As many of you well know based on the kits available from the GetLoFi.com/shop, over the past year we have been experimenting with making our own single sided circuit boards. The road to making shiny nearly perfect boards quickly and efficiently was not easy. Despite a great number of tutorials on the Internet some aspects of this process are not very clear or efficient. Most of the focus is on making one circuit board and then shipping the design to a PCB Fab House either over seas or in US. There is nothing wrong with that if you need double sided through-hole PCBs and are prepared to pay a high premium and wait months for the results which may or may not be correct. Not to mention the frustration of learning bulky CAD software to make those dreaded Gerber files. Our method involves first designing a board in dead simple ExpressPCB software, printing a template, copying onto toner transfer paper, transferring via a laminator, etching, cutting, no drilling, and viola! Low cost large batches of simple circuit boards in as little as 1 hour start to finish given that nothing goes wrong. We are not saying that this is the best, most efficient, and convenient way. This is simply how we make our boards. If you decide to try this process be warned that we provide no guarantee on your safety or results. Do this at your own risk and observe all safety warnings, also be prepared to spend considerable cash on quality supplies and equipment.
Tags: circuit board, DIY, etching, single-sided, toner transfer
well done, guys!
Nice video tutorial guys.
Keep up the good work
One of the best things I’ve ever seen on Youtube.
alex its like you read my mind- after I bought those timer boards off you I was trying to remember how to etch boards and wondering how you replicated so many at once.
Great videos. Thanks very much!
Thanks guys for digging these, please remember this is not as easy as it looks. Takes a bit of time and practice. Of course right supplies, but if you need some circuit boards just email me.
nice!
are you suggesting you might be able to do a batch for people who send in their own designs? if so how much would you consider for doing a sheet of transfers?
I can do a sheet for $30-$40 probably, but I would have to take a look at the design first.
Great tutorial! That etching solution looked pretty clean at the end.. I know the Radio Shack stuff looks real murky after just one small board!
Glad to know the etch solution can be easily made and reused, can’t wait to try this.
This makes it look a lot less scary than I thought it would be. I need to link my Dad to this..
[...] blog GetLoFi has posted the best tutorial yet on home-made printed circuit boards using the toner transfer [...]
The etchant can be renewed if you use an aquarium bubbler and submerge the hose in the used solution. I have a half-gallon of etchant that I have made dozens of boards from. Once in a while, I just need to add a little more acid.
This seems to be half the work done.Can you post videos about getting the drilling done, and then methods to actually have the traces layered with solder?
Alcohol clean first, then sand – otherwise you sand the grease into the copper!
Just a suggestion, but toner printed on “IBM Inkjet Transparencies” works exceptionally well as a toner transfer medium and is a much less expensive alternative than the $1 a sheet stuff you guys used. Best of all, with transparencies, you can see well enough to do double-sided boards.
hi,
here’s a tutorial video i made:
http://www.workinprogress.ca/home-printed-circuit-board-fabrication/
i am using magazine paper and ammonium persulphate.
pat
Patrick, thanks for the video but it illustrates exactly what NOT TO DO. Like make circuit boards in your Kitchen! You eat there man! The chemicals are toxic shit and will stain/rust any metal that is not stainless steel.
Magazine paper and Photo paper are novel ideas, however in both cases the paper sticks to the copper and makes for time consuming scrubbing, see the video above.
Drilling is a very time consuming step. If you need drilled and plated boards just send the design of to a Fab House, trust me it will be cheaper and easier that way.
@circuitmaster – I never saw a Kitchen, what video were you referring to? I saw Staples, laundry room, and outside/garage.
Craig, look at the video on the comments.
Thanks! Love how the paper comes off. Never had much luck with the iron and ink-jet photo paper. Laminator — Get a laminator.
Thanks Tom,
Yeah thats what I’m talking about! The paper does just slide off, no rubbing. Laminator is a wonderful tool. Plus its much safer then a plugged in clothes iron and you can do bigger boards evenly.
The iron only works if you are doing a small boards that fit entirely underneath , bigger boards often get uneven heating and the transfer doesn’t work right.
[...] are lots of tutorials on how to make great PCB. So here is another video tutorial from [getlofi.com]. You can build PCB by using mostly common tools and materials from your work [...]
[...] with a paper cutter. For more on their process, be sure to check out the all three parts of the video tutorial. [...]
Thanks for the great tutorial guys!
I have found that the *backside* of “HP Everyday Inkjet Photo Paper” works great for transfer paper. The frontside is too sticky, and sticks almost as hard as the toner. The backside however, doesn’t stick much at all. Water releases it quite easily.
Thanks for the info that you can cut PCB’s with a big paper chopper. I had no idea it would work, and have probably taken lots of life off my tablesaw blade, not to mention wasting the 1/8″ of kerf!
BTW, is your laminator the hot-roller or hot-plate style?
Thanks again for the great tutorial!
-Clint
The Laminator is a “1301a – GBC Personal Laminator” I would guess its a hot roller.
Great tutorial, thanks!
Very impressive videos gentlemen. Will be checking out the show in DeKalb tonight.
wow thats a very helpful set of videos. do you know what concentration % the h2o2 is? thanks
CVS or Walmart garden variety. Probably 2%-3% is what you get in those. 1 part acid to 2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide
,[...] http://www.getlofi.com is other great source of tips on this topic,[...]
Tried to replicate this process in staples in Leeds UK today, but they told me that this pcb transfer paper wasn’t allowed in their copiers as it isn’t “xerox approved” and might somehow break them from the inside. I informed them that they were morons.
Finally got it copied over at Coryph print and design, it’s up in Kirkstall, near Morrisons, if anyone needs the number, hit me up.
Don’t get too upset, they are just lackies. Simply be happy that you are not them. There are no problems for the laser copiers.
Let me know how the process works out for you.
[...] May be no one here wants to spend the time processing their own circuit boards, but here's a great link to a couple of videos that takes you from laying out the circuits to be laser copied to transferring the image to bare copper boards and then washing away everything but the traces with a home-made solution of hydrogen peroxide and muriatic acid. The coolest thing about the solution he makes is that it is cheap and re-usable. http://www.getlofi.com/?p=1997 [...]
Great Tutorial guys! You gave me inspiration to try a few “at home” projects!! haha
I do have a question though. Does every Transfer need to be reversed onto the Transfer paper or is that just for most?
I also agree with Rupin’s post above! Can you post videos about getting the drilling done and soldering of a board also? Have something like a start to finish circuit board video tutorial!
Once again thanks for the videos! It really helped answer some of the questions I had!!
Hey Allan,
Transfer has to be reversed if you are doing Surface mount. Through hole not.
No, there will not be videos of drilling. Besides whats there to know about drilling, get a drill press and start making holes.
Please search youtube, I’m sure someone has done that already.