Reliable DIY PCB's at home

[@MrJbipes]

This is great, just what I need. I'm an old PCB Designer, started with tape-up layouts, 4x1 and then early CAD systems in the late 70's. In fact my whole career is based on PCB design S/W, as a Product Manager, Applications Engr., Devleopment Mgr. I used to build home PCB's with much harder and more crude, dirty process, using photo-lith process with a photo-resist chemical on bare copper. I know how this all works and this process with the design S/W is much easier. I'm building a ESP32 board design and this is perfect for what I want to do. Thanks for this, I'm ordering parts now...

[@KrisKasprzak]

Glad I could help

[@mateuszbugaj799]

I spend the last two weeks to learn how to make PCBs on my milling CNC I made from one of my broken 3d printers. Now I see it was a mistake. For the next two weeks I will be following your tutorial.

[@KrisKasprzak]

Glad I could help, let us know how it works out!

[@mateuszbugaj799]

​@@KrisKasprzak Ok, so I just finished my first ever PCB by following the method shown in your tutorial, and the result is absolutely fine. I have some input from myself as I had some problems with printing that might interest someone. I used the Brother printer, which is labeled as not the best for this application. However, it can work just fine if you make sure that the toner is not used up or close to it (just buy new toner). I didn't use the original, but some cheap replacement. Next, you need to get a steel wool and gently get rid of the glossiness on the paper to help the toner stick. Just a few movements across the surface will do the trick. I also found out that you don't want to get the paper too hot. I tried it and the paper didn't peel off the copper easily and ruined the whole thing. I set the iron to a little bit colder and held it for something around 30 seconds, and it works fine (maybe it should be done for a little longer; I saw some toner being left on the paper). And don't forget to apply some pressure. But anyway, the method worked and the PCB looks much better after a few attempts than it would ever do with the CNC approach.

[@7alfatech860]

Great to see the old style method refreshed and revisited.

[@KrisKasprzak]

Many thanks!

[@graealex]

The big secret is to use a modified laminator. Using an iron will always leave the outcome somewhat to chance.

[@KrisKasprzak]

Good tip, thanks for sharing.

[@graealex]

@@KrisKasprzak Using a laminator and thus controlling process parameters like pressure, speed and temperature also means you are not unnecessarily flattening out traces. One of the drawbacks with this transfer methods is that with uneven pressure from an iron, you have trouble reproducing really fine features. And with a laminator, you can run the transfer sheet together with a normal paper through it, and remove all remaining toner, making it possible to reuse it. I still think it is inferior to normal photolithograpy, where you only need a pigment-based inkjet printer to print out 1200dpi+ transparent sheets to reproduce ultra-fine details. Obviously you need pre-coated photosensitive PCBs, and you have the additional step of exposing and developing, although the latter only requires some drain cleaner (sodium hydroxide). I'd also advice on trying out sodium persulfate as the etchant, because it is safer and easier to control. You do need to heat it a bit, though. It also doesn't suffer the problem of hydrogen peroxide with going bad over time. In dry form, it basically lasts forever.

[@AdrienBernard-ih8hw]

Hello. What laser printer did you use ? Thanks for the video.

[@KrisKasprzak]

Brother HL-L2370DW, I think I paid $150 or so. Works great as a general printer as well.

[@AdrienBernard-ih8hw]

@@KrisKasprzak Thx ! Your answer makes me happy because brother is cheap and seems to be a great brand overall (instead of HP's). However, some people in search of heat toner transfer say that brother's toners dont work very well. So did you use an official Brother toner with your printer ?

[@adityadrs]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooemhGmLgpeYm6s dain bramage.

[@KrisKasprzak]

You get the joke right?