When did you last etched a PCB? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2025, 08:17:37 pm
content: Found a forgotten bottle of Ferric Chloride (FeCl3), and realized it's a very long time since I didn't make a PCB.Does anybody still DIY own PCBs at home?

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2025, 08:30:26 pm
content: 2008ish. Back then advanced circuits bare bones board deal was pretty attractive, but still sort of expensive. It's hard to remember how much getting small quantities of prototype boards made sucked before the elecrows and oshparks and JLCPCBs came along.(I was a HCL + H2O2 kind of guy. This was before I had a laser printer too so I went to Kinkos to print the transfers. Crazy.)

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2025, 11:31:39 pm
content: Haven't for a pretty long time. I used to use the toner transfer technique and a tinning paste as a finish (reflowed with a hot air gun). I was managing 0.2mm traces and clearance.Before the low-cost manufacturers became ubiquitous, I started ordering PCBs from (IIRC but I may have mixed it with another company) Future Electronics, which at the time started offering low-cost PCB manufacturing (that they were outsourcing to China). They did 2-layer only, quality was fine (not exceptional) and it took forever to receive the PCBs (sometimes over 1 month). But from that point on, I stopped making them myself.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 05:03:29 am
content: Errrr... Hmmmmm....Last century sometime - and I think I used a Dalo pen and ferric chloride.The board looked like crap, but worked well.

author: GeorgeCh
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 05:44:13 am
content: I stopped in 2021 after finally making courage to order from JLCPCB.I had a full setup for etching the PCBs, together with a specially chosen printer to print on transparent film.Fun times, but very messy, I still have clothes stained by FeCl3

author: forrestc
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 05:46:38 am
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on February 13, 2025, 08:17:37 pmThe last time I remember doing it was back in the 1990s... Probably around 1992 or 1993. I might have done one since but I don't remember why or what it would have been for. Since then PCB fabrication has been cheap and easy to obtain.Don't understand what the fascination is with doing it yourself anymore. Other than to prove you could or in narrow rapid-turn scenarios.If I was going to do this again, I'd probably try the milling approach instead of the etching approach.I am intrigued by the several companies who are at least somewhat successfully printing PCB's using a 3d printing approach. Still early, but I can see some cases where a 3d printed board would be ok if the price was right. Right now the cost is so high it doesn't make sense for many people.

author: Zipdox
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 06:04:43 am
content: A couple weeks ago. I do it very rarely when I have a simple circuit and want it done quickly. For anything serious I use a fabrication service.

author: johnh
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 06:57:50 am
content: Let see. It would have been around 1984. double sided.Clean board, apply photo resist. not aligned scrub it all off and try againover etched in some places. tossed it all and used wire-wrap instead

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 07:29:08 am
content: It has been at least 25 years. I believe I still have some supplies and a frame for the exposures. It could align well enough for two sided boards - most of the time. And tin plating solution has some other uses. I had my brother, a bit of a coin collector, going for a while when I showed him my silver penny collection all the while apologizing for their somewhat tarnished condition. And he wasn't the only one to look twice.Somewhere along the line I changed over to wire wrap for circuits that I needed in less than six copies. It was simply less work than DIY PCBs. Again, I still have some supplies. I'm a pack rat.But today it's just a matter of which software to use and which company to send it to.

author: woofy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 08:57:46 am
content: Last time I made my own PCB's must have been over half a century ago.Today is Friday. Last Friday I ordered five 4-layer PCB's from JLCPCB for $7. They were ready for shipment Monday morning and delivered yesterday.Heck, the carriage was 3 times the PCB cost.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 04:50:16 pm
content: When Monica Lewinsky was still in the news.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 04:54:58 pm
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on February 13, 2025, 08:17:37 pmThe last time I etched a PCB myself is probably 5 years or longer ago. I brought my spracy etching machine to the recyclers last year to make room in the shed. Nobody wanted to have it. Not even for free. So I guess everyone is ordering PCBs from JLCPCB and similar shops nowadays.

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2025, 08:27:58 pm
content: Probably 20 years ago. Still have the equipment. Maybe time to get rid of it. My method:- PCBs with positive lacquer.- A4 size metal enclosure with UV tubes.- I often used regular printer paper with a laser printer, but this made the expose time very sensitive. Transparent was better.- Then developed in sodium hydroxide.- Then etched with sodium persulfate in a small plastic tank with heater and bubbler.- Remaining lacquer removed with acetone.- PCB drilled with a miniature drill.The whole process was a bit messy. I'm relieved there is nowadays online cheap PCB manufacturing, I use them all the time after I took up the hobby again a few years ago.

author: Buriedcode
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2025, 01:15:26 am
content: About 3 years ago.Can't be bothered with FeCl, I used the more expensive Sodium persulphate and toner method. With my laminator, it was actually pretty good for single sided boards, with 0.5mm pitch IC's working out just fine. But the combination of the hassle of drilling (which is why I try to use SMD as much as I can, including 0R jumper reistors) and the general faff compared to $5 from PCBway means will only do it again for very specific applications:- Large boards > 160x100 single sided. I have been meaning to make a large dev board for MCU's, with everything on one board rather than lots of IDC cables and sub boards.- When I need them quickly for a prototyping idea. As in, same day.- Possibly Odd shaped boards. Something like a long L shape would cost a fair bit, but again, SS only.I'm still amazed I can fire off 10 different designs, and recieve 100 PCB's a week later for only £35

author: Selectech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2025, 02:22:57 am
content: A long while ago, 1976.

author: cunningfellow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2025, 12:01:57 am
content: Late 2024 was the last 2 layer board I made.My preferred method is to plan things out and have time to send gerber files to JLCPCB.However every so often someone comes to me in a panic and needs something built with a few day turn around and I am glad I can make PCBs at home.It has been a LONG time since I have thought it is economically feasible - even for multilayer.Sometimes you need a board in two hours so you can complete a project in a day.

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 04:42:54 pm
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on February 13, 2025, 08:17:37 pmI make my own PCB's when i want something NOW.Like an adapter for a QFN24 chip to plug into my breadboard."just buy it" - and wait a week for shipping?"just buy it before" - do i have to buy everything in anticipation of doing anything?Making my own PCB's is easy and i produce 0.2mm traces reliably if i bother. Most of the time i set my trace width to 0.5mm and just make the board with minimal effort.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 04:49:48 pm
content: Well over a decade ago, I don't bother any more.

author: Fryguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 05:02:30 pm
content: September 2007 - when i stopped working for a pcb manufacturer .

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 07:17:05 pm
content: 2018 probably. We had a pretty decent process at a club which me and others developed and finetuned. Including CNC drill, dry film photoresist, through hole plating even. It was pretty useful with the lifestyle of almost living at the club, coming up with a design idea, designing a PCB and after a few hours having a prototype (because we had pretty decent library of components there too, and after "living" there for a few years you basically remembered what parts are available).I realized quite early on how much time is wasted with breadboards for anything more complex than a dozen wires. Already for something as simple as SMPS + 64-leg MCU + a few buttons and LEDs and connectors the time to design (2 hours) and etch (< 2 hours) a PCB is far less than one-off prototype construction techniques. Especially true for large pin count connector adapters and similar. A "wire" in PCB CAD takes seconds. Plus you skip the wire spaghetti step completely; skipping steps is always a timesaver. You have an actual PCB prototype from get-go so are much more likely to get nearly finished version at your first order from real PCB house.But that was also time of learning for me. Nowadays there is so little to test with prototypes. With some non-chaotic time management, one can easily fill the wait time of professional fab with writing firmware. Or documentation. Or coming up with test plans. Or just taking a day or two off and chill.Maybe when you are younger you want to get the thing done right here and now and don't wait to wait for the next day. That also often meant messed up sleeping patterns. It was quite usual for me to keep building the thing for 15-20 hours straight and then go home to sleep at 10am or something.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 07:24:02 pm
content: About a decade ago. Makes almost no sense these days unless you want it made very fast.

author: deadly_penguin
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 09:04:54 pm
content: At work I laser-cut small prototypes when I either can't or don't want to deadbug. We have a dual CO2/fibre laser cutter which works fairly well, with the fibre taking off the copper and the CO2 cutting the board out.

author: Labrat127
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2025, 07:07:29 pm
content: I've never chemically etched a PCB myself - 99% of the boards I designed were professionally fabricated, 1% were created by a PCB miller. But I can't resist the temptation of a 2-hour turnaround fabrication of one prototype at home. For those of you who have experience with chemical etching, what's the best method nowadays? I'm talking about, for example, a two-layer board (no larger than 4"x4") with a handful of vias, 0.25mm minimum track width, 0.25mm clearance. To me, quality is probably the most important. Cost should be within 50 USD per board. No crazy chemicals that can easily cause dangers. Thanks for sharing!

author: kite31
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 12:17:30 am
content: Very late 1970s, having abandoned electronics as a hobby between then and this year. I have no recollection of my process, having done only a couple; probably ferric chloride. One day I might order a PCB for a microcontroller-based thing on which I am slowly working. Kicad will be a new adventure.

author: UnijunctionTransistor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 01:50:41 am
content: Back when the song “Who Can it Be Now?” was still in vogue:https://youtu.be/SECVGN4Bsgg?si=i3ZepPiAslIvW-ls

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 02:55:08 am
content: If memory serves, 1991.

author: BadeBhaiya
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 12:54:23 pm
content: Been a year or so. A simple board with an SOT-23 magnetic field sensor and a few passives. As Murphy would have it, I was wearing a white tshirt that day, it still has the stain, and I still wear it.Since then I have moved to using strips of copper tape on cardboard/microscope slides as my go-to solution for prototyping with SMD components. Its way faster, I don't need to wait for copper to etch plus I don't have to keep shaking the damn thing. All I need is a pair of sharp scissors and steady hands

author: Ranayna
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 01:01:12 pm
content: I never did.I always wanted to, i thought it might be fun to do.But handling, and especially getting rid of, dangerous chemicals can be complicated and expensive in Germany. So it was never really a good option, considering that electronics is a low priority hobby for me.

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 01:42:06 pm
content: Mid 90s, something like that. Started to use Olimex for hobby stuff as they had a cheap PCB proto service for a while (as long as you don't mind using their standard drill rack). I messed around with pre-sensitised boards for a bit but getting exposure right was bit of a pain, not helped by the fact laser printing onto OHP was also a bit hit & miss. Now I use JLCPCB.I even managed at one time "back then" to repurpose couple of defunct flatbed scanners I got hold of into a CNC drill driven by a PC Centronics port and using a Dremel. Never got round to actually making a board with it though...

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 03:32:05 pm
content: Quote from: Ranayna on September 24, 2025, 01:01:12 pmTo be fair, ferric chloride is not that dangerous. It stains like sh* but it's relatively harmless (if used properly). It's even used for drinking water treatment and wastewater treatment. So unless you used gigantic amounts per year, it wouldn't cause much environmental harm at all. It may just not be a good idea to dispose of it via copper tubes.What's a lot more dangerous and toxic are chemical tinning solutions. As I mentioned, I personally didn't use them back then, and used tinning paste reflowed with hot air. There was nothing much to dispose of.

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 10:09:19 pm
content: 2012 when I was still in my polytechnic university program..PCBs had hit 5 or 10$ for 5x5 2layer 10pcs in china for a while back then. I switched over and never looked back... Nowadays I order mostly from Aisler in Germany. Happy to pay a bit more if it keeps people in EU busy.I honestly also don't see the point of etching my own boards. Due to some health condition, my neck has a limited bend-over time limit per week so I'd rather spent that on debugging firmware and patching PCBs.Even getting prototypes assembled isn't even that expensive anymore, iirc starts at 75 euro @ Aisler. Also JLC can source some parts cheaper than I can do myself on Mouser, although yet to see how much tax gets added on top of it.

author: oPossum
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 10:33:13 pm
content: 1986Schematic and PCB where done in AutoCADPlotted on a Houston Instruments plotterFujiFilm lithographic film for the transparencyDeveloped with chemicals from the local camera shopCoated the PCB with Kodak KPR-4Exposed with a 'tanning lamp'Developed with something alkaline from the hardware storeDon't recall what etchant we usedResults where meh

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2025, 10:50:30 pm
content: Quote from: BrianHG on September 24, 2025, 02:55:08 amOk, maybe I should have said more...I started in 1986 using an Amiga with Deluxe Paint, for 2 layer boards + Silk. Used huge B&W bitmaps, 100dpi, with brushes for basic IC and resistors and Caps. Everything went on a grid and with components being all imperial based spacing, PCBs were easy to make.Around 1990, I found Pro-board3 and Pro-net for the amiga, a real Schematic and PCB cad package with 10 layer capabilities.Still have all my software and my boards today running in my WinUAE Amiga emulator.Though, at the time, I did write my own gerber translation tool which took Pro-Board3's gerbers with separate aperture files and generate gerbers with embedded apertures and dos 8.3 compliant file names.This was when I began purchasing real PCBs.