Am I the only one who finds it immensely sad that they are using a microcontroller, code, and a servomotor to replicate the motion of one of the simplest and most basic of machines to construct, a crank and kingpin?
My design would have a pivoting arm holding the PCB in the fluid and bump or rotate the arm with a cam. Why put the big container full of caustic liquid in motion when you can just move the PCB?
I've been nerd sniped thinking about this. Latest thinking: simple sliding bar clamp to hold two edges of the PCB. The PCB hangs down into the solvent tank. The bar on the clamp drops into vees at both ends. One end of the bar is bumped with a motorized cam, the other has a spring. The clamp+PCB oscillates back and forth and the arms agitate the fluid. When the cycle is complete you just lift the clamp+PCB out of the tank. The tank doesn't move. Tank shape can be optimized to minimize working fluid and agitation.
Or just scrub the board with a bit of ferric chloride and a sponge. I've also seen a modified version of this method that might be better for larger boards that puts the board and the sponge in a ziploc bag with some etchant poured in. Use two sponges for a double sided board.
> Or just scrub the board with a bit of ferric chloride and a sponge.
If you use ink pen and transfer pads like I did decades ago, the sponge would almost certainly wipe the pads off. The best way that I'm aware of to ensure the copper is being consistently covered by the solution is to use an air pump to produce bubbles under it. Those used in aquariums are quite cheap and durable.
Yes! The sponge technique takes a little practice to get consistent results, but it works well (at least for small boards), and lets you use microscopic amounts of etchant, which is good for cleanup. I find it’s especially good when trying to do relatively small traces, because you get such fine control over the process. (I have to say though, nowadays I’d usually rather wait six days for JLCPCB to do it for me.)
The usual way to agitate PCB etching today is to put an aquarium bubbler at the bottom of the tank.[1] Cheap, compact, simple, and you need less etching solution.
I have made a number of PCB's at home. By far the best etchant is warm hydrochloric acid (30%) and peroxide (3%). In a 1:2 mixture (HCL:Peroxide). Will etch a board in about 3 minutes. But be sure to do it outside.
Welp, not everyone lives in the US or Europe. Living in South America my only options are either spend ~$100 for a two weeks _fast delivery_ or have it for free ~2 months later. Not many options for the hobbist maker over here. There are local services but they are more expensive (and slower if that's even possible) or just middleman for PCBWay or JLCPCB.
My thoughts exactly. It's fun as a hobby I guess, but sitting down and soldering a non-trivial board sounds like a PITA vs paying $50 for a respin of 5x boards with full pick-and-place assembly, delivered in <5 days.
I don’t think this is the best way to clean PCBs but it would make a great machine for marinating food, moving the marinade around continuously for max/even absorption.
This is not a cleaning process (in the sense of "removing dirt"). One way to create PCBs is to use a board with a copper surface, put a protective mask on the locations that should have traces or pads and then etch away copper from everwhere (else). In the end, only copper under the protective mask will remain. Etching is faster when the solution is moved around during the process. This machine does exactly that.
It would make a poor machine for marinating food. Most of the foods you'd marinate should be refrigerated during the process. A much better way to marinate is throw everything into a ziploc with as much air removed as you can to maximize contact. Flop it around every now and then if you like.
Just buy them in China. Super cheap even in small quantity and very high quality. Shipping isn’t too bad either. Beats the heck out of figuring out how to dispose of ferric chloride. They’ll even populate the boards for you for a reasonable fee if your design uses SMD parts
I’ve been using https://jlcpcb.com/ and have nothing but good things to say about the results. Caveat: my latest order was well over a year ago.
BTW if someone knows of any domestic US alternatives, please list them. I’d be more than happy to pay 2x the price for faster turnaround, but certainly not 10x the price.
Am I the only one who finds it immensely sad that they are using a microcontroller, code, and a servomotor to replicate the motion of one of the simplest and most basic of machines to construct, a crank and kingpin?
This is a project for Lego, not Arduino.
My design would have a pivoting arm holding the PCB in the fluid and bump or rotate the arm with a cam. Why put the big container full of caustic liquid in motion when you can just move the PCB?
I've been nerd sniped thinking about this. Latest thinking: simple sliding bar clamp to hold two edges of the PCB. The PCB hangs down into the solvent tank. The bar on the clamp drops into vees at both ends. One end of the bar is bumped with a motorized cam, the other has a spring. The clamp+PCB oscillates back and forth and the arms agitate the fluid. When the cycle is complete you just lift the clamp+PCB out of the tank. The tank doesn't move. Tank shape can be optimized to minimize working fluid and agitation.
The YouTube video acknowledges the over engineering in the title.
No, I came to the comments after having this exact reaction.
Or just scrub the board with a bit of ferric chloride and a sponge. I've also seen a modified version of this method that might be better for larger boards that puts the board and the sponge in a ziploc bag with some etchant poured in. Use two sponges for a double sided board.
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/13/etch-pcbs-with-ferric-chlori...
> Or just scrub the board with a bit of ferric chloride and a sponge.
If you use ink pen and transfer pads like I did decades ago, the sponge would almost certainly wipe the pads off. The best way that I'm aware of to ensure the copper is being consistently covered by the solution is to use an air pump to produce bubbles under it. Those used in aquariums are quite cheap and durable.
Yes! The sponge technique takes a little practice to get consistent results, but it works well (at least for small boards), and lets you use microscopic amounts of etchant, which is good for cleanup. I find it’s especially good when trying to do relatively small traces, because you get such fine control over the process. (I have to say though, nowadays I’d usually rather wait six days for JLCPCB to do it for me.)
The usual way to agitate PCB etching today is to put an aquarium bubbler at the bottom of the tank.[1] Cheap, compact, simple, and you need less etching solution.
[1] https://www.circuitspecialists.com/et20
Piece of string and this bash script:
Hah, that's a great idea!
I have made a number of PCB's at home. By far the best etchant is warm hydrochloric acid (30%) and peroxide (3%). In a 1:2 mixture (HCL:Peroxide). Will etch a board in about 3 minutes. But be sure to do it outside.
I built a similar device some years ago only to realise that all my servomotors where cheap knockoffs that broke after 5 minutes l.
Has anyone managed to get those $2 servos on Ali to work reliably?
I don't understand. Ordering PCBs online is nowadays almost as fast as ordering the components. Why would you want to make them yourself?
>Why would you want to make them yourself?
Welp, not everyone lives in the US or Europe. Living in South America my only options are either spend ~$100 for a two weeks _fast delivery_ or have it for free ~2 months later. Not many options for the hobbist maker over here. There are local services but they are more expensive (and slower if that's even possible) or just middleman for PCBWay or JLCPCB.
But how long does it take for your components to be delivered?
There are reasons.
Mine: phased Vivaldi antenna arrays. Iteration is painful if you have shipping in your run debug loop.
Ok, but that usecase is very exceptional.
I also do PCBs for art.
Both of which aren't the most common.
My thoughts exactly. It's fun as a hobby I guess, but sitting down and soldering a non-trivial board sounds like a PITA vs paying $50 for a respin of 5x boards with full pick-and-place assembly, delivered in <5 days.
€40 to receive it in 3 days or €0 to have it in 3 hours.
With no plated vias, soldermask or silkscreen. I'll wait.
I don’t think this is the best way to clean PCBs but it would make a great machine for marinating food, moving the marinade around continuously for max/even absorption.
This is not a cleaning process (in the sense of "removing dirt"). One way to create PCBs is to use a board with a copper surface, put a protective mask on the locations that should have traces or pads and then etch away copper from everwhere (else). In the end, only copper under the protective mask will remain. Etching is faster when the solution is moved around during the process. This machine does exactly that.
It would make a poor machine for marinating food. Most of the foods you'd marinate should be refrigerated during the process. A much better way to marinate is throw everything into a ziploc with as much air removed as you can to maximize contact. Flop it around every now and then if you like.
Just buy them in China. Super cheap even in small quantity and very high quality. Shipping isn’t too bad either. Beats the heck out of figuring out how to dispose of ferric chloride. They’ll even populate the boards for you for a reasonable fee if your design uses SMD parts
Can you recommend a Website/service?
I’ve been using https://jlcpcb.com/ and have nothing but good things to say about the results. Caveat: my latest order was well over a year ago.
BTW if someone knows of any domestic US alternatives, please list them. I’d be more than happy to pay 2x the price for faster turnaround, but certainly not 10x the price.