and websites crawling helped a lot, all glue just fell of instantly. Chemistry rocks :)

[@David_Flournoy]

Excellent Video. Thank you for your time used to produce this. I am new to PCB making, and always appreciate input from someone who has already been there.

[@ser7ser7i]

Congrats mate, u made it one handed while recording. Thank you.

[@Erizium]

Спасибо Добрый человек за такой шикарный метод. Купил средство для снятия лака, Ноготок (50 % ацетона) . Результат превзошел все ожидания. Тонер перешел 100 процентов. Печатал так же ,на журнальной бумаге. Пробовал специальные листы для лута, с ними получаются хуже. бумага лучше пропускает ацетон

[@aga5897]

Super Awesome ! Swap the FeCl3 for Vinegar, Salt and Hydrogen peroxide and all the design/etching materials can be bought in the supermarket ! In the UK they swapped the Acetone in nail varnish remover for Ethyl acetate some years ago. Use gloves with either solvent - they tend to transfer through skin, bringing whatever they dissolved with them.

[@rpc66ish]

In what ratios?

[@aga5897]

I really didn't bother measuring. Mostly vinegar, loads of salt and a small amount of peroxide. Fortunately this would be very easy to experiment with on a very small scale to find the exact proportions of each that would work best for the vinegar/peroxide available to you. It would be hard to make it not work, just better if it goes as fast as possible. My vinegar was 9%, the peroxide 3%.

[@baileyharrison1030]

aga Or just buy acetone

[@ergungulbiten125]

I just tried this. First attempt was %80 good. Second attempt is %100. It is amazing. Thanks for share this video. I spend much more time for make this with iron.

[@TheStuffMade]

Nice technique, well done. These days I engrave all my boards, but I'll try your technique for silkscreen. Thanks for the video.

[@thecongo8505]

How do you engrave your board ?

[@TheStuffMade]

@@thecongo8505 I have a few videos on my channel going through the engraving process I use.

[@thecongo8505]

@@TheStuffMade Thanks bro

[@charlesworton4020]

Gareth, this is a brilliant result! I'm looking forward to giving it a try myself. Oh, a channel named Nurdrage has published a simple formula for home made 'liquid tin' - you submerge an etched copper board in the solution, and it instantly plates it with tin. MG chemicals makes retail 'liquid tin', but it's horribly expensive - the nurdrage formula is much cheaper. Haven't tried it yet, but I've bought the components. And, another KZbin site - chemistry games - has published much the same formula, but working from laboratory pure chemicals, rather than using commercial products, found on store shelves, that contain the active ingredients. I've ordered the pure chemicals, and will do a video comparing the two approaches. And of course, there's always electroplating. I might try that as well. I've come back to this video several times, and watched it from end to end. I REALLY like your result - absolutely one of the best I've seen. I'm definitely going to try it. Spectacular work! >Charlie

[@philmcguire7346]

Wow this is just what i needed, building a big muff guitar pedal and i'm just at the stage where i need to transfer and etch, Thanks Man!

[@LeandroJimenezSanchez]

Hello, I have seen your video and it seems great to me how you have made the PCB. I congratulate you and thank you for the contribution you have made. A very simple way to do them. Thanks and best regards

[@thefattysplace]

I used to do something similar to this, everything exactly the same except I used an iron instead of nail polish remover to transfer/melt the toner from paper to pcb. Your way seems to work better though as mine was a bit hit and miss! thanks for the video.

[@MrW3iss]

Was just about to buy a UV setup and photorest materials before I stumbled upon this video. Awesome method, thank you! 🙌

[@markcummings150]

This looks like the easiest method I’ve ever seen and your results look awesome. Hope I can do as well when I try it.

[@martintatak8851]

Wow, thank you very much! Just made a board with this method and it worked like a charm :) Only thing I have noticed - during the pressing my traces got little bit wider, but for the first time I am using this process it is ok. Next time I will compensate it with a bit thinner traces.

[@gapguy9564]

I’m going to follow this same process… is there anything you would like to share??? Your experience???

[@martintatak8851]

@@gapguy9564 just follow the tutorial and expect the traces to be a bit wider than you designed them (at least in my case it happened)

[@gapguy9564]

@@martintatak8851 you just said right. It was .3mm wide which didn’t workout for me. So changed it to .5mm and it came out well. Yesterday i finished this pcb. Big thanks

[@Humanoid-78]

Молодец! Отлично получилось, особенно если учесть что делал всё однй рукой. Для тех кто не знает английский язык - использовал жидкость для снятия лака.

[@РашитМухаметьянов-у6ц]

Вот не ожидал увидеть здесь коммент на русском! Удивил! А автор действительно, качественный лайфхак показал.

[@Sazhnikov]

Непонятно - ацетон подходит или нет?

[@Sazhnikov]

А вот и сама формула: www.instructables.com/id/Heatless-cold-Toner-Transfer-for-PCB-Making/

[@Sazhnikov]

Никакой спирт не нужен - ацетон с водой идет прекрасно! Соотношение подбираем - мне сходу подошло 1:1, но может с другими пропорциями будет лучше - пока отложил эксперименты после получения первого прекрасного результата. Причем да, нужен глянцевый лист из журнала - бумаги нет 100% перевода по причине того, что тонер от нее не отстает так здорово, как от глянцевого листа (причем тонкого - какой-то очень бюджетный вариант журнала попался, почти как газета). Так же подходит жидкость для снятия лака, но шоб с ацетоном - без ацетона на глянце не успел попробовать, но во время эксперимента с обычной бумагой тонер с нее ни капли не лип к меди, вообще - как-будто водой лил, когда жидкость с ацетоном почти все с обычной А4 (!) бумаги переводила на медь ...

[@bryomuch]

i think you deserve a nobel prize,havent tried it but will try when i get the materials it seems fast and economical for prototypes

[@GreazyTony1]

Thank you for this tip!! I used to use this method using a clothes iron but it was very sloppy. Definitely going to try this on my next project. Thanks again! -Ant

[@gkdresden]

This transfer method is really great. No ironing no paper decay. For etching I recomment sodium-persulfate (200 g/liter) in water. Best etching temperature is 45 °C (113 °F). Etching time for 35 µm copper layers is 10 to 15 minutes. The solution is clear. So it is easy to observe, when etching is finished.

[@ftham888]

Great video... when etching the PCB, I prefer to put the PCB upside down. Surface tension helps to keep the PCB afloat on top of the ferric chloride.

[@demef758]

Assuming the "resist" is reasonably strong, I put my boards in a little plastic container (one with a snap on lid), such as you will find holding lunch meat, and then shake it fairly vigorously. The etching goes real fast this way.

[@RandolphTuttle]

Thanks a bunch. This is very useful. Also the comments where it is suggested to cut the acetone with water 1:1 or 2:1 is very helpful.

[@Uilsonsacramento]

I'm from Brazil!. Congratulations on your contribution; really enjoyed. thank you.

[@Davi0liveira]

Funcionou?

[@catlawn1556]

Thank you so much...I've been pulling my hair out with the inconsistent results from different magazines, PnP paper, film; doing all the right techniques but with varying degrees of success. This is soooo simply and, best of all, I can chuck out my iron. Big thumbs up.

[@humbughumbughumbug]

A small "speed-up" hint for the etching portion: After you transfer the toner and wipe it with the sponge, use a hot air station (or heat gun/hair dryer) to warm the copper. Take the time to warm it up and when you dunk it into the ferric chloride, you'll see bubbles and it'll etch at a much higher rate for the next minute or so.

[@humbughumbughumbug]

Another hint: Next time make a large ground plane. You'll use far less etchant. :)

[@syzygy4365]

That's neat! I was wondering how heat would effect this process.

[@martingibbons2488]

Years back when I did these, I placed the ferric tub in a tub of hot water. The heated ferric was much quicker, I just rocked it from side to side.

[@Bankai-Suigetsu]

Thanks I will implement this in my project

[@larrybud]

@@humbughumbughumbug I find large ground planes difficult to solder without bridging, since the at-home pcb method has all of the copper exposed, vs having lacquer covering the copper in the spots where there are no components.

[@Heather-p3k]

combining the present with an art form from ancient japan, new with the old a well thought out concept just awesome. thanx a bunch.

[@hackinblack7102]

very nice. and all with one hand...a true maestro! 80) I ended up with crumpled paper jams, tape peeling inside the printer, and pitting where the fuzz stuck to the toner...but i think i'll give this a go with the dozens of old maplin magazines i chopped up. I used an aincient HP laserjet 1000; but it wont feed anything but perfectly flat dry paper, a new Brother 2365 laser (bought especially) is abysmal; it seems to rush and try and save toner, no matter what settings its put on...i found a setting that 'should' have worked..it managed to singe the paper! very impressive...NOT. yet someone else from the UK on 'the 'tube' has done TT (iron-on) using the dog-cheap 'tesco's special' Brother Laser...meh.YMMV

[@eduardofonseca6914]

Awesome, I’ve been wasting years using an iron for the transfer, this is way easier and cleaner. Thanks a lot

[@Galova]

and if you inhale deep - it's funnyer

[@magicstix0r]

Everyone's like "man his PCB looks great" but I'm trying to read that chicken stew and rice recipe...

[@philanthropistpaulj]

LOL

[@danuser5874]

THANK YOU!!!! THe heat transfer method was always 50/50.. Sometimes you get too much pressure or heat and it flattens out, other times its too cold and doesnt stick. this looks VERY promising!

[@AintBrokeFixIt]

i do the same thing but i just use the big containers of acetone you get from lowes or home depot. i do use a flat board to apply pressure though so its even across the board. i've had some traces get distorted if the pressure is uneven.

[@riccardotartaro]

Good job, thanks! The only thing that I would like to change is the way you remove the laser printer ink from the board, since I believe that the steel wool can damage the little copper paths. Probably a specific solvent might be a better solution. Again thanks!

[@TechNed]

I especially liked the last part where you transferred onto fibreglass. That seems like a great idea as a homebrew silkscreen overlay. It looked like it would be much easer with 2 hands so well done on that! I'm thinking some sort of simple press (eg. a couple of smooth blocks with a weight on top or between two blocks in a vise) would also make things easier. I'm keen to try this for myself. One question: Is there something about nail polish remover, like its concentration for instance, that makes it preferable to plain acetone? I ask because a litre of acetone is something I already own and is much cheaper than a small bottle of nail polish remover.

[@TechNed]

One day, I'll treat myself to a bottle of Tinit or some alternative!

[@paulhupman2902]

Seems you could plot another "copper side" deleting the pads and have a good solder mask. Has anybody tried it and, if so does the toner contaminate the solder connection?

[@BrightBlueJim]

@@paulhupman2902 Haven't tried it, but since toner is made to melt in order to stick to paper, I don't think it would do a very good job of resisting soldering temperatures.

[@arifanwari3168]

Thanks I make very fine and complicated tracks 400mil, however I've always used the heat method. like you I use magazine paper . Your method of transfer is amazing and I'll give it a try, thanks for sharing Brother, this will make things easier.

[@tritile]

One hand?? Jesus I couldn't make this toner transfer work even if I had 3 hands.

[@kg7aronny]

I have no descriptive idea what happens when the toner is masked to the print. Then shows coming out of the printer? No description in between. Not an easy Presentation for me. I guess I've better talk to a local expert...

[@hybridskeeter]

@@kg7aronny I think that he printed out the images onto A4, then stuck the magazine paper over them and pushed it back through the printer to reprint the image directly onto the magazine paper.

[@gamersungyoutube1468]

@@kg7aronny you export the circuit as pdf and print it as mirror image. pdf keeps it to scale and mirror on the copper makes it like on the pc screen.

[@fishdom9889]

It looked like some one doing a difficult task with four feet. Hahahaha

[@MrAndlew]

@Pablo PabloBrawo.....intelekt z Twojego "otworu" przez 4 palce dotarł do Twojego mózgu.... brawo

[@thatengineeringchannel4611]

That's a very interesting method that I now have to try. Over the years I've had many problems with the iron method, I've also modified laminators to increase the temperature but had little success...

[@joejog9682]

When you etch, try to put carefully PCB upside-down to float copper side on surface. Copper will fall off from PCB better. Look out of bubbles only. :-)

[@mans4104]

Very clever, best toner method ever, and silk screen include, genius.

[@eyeTelevision]

You could improve the silkscreen layer by drilling two key holes in the board first and lining them up with holes in the print

[@logotrikes]

I would do that Michael. Hoping for a perfect line up is too hit and miss without some register holes/pins. Good post....

[@DavidALovingMPF102]

my ferric chloride ate right through my laser printer toner before it had cleared off the copper! I used that blue press and peel stuff. I wish I had a stencil of the foil side of the pcb, then I could spray a plastic coat on it, then etch. good video.

[@gregsmith2262]

So simple and effective, wish I seen this a little earlier. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@Bright8888]

Thanks for the great idea. I will try it for my next PCB. On seeing this video, one question is likely to arise in many people's minds: How is it that nobody ever thought of this method before? One obvious answer is this. We know that acetone dissolves toner. When we use acetone to remove the toner from a PCB made using Heat Toner Transfer method, we find that the toner gets smudged and spreads on the board. So, we get the impression that using acetone will result in smudging and the PCB pattern cannot be transferred with precision. Of course, now we know that if it's done the right way, it CAN give you a precise and nice-looking PCB.

[@daleburrell6273]

THAT'S AMAZING- YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY!!!

[@nemahdi3436]

Hi, I tried many times to do it but in vain ! today i succeeded with a long time of heat 3 mn with an iron + 30 sec with a heat gun, after the pcb has cooled down i used hot water to peel off the glossy paper and it worked !! so thank you for the idea

[@WereReallyRelayCamping]

so now i can put 2 smiles on the wifes face, 1 no more stealing the iron, 2 this learned me how to make chicken stew and rice in 1hr 30 minutes

[@macicana64]

:-D

[@elninorosario]

And stealing all her nailpolish remover instead

[@herrytech1644]

@@elninorosario LMAO

[@jproma25]

We're Really Relay Camping Olá pessoal peço a ajuda de todos vocês para que se inscrevam no meu canal, desde já agradeço pela ajuda. Breve mais vídeos serão postados kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2esc4uPhdeca5Y

[@JoseHenrique-tw8md]

@@elninorosario and her magazines!

[@mik310s]

This is the best way I have seen, Ive used the iron method and the results vary

[@dryadmusic]

Absolute genius! Thanks so much for this.

[@piggybladder]

Most excellent Mr Burrows. But for the life of me I can't think how or why this works. It seems counter-intuitive that the acetone releases the laser ink from the paper but allows it to stick to the copper. Great results you got there so. Deffo give this a go. Thanks for sharing.

[@MrToni99]

Unbelievable !! Thank you for a nice video...You are genius,

[@aaamaranto]

The best DIY PCB etching to date! Thanks to your clever tip, mate!

[@bonobo9904]

A good idea for etching is to drill four or three holes, place toothpicks in them and place the PCB to the tray with copper side down. The reaction waste then can fall down rather than lay on the copper, so the etching goes much faster even if the etcher is not very fresh.

[@johnrhodes2572]

Looks like I'm late to the party. Nice job! Dude! One handed? Got a cool tip, and you made my day.😀