Suggestion for an episode: How to make your own PCB at home. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Mark_SF_Bay
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 03, 2020, 06:55:21 pm
content: I have a suggestion for Dave of EEVblog. Would you do a show on making your own PC boards (at home). The following is a video on this but you may have more insights and improvements on the approach.https://youtu.be/1Y6mNqMU9z8What do you think?

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2020, 07:41:05 pm
content: Certainly Dave can chime in for himself on this. I'll just point out that PCB layout and manufacturing is a vast subject and Dave has done a number of videos on it -- i.e.:https://youtu.be/2AcpRCNhbsw?list=PL8D3B363139B67FF3The closest he's ever gotten to hobbyist-level etching, though, is, I believe, #1197 - Etching With Water.Among hard-core hobbyists I think interest in etching your own PCBs has waned for the following reasons:- there are faster construction methods that will get you to a proof-of-concept- double-sided boards and boards with a high-density of tracks or small features are hard to do- the cheapness of services like JLPCB, pcbway, lcsc, ...You can find many threads on this forum that discuss etching techniques.

author: Mark_SF_Bay
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 04, 2020, 04:03:37 pm
content: Oh ok, still might be interesting to try.You mentioned faster construction methods that get you proof-of-concept. Did you mean PCB simulators (Altium, OrCAD, etc)?Thanks.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2020, 04:20:07 pm
content: For the most part it's cheaper to have them made by a pcb house. Shipping counts of course and can cost more than the boards themselves. I have a mill but unless really necessary I'll still order boards. Any at home process will not have the detail you need for most jobs.Having said that perhaps a whiteboard conversation about the material costs and time involved (including turnaround).A tutorial on how to do an enclosure, panel layout and such would be interesting to see as well.

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2020, 07:25:48 pm
content: Quote from: Mark_SF_Bay on October 04, 2020, 04:03:37 pmI meant prototyping techniques like:- Manhattan / Pittsburgh construction- using a prototyping board -- e.g. stripboard or a pad-per-pin board- free air soldering:Some videos / links:-https://youtu.be/xPUmuRSxqys-https://youtu.be/kH110yjYZ2g-https://youtu.be/vq968AFgPhg-https://www.analog.com/media/en/training-seminars/tutorials/MT-100.pdf

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2020, 03:55:46 am
content: I used to etch a lot of my own boards, it was fun and and it was a cheap way to get reasonable PCBs done in a hurry. Now it's so ridiculously cheap to have boards made in China that the only time I etch my own anymore is when I need a one-off and don't want to wait. Otherwise I can get 5 boards for about $7 shipped from JLC. Good quality double sided with solder mask and silkscreen. Now they even let you choose any color mask they offer for no extra cost.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2021, 07:25:19 am
content: Quote from: james_s on October 05, 2020, 03:55:46 amThis.And they don't even take weeks to make them any more. You can often have them in a week.