Process 01: An open source 2 layer PCB process - part 2

[@roycas3]

Well explained about the PCB process.

[@VEC7ORlt]

My hat is off to you, really impressive work, I've made probably hundreds of different PCBs in my time, then I've moved to factory made, just don't want to mess with this stuff anymore, so so much work. Gives some insight how its done commercially.

[@hydrogentime2872]

It is a lot of work, but I like not having to wait two weeks to a month for my PCB to arrive. Plus since I'm into chemistry I don't mind messing with chemicals.

[@WaffleStaffel]

This is outstanding, thank you for making this series. If you enable captioning/subtitles, I'd be happy to contribute by typing them up.

[@mpelagio-engenharia]

The Paladium Activator sometimes turns to a yellowish transparent collor... this case You just put it inside a glass flask and this flask inside another conteiner (or a Pan for example) with boiling water for some 20 minutes, 30 minutes until the solutions turns to dark brown collor... I have made it to a lot of solutions of Paladium and it worked very well..

[@hydrogentime2872]

Will try next time it happens

[@mostafagaberahmed6657]

thank you . we need more of this useful videos that helps to share science

[@williamchaves8938]

Your the best my friend! I wish I could buy chemicals here in costa Rica. The permits make it very hard here to make anything.

[@hydrogentime2872]

Many chemicals can be bought from ebay, but I agree it's more difficult than it should be to do science at home.

[@behzadabf]

very well describe.. thanks a lot sir.

[@plenty1347]

It works, but I have to prepare electroless copper solution each time. In your guide you say that I need to acidify it after use with H2SO4 and make it basic using NaOH when taken out of storage before next use. Can you provide exact pH values?

[@hydrogentime2872]

pH is likely not the best way to precisely characterize the electroless solution, as I add a NaOH solution till the pH is about as basic as the NaOH solution I'm adding (don't have a pH meter, I'm using pH paper). You should basically just add NaOH solution till it's strongly basic. To characterize precisely the concentration, titration would be better, I guess.

[@MH-GoL]

Nice Video, thank you very much! After many years of using "Toner Transfer" to make my pcb i now bought a UV DTG Printer and directly print the mask for the design on the board. After etching i print the "soldermask" to the pcb too. The only thing i need to get done now are the vias. Your solution looks perfect but i'm a bit worried about the Formaldehyde. I'm not a chemist, is it possible to replace it with a less toxic ingredient? Triton-X100 is even a problem in the EU, it is banned by REACH since 2021. Is there an alternative available?

[@hydrogentime2872]

The Triron-X100 could probably be replaced by another surfactant if you can't find it, but some experimentation may be required. Formaldehyde is very hard to replace, there are alternatives which are known to reduce copper salts to the metal in a controlled way but are just as toxic. If you have no chemical experience I suggest to either wait for someone to develop a safer process (NurdRage was trying for example), or to learn chemistry one step at a time before messing with formaldehyde. And build a fumehood.

[@mpelagio-engenharia]

The yellowish collor of the Paladium Solution is because the chemicals in the solution are reducing and they need to be completed again to original levels.. normally adding some more Palladium regularly... there are some lab tests to detect what needs to be added to solutions be its a little complex to explain here...

[@gary1143]

Thank you for the post. Is a transcript of this video available.

[@hydrogentime2872]

I'm planning to write all the steps and formulations in a document. Will make it available as soon as I find the time to write things down.

[@gary1143]

@@hydrogentime2872 Thank you

[@hydrogentime2872]

@@gary1143 Process 01 on hackaday.io: hackaday.io/project/180422-process-01-an-open-source-2-layer-pcb-process Process 01 in pdf form: cdn.hackaday.io/files/1804227719174848/Process%2001.pdf

[@hydrogentime2872]

Apparently my channel is affected by the "comments disappearing" bug support.google.com/youtube/thread/116351041/recent-reports-of-missing-comments?hl=en I'll post the non-spam deleted comments and answers here.

[@hydrogentime2872]

Comment by Thomas Gatliff: I very much appreciate your work as it has helped me immensely. Do you have a specific PH you are looking for on the activator and post activator solutions? Also, do you attempt to replace some of the HCHO in the electroless solution after each use? Your video has rather small boards where it doesn't matter much, but Im using substantially larger boards and 15x the amounts you reference, and want to try to better maintain the solutions over time. Any suggestions you might have would be very much appreciated. Reply: Unfortunately I do not have a pH meter in my lab, only test trips, so I do not havee a precise value, I usually start adding concentrated NaOH solution till the pH is strongly basic, and then drop in the board and add a bit more if I do not see hydrogen evolution after some time. Yes, I do refill the solution with HCHO if the pH if I can't get good hydrogen formation after adding a reasonable amount of NaOH solution, especially if when checkin g the pH before adding the NaOH I find it is not strongly acidic. Acidifying the solution before storing it for long time helps but does not completely stop HCHO decomposition, and loss of acidity is an indicator to add more HCHO. For larger boards I recommend agitation with a magnetic stirrer.

[@techticks5274]

Is this palladium based activator solution and electroless copper bath stable and can be used for months? If not then how manufacturing factories use this solution for long time?

[@hydrogentime2872]

If you keep it in a well sealed container the activator is stable for years. When the activator goes bad it also changes color becoming transparent, so it's easy to know if it's still good.

[@CrayzxxXxx]

do i need both electroless and electrolythic copper plating for connecting vias or can i just use one of them

[@hydrogentime2872]

You can in theory use only electroless, but it is slow to build up the desired copper thickness, and you need to fine tune the process for the surface finish to withstand the etching. Only electrolytic does not work as copper only plates to already conductive surfaces, and the holes are not conductive initially.

[@muhammadasjad3416]

please tell me is the palladium activator solution colloidal or a well mixed solution?? yours looks well mixed but I have tried it is always colloidal.....kindly clarify

[@hydrogentime2872]

I'm not sure. The dark color could be a fine suspension of metallic palladium but I did not investigate.

[@ABehrooz]

Hello, Are there any substitutes for PdCl2? I can't find it at an affordable price where I live. (the only seller charges an arm and a leg for a gram of it)

[@hydrogentime2872]

There is no substitute that I know of for this process, but search on youtube for other processes. Some had success spraying conductive carbon paint and then electroplating onto that.

[@ABehrooz]

@@hydrogentime2872 I pulled the trigger and bought everything for this process. (Except the PdCl2, of course). I'm trying to find another supplier for it, fingers crossed. I'll post results when I actually get to do it on a real job.

[@Jhonsket82]

Subtitle nobtranslate sir😢