Scribd
Upload
65 views4 pages

How To Create Printed Circuit Boards

There are several methods to create printed circuit boards (PCBs), including acid etching, UV etching, mechanical etching, and laser etching. The acid etching method requires drawing the circuit layout on the copper board using a material resistant to acid etching. The board is then submerged in an acid etchant to remove unwanted copper, leaving the circuit lines. Safety precautions must be taken when working with acid etchants. Alternative methods like UV etching may be preferable if the required materials for acid etching are not available or the circuit is more complex. Software can be used to design the circuit layout and convert it into a printable file to transfer onto the copper board.

Uploaded by

Karen Ballinas
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
65 views4 pages

How To Create Printed Circuit Boards

There are several methods to create printed circuit boards (PCBs), including acid etching, UV etching, mechanical etching, and laser etching. The acid etching method requires drawing the circuit layout on the copper board using a material resistant to acid etching. The board is then submerged in an acid etchant to remove unwanted copper, leaving the circuit lines. Safety precautions must be taken when working with acid etchants. Alternative methods like UV etching may be preferable if the required materials for acid etching are not available or the circuit is more complex. Software can be used to design the circuit layout and convert it into a printable file to transfer onto the copper board.

Uploaded by

Karen Ballinas
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

How to Create Printed Circuit Boards

Steps
1. Choose a method to use for creating the PCB. Your choice will usually be based on the
availability of materials needed by the method, the technical difficulty level of the method
or the quality of PCB you desire to obtain. Here's a brief summary of the different methods
and their main features that will help you decide:
1. Acid etching method: this method requires extreme safety measure, the
availability of many materials such as the etchant and it is somewhat slow. The
quality of PCB obtained varies according to the materials you use but generally, it
is a good method for simple to intermediate levels of complexity circuits. Circuits
involving more close wiring and tiny wires usually use other methods.
2. UV etching method: this method requires more expensive materials that might not
be available everywhere. However, the steps are simple; it requires less safety
measures and can produce finer and more complicated circuit layouts.
3. Mechanical etching/routing method: this method requires special machines that
will mechanically etch away unnecessary copper from the board or route empty
separators between wires. It can be expensive if you intend to buy one of those
machines and usually leasing them requires the availability of a workshop nearby.
However, this method is good if you need to create many copies of the circuit and
also can produce fine PCBs.
4. Laser etching method: this is usually used by large production companies, but can
be found on some universities. The concept is similar to mechanical etching but
LASER beams are used to etch the board. It is usually hard to access such
machines, but if your local university is one of the lucky ones having such machine,
you can use their facilities if they allow it.
2. Create the PCB Layout of your circuit. This is usually done by converting your circuit's
schematic diagram into a PCB layout using PCB layout software. There are many open
source software packages for PCB layout creation and design, some are listed here to give
you a head-start:

o PCB
o Liquid PCB
o ShortCut
3. Make sure you gathered all the materials needed by the method of your choosing.
. 4. Draw the circuit layout on the copper coated board. This is only applicable in the first
two methods. More details can be found on the detail section of your method of choice.
. 5. Etch the board. Look for the details sections for how to etch the board. This process
removes any unnecessary copper from the board leaving only wiring of the final circuit.
. 6. Drill mount points. Drilling machines used for that are usually custom machines
designed specifically for this purpose. However, with some adjustments a usual drilling
machine will do the job at home.
. 7. Mount and solder the electronic components on board.

Karen Ballinas Martinez


Acid etching method specific steps
1. Choose your etching acid. Ferric chloride is a common choice for an etchant. However,
you can use Ammonium Persulfate crystals or other chemical solutions. No matter what
choice for the chemical etchant, it will always be a dangerous material.
2. Draw the PCB layout. For acid etching, you need to draw the circuitry using an etchant
resistant material. Special markers can be found easily for this specific purpose if you
intend to do the drawing by hand (not appropriate for medium to large circuits). Laser
printers' ink is the most commonly used material however. The steps to use laser printers
for drawing the circuit layout is as follows:  
1. Print the PCB layout on a glossy paper. You should ensure the circuit is mirrored
before doing that (most PCB layouting programs have this as an option when
printing). This only works using a laser printer.
2. Put the glossy side, with the printing on it, facing the copper.
3. Iron the paper using an ordinary clothes iron. The amount of time this will take
depends on the type of paper and ink used.
4. Immerse the board and paper in hot water for a few minutes (up to 10 minutes).
5. Remove the paper
3. Prepare the acid etchant. Depending on the etchant you choose, there might be
additional instructions. For example, some crystallized acids require being dissolved in hot
water, other etchants are ready to use.
4. Submerge the board in the acid.
5. Make sure to stir every 3-5 minutes.
6. Take the board out and wash it when all unnecessary copper is eaten away from the
board.
7. Remove the insulating drawing material used. There are special solvents available for
almost all types of insulating drawing material used in drawing PCB layouts.

Karen Ballinas Martinez


POSSIBILITIES:

1) If you don´t have the special machines for the Mechanical etching/routing method and
Laser etching method, you can use the Acid etching method or UV etching method.
2) If you don´t have Ferric chloride, you can use Ammonium Persulfate crystals or other
chemical solutions
3) Use gloves and air masks If you work with acid etchants
4) if you intend to do the drawing by hand , you will use Special markers
5) If you do the drawing by hand, you won´t do large and medium circuits in the board
6) If your circuit is large or medium, you will use Laser Printers
7) If the draw by hand isn´t good, you will eraser it using Special correct
8) If the draw layout erase it, you can use copper layout
9) If you don´t to want draw by hand, you will use Laser printers' ink
10) If you decided to use Laser printers' ink, you can use one of three software: PCB, Liquid PCB, or
Short Cut.
11) If you use crystallized acids, you will have dissolved it in hot water
12) If certain areas seem particularly difficult to peel off, you can try soaking a bit more
13) If you don't have access to any of these materials, you will use a sand paper (a fine one).
14) If everything went well, you will have a copper board with your PCB pads and signal lines
traced out in black toner.
15) If the unnecessary copper is eaten all, you will wash it
16) If you are using the acid etching method, you will need to take precautions
17) Be extremely careful If you mix and stir the acid
18) If you work with acid, you should use glass containers.
19) If you use acid, you do not use metallic objects.
20) If you make a printed circuit, you will give it a much better professional look.

Karen Ballinas Martinez

You might also like