Monday, July 9, 2007

Making Printed Circuit Boards in Minutes

Photocopy or Laser Print circuit image onto the dull side of Press-n-Peel Blue or glossy side of Press-n-Peel Wet (Blue is blue, Wet is white).
Prepare: Clothes Iron, Steel Wool #00 and a touch of liquid soap (or SOS , Brillo), Packaging Tape, Photocopy or Laser Printed Circuit Image, & Directions

Cut Press-n-Peel, leaving a 1/4" border around the circuit image. Cut board to size.

Clean copper board with steel wool, SOS or Brillo pads. Rinse cleaned board with soap and water. Be sure to remove all soap residues. Dry thoroughly with lint-free cloth. Be sure to scrape any burrs that appear on the edge of the board that may have resulted from the cutting/shearing process. Burrs tend to keep the iron from making solid contact with the Press-n-Peel Film.

Place Press-n-Peel with image face down onto clean copper board. Iron the Press-n-Peel Film to the board. Some users prefer placing a piece of plain paper between the iron and the film to reduce friction. Temperature setting on the iron is critical, and dependent upon your laser printer or photocopier. Suggested starting temperature is 275-325 degrees F. Iron settings generally are between the "acrylic" and "polyester" settings. Iron temperatures vary. Iron until board has completely and fully reached the temperature of the iron. Time varies with the size and thickness of the board. Generally this is 1.5 to 4 minutes. DO NOT USE STEAM!

Quench the board/film combination under cold running water. Peel the film off.

(Applies to PnP Blue Only!) To remove, if necessary, small "fills" in between traces and "filled donuts", cover the imaged copper board with clear packing tape, and then remove. This will pull all unwanted filled areas off the board.

After removing "fills", trim the board (if necessary) to the final size. Wash the board in soap & water before etching to remove surface oxidation. Etch with any standard copper board etching solution -- Ammonium Persulfate, Ferric Chloride, etc. (Note: Techniks does not sell PCB etching supplies -- available through local electronic supply stores)

Using steel wool, scrub the Press-n-Peel image off as to reveal copper traces. This is best done under running water.

Suggestion: Do not do this until your ready to drill and populate the board. The Press-n-Peel transfer resist protects the board from oxidation.

Press-n-Peel Film is available online at http://www.techniks.com


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About the Author

A long time electronic hobbyist who experiments with electronics, builds microcontroller projects, and develops related software