DIY Press N Peel for Diy Projects

No. I don't know. This technology is not available on open source. Have you toyed with the idea of using CNC for etching PCB?

Not exactly what you are asking for but years ago there were several times where I made low parts count thru-hole boards by:

1) Tape a 1:1 scale paper printout onto the PCB and drill holes

2) Tape a 1:1 scale paper printout onto the PCB again but with carbon paper under it Trace the copper runs and then remove the papers.

3) Paint by hand the runs using model airplane paint and a small brush.

4) Etch.

Fine pitch parts - won't work.

Large board with many parts - basically won't work.

Small thru hole boards - been there, done it, it worked

Can you do mail-order from an on-line source like Fry's?

They carry a large selection of DIY PCB materials.

http://www.frys.com/category/Outpost/Electronic+Components/Prototyping+Accessories

I have used photo paper that is intended for an ink jet printer with good success although I don't remember the brand I used. The glossy photo paper used in a laser printer doesn't provide good adhesion of the ink so when you heat it with clothe iron it transfers. You then soak the board with the paper in water to remove the paper.

You can find lots of information about this online and probably some paper suggestions if you search pcb toner transfer and other terms like that. I see other methods that don't require soaking also but I have never used those methods.

The key is to find a paper that releases the ink ok but doesn't leave holes when it is printed on. I also see sites that say that paper manufactures change how they make the paper a lot so you just need to try a few to find one that works. I also see some talking about magazine paper, so that should give you a few things to try.

Here are a few links to get you started

http://www.dr-lex.be/hardware/tonertransfer.html

http://forums.makezine.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=2500

http://www.instructables.com/id/Toner-transfer-no-soak-high-quality-double-sided/

Depending on the scale of your application would it be possible to use copper tape?

Stick the copper tape to a plastic board, take a wood burning/etching iron and heat and press the copper into the plastic board, then cut or abrade the excess copper away leaving only your conducting pathways. Melting the copper into the plastic will make the copper stick to the board better than just the adhesive on the back of the tape; or perhaps some super glue instead of melting the copper into the plastic?

What the hobbyist needs is a deposition pen that can deposit copper, silver, or gold by inserting the conducting metal into the pen, the pen heats the deposition material to just above its melting point and then allows the hobbyist to deposit the material onto a board.

Or even better; a cross between a miniature sized wire welder and a cable laying machine where a hot pointed tip is used to etch a channel into the plastic and a small diameter silver, copper, or gold wire is laid into the channel at the same time the tip is etching the channel into the plastic substrate.

I have always thought that etching was a wasteful way of making conducting pathways.

All the other methods like toner transfer are very unreliable. As far as other methods, been there done that. Many have tried the smooth side of labels with doubtful success. I am aware of use of other papers and am going to collect different papers and try. I am not sure if butter paper is laser printable. Buying online, sometimes the project is too small, much economical on a veroboard.

Anyhow, let us see if anyone has a better option.

Thanks all for the valuable suggestions

Gajanan Phadte

Hi Gmphadte,

The easiest way to do this at home would be to use thermal transparent paper. This is a transparent plastic sheet much like you use on the photo projectors to display on a white sheet (Lecturers have this machine to teach a class).

What you will need to do is draw up your project on Autocad or what ever program is available to you. Then you need to print it with white paper out of the same printer that you are going to use for the transparency and size it until it is right. Then invert your drawing so it prints it on the transparency the other way round. Laser printers work best for this, don't try the photo projector paper as an alternative because it just smudges, you need to order the right stuff from Allied Electronics or the likes.

Once you have printed the page, place the transparency on the copper clad board and iron it on to the board at maximum heat. Keep doing this until the board starts showing signs of heat, now gently peel off the transparency and you will be left with the circuit on the board. This takes a bit of practice so if you get it wrong the first time just sand it off with a bit of wet and dry and try again.

Once this is done soak your board in ferric chloride for a few minutes and viola!!!

If you really want to do it right, invest in this machine:

http://www.lpkf.com/products/rapid-pcb-prototyping/circuit-board-plotter/protomat-s103.htm

The way I used to make one offs many years ago was very simple.

Take a piece of PCB, polish it to bright copper using fine scouring powder and water, clean with denatured spirits, avoid touching it again with your fingers by wearing clean rubber gloves.

Mark out by hand using a good quality black permanent ink marker, they are acid resistant, at least all the ones I have used. I forget the name, but the ones I used were refillable, if you bought the extra bottle of ink.

You may need to draw some pencil markings like a grid to assist with accuracy. Use a sharp 2B pencil or softer, keep sharpening it often. These pencil lines can be either left or gently removed with a Q-Tip before etching. I removed mine.

Check with a magnifying eye glass for any pin holes in the ink, just tap the ink pen on them to cover them up. Let the PCB dry on a hot rad for at least one hour.

If the board needs to be double sided, drill mounting holes in the correct places (before starting!) and use them to align the artwork on both sides. Pre drill chip pins and any other component holes to help alignment, but use the pen to save/cover the copper edges of the holes from being etched away....

Try to organize that all through hole connections are on a pin, eventually soldered on both sides, or add short lengths of wire to achieve that......

Etch carefully, not to long. Agitate often and remove to check how far its gone from time to time. Neutralize etchant before cleaning off the black ink with the same scouring powder....

If any chips are to be inserted (and you did not need to drill beforehand as it was single sided only), use a piece of perf board to line up the drill correctly. This can also be used to make the board neater for almost any components with the same raster, usually 0.1" or multiples thereof. Some careful forethought is needed in the planning.

Remember, on a single sided board, the copper is on the other side to the components and will not be so obvious for anyone looking to complain, but if the components are all over the place, it will still look untidy.

You can use special plastic foils to laser print the circuit onto them (some laser printers refuse to use them unless one short edge is painted white! Use that edge first in the printer) and transfer onto a clean and polished PCB blank using a smoothing iron, it never worked for me, but it may give you enough detail to allow following with the permanent marker......just a thought!

Even a 1:1 copy on thin paper will help to get everything in the right place if taped to one edge of the PCB, so you can flip it +back and forth....

For some circuits I would still use perf or Veroboard board directly, with a cheap wiring tool for extra connections if many are needed.

There are also Breadboards for testing and you can buy the same layout in PCB form for soldering....

Also, years ago there were software tools like "StripBoard Magic", to allow a complex circuit to be made automatically on Veroboard......there are old versions around that can be downloaded, but often on unsafe sites. If you need a copy, I can send you one, but the company is long gone, is that illegal then? I have forgotten how to use it since then.....I am told it was not reliable on big circuits though....

There is a small German company still around, who still sell a less complex tool (Lochmaster, "Loch" is hole in German) for Veroboard circuits, Abacom I believe. You need to plan the circuit and part placement yourself, but there are some test tools to allow checking that the correct connections have been made.....The graphics are really excellent.

Check here:-

Lochmaster

It looks like this:-

I find it acceptably attractive and easy to fault find or change/update......not as small and neat as a custom PCB though!!!

The company sells versions in English and some other languages of course.

I have found the thermal transparecy (#7) the easiest, followed by ironing on a xerox reverse image on the copper.Registration holes will assure alignment of both sides. Dissolving the paper will take some time. The black of the xerox is acid resistant. Scrubbing will clean off it later.