DIY PCB Fabrication (Dry Film Inkjet Method)

[@TechBuilder]

Update: To get the best results, spray water on the copper clad PCB before applying the dryfilm sticker. This eliminates the bubbles easily. Push the bubbles away as if you were installing a phone screen protector. You may proceed with the clothes iron or laminating machine afterwards. Thanks for your tips in the comments!

[@Berghiker]

I just prick the tiny bubbles if any, with an exacto knife.

[@yagneshpatel1183]

Spray water and heat with iron and news paper is op . No air bubbles on board like factory one .

[@wanzaidil2766]

@SHAZAN MAHMUD normal

[@ReimuReimu_Animation]

@SHAZAN MAHMUD and place it upside down

[@fabioeleuterio9382]

To avoid bubbles, apply the film underwater and squeeze out the air bubbles with a plastic rule. Works for me.

[@HairyTheCandyMan]

CNC is definitely the easiest, but all these other ways keep popping up and it's so satisfying to watch!

[@Berghiker]

CNC is the definatley the best and most reliable method as it will turn out perfect every time.

[@ilhemedu31]

Yes for a large pcb with handred of componant .. But for a little pcb classical methods are suitable..

[@microdesigns2000]

Excellent video and narration. I appreciate the pace and not needing to wait for long sequences, show speech, and gratuitous gaps. Everything is explained quickly and efficiently. I made some flexible pcbs a few years ago and used some similar film. I bought a heated laminator to deal with the bubbles and they were still difficult. Since the boards were large, about 18 x 3 inches, I had difficulty exposing them and used a UV bulb with an aluminum reflector that I waved back and forth. You can imagine that getting the right exposure time was difficult. But the prototypes eventually came out good. It was a real fun project with 300 SMD LEDs and passives, transistors and a microcontroller. This video make me want to make another one. One thing I did differently was that I used cupric chloride, beginning with just HCl acid. I didn't want to deal with storing or disposing ferric chloride. It etches faster, making it a little more difficult to get good results.

[@engautomation]

1:54 I clenched my finger like that once, you reminded me of that, congratulations on the job.

[@GodzillaGoesGaga]

With the photoresist film I have, NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide/Lye) is used to remove all photoresist including hardened exposed resist. Na2CO3 (Sodium Carbonate/washing soda/Soda Ash) is used for developer.

[@GuardTower]

The Quality of your videos are slowly matching up to the great youtube DIYer's~ Keep it up!

[@TechBuilder]

Thanks man!

[@djtransnazgrz]

7 minutes is a really long time. The issue is the paper you are using. most white paper contains a whitening agent that converts uv into a blueish light. If your paper turns cyan/light blue in uv light, then it also contains it. With tracing paper I'm getting only 40s exposure for a pcb, which is much, much faster.

[@emmanueljideofor6883]

You're a life saver. I've been trying the toner method with an inkjet printer, but to no avail. Thanks man.

[@timhofstetter5654]

Use chemistry to initially clean your PC boards. White vinegar and salt will clean up the oxide without thinning your copper layer. Just don't overdo the vinegar or let the board soak overnight in it or anything... vinegar will very slowly etch copper, too. 8)

[@claudiomoles]

I use transparency film for inkjet in the printer, sometimes I print 2 times and superimpose them together, in case the blacks are not very good. To apply the dryfilm to the pcb I spray deminrralized water (lef acid battery water) and apply the film with a piece of 3/4 pvc tube. I pass the tube a couple of times to get rid of the bubbles and water. I store it in a dark envelop overnight to dry out. The result is perfect! With the transparency film I only need 1 minute with a 15W PL lamp at 15cm away from the board (I made an MDF box with a timer and a piece of glass 2mm thick to press the film against the board)

[@JonSpink]

clean the copper board well then spray a little water onto the board and then apply the uv film. rub firmly over it with a soft cloth. this will remove any air bubbles

[@autovrum]

1:53 esta foi a melhor parte, resolveu de forma simples e direta, sem ferramentas caras.

[@sullivanzheng9586]

I actually find dry film method the best resolution down to 0.16mm in my production. Toner transfer sucks because of Laserjet resolution and imperfect transfer. The key to achieve nice resolution for dry film is lamination. Use a bit water would drive out all bubbles.

[@macgyver5108]

Something else that should help a LOT is not using sandpaper to clean up the copper before starting! That's just begging to create scuff marks and voids where bubbles can form. Try cleaning the copper in a mixture of white Vinegar and salt and let that soak for a couple hours before rinsing it with water. Another way would be to wipe the copper down with soldering flux/rosin paste and use a hair dryer on max heat or a heat gun at about 200°c to melt the flux/rosin. Rosin paste is acidic when it liquifies similar to the Vinegar/salt mix. A quick wipe with a rag or paper towel should finish the job.

[@NicolasP1973]

Thanks for the tutorial! My last PCB that I made was with this methode and I liked it a lot because it is the closest to the traditional methode and less expensief. My main problem is to do the negatief, I will try your methode to see if I can export in negatief PDF. This will make my life better. The easiest way of putting the Dry Film is for me to spray some water on the copper before putting it on the PCB, I also like to do it the bathroom with a lot of hot waterdamp to reduce the dust in the air! When the dry film is on the PCB I use a old credit card to remove the water and air that is under the film and heating it up with a hot air dryer. This gave me good results.

[@prashanttiwari8873]

Open your pdf in , photoshop . It will open as image. On photoshop >> image>>preference>>invert . Now now you have nagative of the image . Export as pdf and print

[@Unnaymed]

when we do chemistry, time and temperature is important.

[@interbudelblag]

You can etch very fast with FeCl3 just boiling it with your pcb to about 70-80 Celcius in a closed jar. It can be etched pcb in this method in 5 to max 10 min.

[@Andreas_Straub]

Hmmm, this is all nice and in the past I also made my own boards. In the meantime however it has become extremely cheap and easy to have the PCBs manufactured professionally .... so I gave up on doing it the "old" way.

[@tanmay______]

I’m loving these short videos about various small topics. But I gotta say, I’m missing those long build videos with that deliberate cinematography. The boombox build video was my favourite :) Please post more of such videos

[@MyKillpro]

Alternative easy cheap method , 1)Print your PCB with Laser jet printer on a magazine paper (smooth one) or on a thing glossy paper 2)place your printed pcb over a well cleaned surface of copper clad . 3)Now take nail polish remover on cotton and rub the back of your print for few min. slowly 4) Etch Simple do try it

[@IkechukwuNnantaAnanaba]

Help please, I am running into an issue where sections on the board just refuse to etch, the etchant removes most of the parts but there are some areas that refuse to come off

[@louiskatzclay]

Taken from copper etching printmakers, use soft scrub abrasive cleaner,,, calcium carb, and use cheap soy sauce as a wetting agent. It works wonderfully. It takes only a teaspoon of the soy sauce.

[@jer-el3499]

Someone help please. After I heat up the dry film and after I do the UV light process, the protective film of the dry film is not sticking in the PCB board.

[@VenkiNagaraj]

Same

[@kkhalifa]

Hi @jer-el3499, this may happen because the uv exposure time is not long enough which makes the traces not hard enough in the deep side of it. Or the desolving time is too long which desolves the already hardened traces. So, you may need either to increase uv exposure time or reduce the solving time.

[@mauricehollands2425]

Shouldn't the developer be Sodium Carbonate? I thought Sodium Hydroxide was used to remove the developed resist after etching.

[@og9806]

You can use a hairdryer with some heat to avoid bubbles. That's what DD ElectroTech did.

[@rafaelpagaura785]

Hey Idol😊 Thanks for this tutorial, magagamit ko na aking PCB

[@TechBuilder]

Welcome! :)

[@aportabales]

I have an SLA 3D printer and been wondering on double-side-tape a blank to the bottom of it for making the mask.

[@haydenc2742]

Try spritzing it with water on the photo board..this way it is slick underneath, then use a credit card to squeegy the bubbles out (like on a cell phone protector or window tint) no need to iron

[@MrHeninsh]

I can recomend nail polish remover methode. Fast, cheap and good result!

[@apollousa8512]

I love this types of video. Something enyone can do without expensive machines.

[@interbudelblag]

your pcb should be super clean with soap, then use acetone. It is recommended not to touch fingers on pcb. You can then use pure water to make wet pcb and place dry film. In this stage you should not have any bubbles than use laminator. I can make tracks as small as 0.05 mm. The trick is to make a pcb as clean as possible and do not touch with bare hands.

[@ogunniyiadebambo2822]

... I love you bro... God bless you... And grant you more knowledge.

[@benj7483]

Sir, at 00:10 why were all the lines soldered? Why not just the components?

[@TechBuilder]

Hey benj! The other traces were thickly tinned for more current to pass through. The others were just tinned to prevent the lines from oxidating 😁

[@ianmccullough7294]

I have had a hard time removing the photoresist dry film with acetone. I'm hoping MEK or something else will be better. Acetone will eventually remove the photo-resist but it's unclear whether it the chemical or the friction of rubbing it that's actually achieving the removal. It's clear that the acetone has SOME solvent effect on the film, but i don't have all day to sit here rubbing the board with acetone. I would prefer a bath that dissolved it without me having to babysit it.

[@s.sradon9782]

Copper chloride is a supeior PCB etchant as it can easily be recycled so you don't end up with liters of that stuff.

[@junaidpv]

I use this same method. But your has minor differences. I use sodium carbonate (washing soda) for development step to remove unexposed paint and use sodium hydroxide to remove paint over PCB traces in final step. I had used this method to create boards having LQFP32 package ICs. I have concern about using sodium hydroxide in former step as it may cause to remove some amounts exposed paint thus affecting quality of the traces.

[@robertomanuelpaulik4236]

one of the most important things to do is in 1:54 where we can see the foot technique ... haha

[@FulcrumMason]

am i mising something - the paper goes on the board as a negative right ? so the white areas are the tracks. Yet after it comes out the UV the dark area's are now copper and the white are now black tracks ? how did that happen ? the film does that ?

[@shivad6278]

I tried as per your video. During the sodium hydroxide photo development, full resist sheet came out. Provide some duration and concentration for that particular process.

[@andleebful]

Hello thanks for vedio.I want to use Fr4 back part cu as a ground how to protect it while etching.

[@computersales]

Pretty cool option for DIYers.

[@phy6geniuxYTcreations]

Napakahusay talaga!

[@aso8446]

It will conduct electricity without etching or not?

[@sgsound12]

What PCB design software are using you??

[@storneb8731]

проще фотошаблон печатать на прозрачной пленке для струйной или лазерной печати, а фоторезист наклеивать под водой-никаких пузырьков.Каустическая сода не нужна-хватает обычной кальцинированной соды.

[@jamesrhyangalera2639]

Im using a scraper or card and slowly putting the dry film by scraping to it and avoid getting any of the bubbles

[@TechBuilder]

Great idea! Will add that on my next dry film vid.

[@rmagraphicslife8553]

Hello sir we can use this process to stainless plate from dry film to etching?

[@lolmonster7024]

In this method can I use hydrogen peroxide and h white vinegar as an etchant?

[@meax7180]

Bro help me please, when I expose on uv light if i keep it too long, it wont develop at all, but if i keep it shorter, everything dissolves, what is the problem?

[@user-kt6bj9jx9h]

I wanna try this awesome method. Very great video for us makers.

[@chrome72]

Would you say this method is better than using a glass/clip sandwhich with the resist between the glass or does it get equal results? Curious if I need to adjust timing

[@pichu115]

what kind of paper are you using here? is this chalked paper ?

[@chinmoy1955]

What the hell is chalked paper?

[@justinc2633]

i tried this and my uv light doesnt seem to leave anything on the copper, the film has the pcb layout on it but it isnt going through onto the copper, what could cause this? edit: for anyone else having that same issue, in the video (and description) he says NAOH/lye/caustic soda, you want to use sodium carbonate. he mustve gotten them mixed up or something. NAOH is way too powerful and is used for stripping a board so you can start over

[@DJJAW11]

... Could this be used, instead to produce graphics onto abs plastic, sorta like a funky sticker ? .

[@AnilArya51]

it's cool, I want to try this out

[@TechBuilder]

Have fun!

[@kenethpescador206]

Where the printed paper goes? 2:58

[@pir869]

Good method,did you use a inkjet or laser printer. I would not use sodium hydroxide as a developer as it is very aggressive,i use soda crystals that are made from sodium carbonate decahydrate,it is very cheap and only needs two to three tea spoons per litre,it is totally re-usable. As for the sodium hydroxide,i use it to strip the mask off of the pcb when it's been fully etched,then i use tin plate solution to add protection to the copper traces,after that i add a solder mask layer. For production runs a pcb manufacturing house in china is the best answer.

[@dexterperucho90]

Can i use LED light as a replacement for uv or cfl?

[@diyconstruction1147]

Ive been in 2 pcb factories but doesn't know how to create. My position is making multilayer pcb lamination and printings exposure UV light machine but very familiar with the operation

[@orionstar1032]

Hey, Can I use my laser printer (because my inkjet printers cartridges are empty)

[@TechBuilder]

Yes you can! Any printer would do :D

[@orionstar1032]

@@TechBuilder thank you!

[@jer-el3499]

Sodium Hydroxide is so powerful it destroy the dry film, I think it would be better to use sodium carbonate instead.

[@JohnSamuelSam]

Hey bro, if you say this method is not useful for smd circuits, can you say what method would be good for such types?

[@TechBuilder]

Presensitized Photoresist boards are my number one go to when I fabricate 8mil boards, I made a tutorial about it too. It's technically the same with the dry film but the photoresist layer is pre-applied for the presensitized. Presensitized also has a thinner photoresist layer which doesnt require rubbing (rubbing usually knocks of dry film mask traces). I'm working on my dry film skills to see if I can try a different approach to achieve 8mil lines.

[@JohnSamuelSam]

@@TechBuilder But presensitized board are too costly right?

[@zfaj2168]

Will this work on designs with small tracks(0.2mm)?

[@TechBuilder]

That's close to 80 mil. Most certainly! It's easy to achieve those with dryfilm :D

[@chandelrohit1981]

I can remove first protective sheet but am struggling to remove second one before going for developing. Mostly whole sheet comes out if I try with sallo tape... Tweezers also does not work as sheet is very thin... How to overcome this ?

[@LyLeap]

Btw is there an alternative instead of using sodium hydroxide could i uses something else like alcohol or other thing

[@kvamsidharvamsi5800]

which circuit design software you used for this ?

[@leifgiering]

Does anyone know if this will work with a laser printer? I know I could just use the toner transfer method since I have one, but I'm curious.

[@TechBuilder]

Yup, any printer would work with this method!

[@leifgiering]

Thanks for the speedy response!

[@kamaravichow]

You have to make videos often

[@TechBuilder]

Just started posting often again. See you around! :)

[@AxissXs]

14 seconds and subscribed, good job mate!

[@Berghiker]

Is it best to use acetone or 70% alcohol to clean the PCB before applying the film? Is Sodium Hydroxide better to use than Sodium Carbonate for the developer? I tried with NaCO3 for 2 mins and did not get great results. I need to rub the board gently with my finger afterwards.

[@mrz4785]

what was that blue plastic name ? where i can get one

[@mrtcolumbus3310]

@TechBuilder please tell me what software you use for the designs. I have used Eagle and KiCad and I'm trying to widen my skills so to speak so I want to try that one out as well.

[@sylviaw1939]

EasyEDA, it's free. All you have to do is enter the schematic, the components and PCB traces are automatically connected. You move the components to your prefer location on the PCB, the traces are automatically re-routed to the new location. So easy. No more missing jumpers.

[@robertthompson5908]

Holy cow! How many toes do you have left? You were ripping away with that hacksaw an inch away from your toe on the barefoot that you were holding the board with?!?

[@MDPurple2907]

Do you have a schematic for that inverter circuit? I'm trying to build one atm and would be very happy if you could provide it.

[@UnimaxTechnology]

All Good ...Thanks For Everything

[@ilhemedu31]

Use HCl and H202 better than fecl3...is safe for nature and no durst color..thank you..try to pass film alone in laminator Some plastic becomes electrostatic 🇩🇿🇩🇿👍👍

[@fernandojosepompeo4421]

Hello, very good video. Do you have an idea how much time do I need to expose a pcb using a 36W nail dryier at let's say 100mm far from the board? 73 PU2PLL Fernando, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.

[@turkuas23626]

There arr inkjet printer friendly transparent films. Using paper gives you not precise traces.

[@TechBuilder]

Visit my personal facebook account. I recently posted a recent board I made. Was able to make 6mill traces with paper

[@ehsanlion4391]

This channel its a very very good 🤩🤩 Thank sir

[@TechBuilder]

Thank you!

[@merturun7603]

2:47 what solution ?

[@JustAnotherAlchemist]

mineral oil. "Baby Oil"

[@clarkso65]

Ang galing mo bata :)

[@benhummer185]

Life-hack: dip the board in ferric chloride for a few seconds to get crazy adhesion before using photoresist

[@davy4831]

Wow you sound so smart lol where did you Learn all these things and what can you Do with the stuff u know about

[@njoyaahmed2360]

hello what is the role of this circuit please

[@kabulastugannijuan]

Pang develop po ba talaga yung lye? O pantanggal nung dry film?

[@AriesThrottle]

oo nga, dahil sa tutorial na 'to na ubos dry film ko,... Di ko alam bakit ganun resulta... pantanggal pala talaga ng lahat yung lye...hahay...

[@xConundrumx]

Why people insist on using sandpaper to get rid of copper oxidation is beyond me. I use a shellac polish renewer liquid. I have no clue what is in it but it removes copper oxidation in seconds. Wipe on with a paper towel, rub it in a bit, use clean paper towel to remove the remainder. A PCB that size you just use would require three drops of that product and shine like new. My point being there are products out there that are not abrasive and clean copper far quicker and better and best of all without reducing the thickness of the copper any more than needed.

[@Berghiker]

Why is the board not very clear to see if it has been exposed properly? You can hardly see if it has been exposed.

[@TechBuilder]

You have to tilt and let light reflect, you would see a faint difference in color.

[@Berghiker]

@@TechBuilder Is the board done then? Is that good enough when you see a faint color difference?

[@TechBuilder]

@@Berghiker Yep! But I highly discourage peeping and taking off the paper printout mask then returning it back. This often leads to misalignment issues. It takes a lot of trial and error to get perfect results in any photosensitive types of PCB fab techniques. This is why it is crucial to record the exposure time that works best for you (since different lamps may vary in light intensity).

[@Berghiker]

@@TechBuilder Ok. Cool. Thanks.

[@arselantronik6968]

Can we expose film using sunlight ?

[@junaidpv]

Yes, you can. I had done it and it worked well enough. But the exposure time will vary depending on the position of the sun in sky as well as conditions like clouds. Later I built an UV exposure using UV LEDs. It gave consistent results, mine works by 40 seconds. Of course that will vary depending on number of LEDs used.

[@ryujiyamazaki583]

What is the name of the PCB program?

[@larz9596]

Nice Idol 😊 thank you for giving us another knowledge keep it up man!

[@TechBuilder]

Sure! Thanks!!

[@pup4301]

Next try making a multilayered pcb please.

[@fly3209]

doesn't work with a laser printer?

[@ayotaamer]

Good job 💐🇮🇶

[@syahrulzahwan]

Why does my whole film got washed away by the sodium hydroxide... Is it too concentrated

[@fury4076]

Use Soduim carbonate by washing excess dry film, then after you soak it in to ferric, use sodium hydroxide to remove the dry film in the top of copper trace

[@BurkenProductions]

Hmm it's easier to just spray it with positive photo resist and use OH paper. though,.

[@juliusballaran5150]

Quality Content 👌

[@aryjun-845]

Super 👍 Keep going......😀

[@TechBuilder]

Thanks!

[@ssakthiaudio]

I think my best way is iron box method

[@MyOwntuahur]

Awesome proses.. thanks