Manufacturing printed circuit boards with your own hands using the laser-ironing method and with the help of a photoresist, it seems to be a thing of the past. Today, more and more methods appear that amaze with their sophistication and genius. So, for example, with the advent and widespread use of 3D printers, it became possible to use these functional devices in the production of printed circuit boards.

An enthusiast named Arvid came up with a way to use a 3D printer as a numerical machine. program management(CNC) to create PCB tracks. This method very simple and does not require any additional equipment, except for the 3D printer itself!

Piece of PCB required size it is carefully pre-cleaned and then painted over with a regular marker, after which it is placed on the printing platform of a 3D printer, which has an engraver instead of a nozzle. This engraver removes paint from where copper on the board needs to be etched. After receiving the drawing, the board is placed in a solution of ferric chloride for a while until the finished state is obtained. The G-code for the 3D printer was generated in special program FlatCAM, designed to create printed circuit boards using CNC machines.

This mechanical etching method is the fastest, cleanest, most efficient and cost effective effective method creation of printed circuit boards for prototyping. The program FlatCAM itself, which greatly facilitates the process, has interesting and useful features... With it, for example, you can create not only one-sided, but also double-sided boards thanks to the built-in special algorithmic tool. The TCL console of the program provides flexibility for users who want to automate their work and implement their own functions... The convenient FlatCAM viewer allows you to visualize Gerbers, Drill and G-Code files. This way you will always know how your 3D printer will work, creating the required printed circuit board. The program can be useful even when the user has several geometric objects, but he wants to get one G-code. In this case, FlatCAM will allow you to combine these geometric objects and generate one job for your makeshift CNC machine.

Below is a video of the process of manufacturing a printed circuit board using a 3D printer.

.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp
& nbsp & nbsp & nbspYou can support our project by donating any amount for its development.

A bubble bath for etching printed circuit boards is a fairly common and very convenient device that many radio amateurs know and use. However, the bubble bath has some drawbacks, the solution of which gave birth to a fundamentally new design of the bath for etching printed circuit boards.

Bubble bath mixer:

An educated radio amateur knows that for uniform and high-quality (as well as fast) etching of a printed circuit board, the etching solution must be heated and stirred constantly. Heating (ferric chloride, for example) of the etching solution speeds up the reaction, and stirring removes the top layer of oxides (this also contributes to the etching rate) and allows you to get a high-quality printed circuit board.

A bubble bath (this is not a bubble bath or a jacuzzi) can be made quite easily for etching printed circuit boards; in the classic version, a compressor and other aquarium accessories are used to provide heating and mixing of the etching solution (ferric chloride, for example). But with the classical organization, despite the convenience and economy, the bubble bath has quite significant drawbacks. For example, over time, the sprayer becomes clogged, and the bubbles spread haphazardly, respectively, the solution is mixed unevenly. Thus, after much thought about how to finalize it, I came up with a rather original, innovative idea, to mix the solution with a mixer. The result exceeded all expectations.

I went the classic way, took pieces of organic glass, marked and cut out all the details of the bubble bath in advance.

Bubble bath details cut from plexiglass

Then I took dichloroethane and dissolved in it the shavings left over from cutting the plexiglass, thus obtaining a good and reliable adhesive for plexiglass.

Plexiglass adhesive

After a short, but very painstaking operation, I got a body of a bubble bath with pre-provided inputs for a mixer and a heater, I just glued two necks from an ordinary PET bottle.

Finished PCB Etching Bath Housing

The two inlets at the top of the tub are needed to install the mixer and heater, you guessed it right, they are also pretty easy to make yourself. You can use an aquarium heater, but you can read how to make a ferric chloride heater.

Pickling solution heater

But on the design of the mixer, several important accents should be made. To begin with, you must understand that metal cannot be used, ferric chloride will simply gobble it up, and will not say thanks. Therefore, I used the ampoule from the handle as the shaft, and the plunger from the medical syringe as the mixer itself. I installed the shaft on a miniature M25E-4L sidirom motor. I recommend using engines of this type, since it consumes little, spins quickly and is designed for long work. And motors of this kind are very compact, the M25E-4L will even fit into the cork from a PET bottle, so I used two corks as a case for the motor.

Pickling bath mixer

Using my version of the PCB etch bath is a pleasure. The solution is primitive, cheap and easy to reproduce and handle. Just screw in the plug with a mixer and a heater, and turn on the device. Due to the fact that there are no bubbles, which means there is no splashing, you will protect your pants from being splashed with ferric chloride, and the solution is mixed quite quickly and efficiently. Plus, my version is pretty durable and very maintainable.

When the mixer is turned on, mixing of the solution begins due to the vortex flow created by it. Stirring not only removes oxides from the surface of the printed circuit board, but also heats the liquid evenly.

Distribution of liquid heating before switching on the mixer
Distribution of liquid heating after switching on the mixer

PCB holder:

In the pickling bath, special attention should be paid to the PCB holder, because for convenience it will also come in handy how. For this purpose, I invented a simple construction of a plexiglass clothespin, and fixed it in the lid.

Clothespin, PCB holder

A regular clothespin did not suit me as a holder for printed circuit boards, since it had a steel spring, and this does not roll against the aggressive environment of the pickling solution. Thus, I have constructed a clothespin by combining two thin Plexiglas strips.

Sketch of the PCB holder

Such a clothespin is not afraid of ferric chloride or other weak etching solutions, since its metal parts are isolated from the external environment, and it itself is made of plexiglass.

This version of the holder holds the boards quite tightly, they are installed and removed quite quickly and easily.

Fixed PCB plate in the holder.

In short, my version of a bubble bath for etching boards, using a mixer instead of an aquarium compressor, has only one pluses, quickly, simply, reliably, conveniently, efficiently, economically.

My version of the PCB etch bath

I quite often make printed circuit boards, therefore I know a lot of subtleties and nuances, and if you are just going to assemble a bath for etching printed circuit boards, take my word for it, using a mixer instead of a bubbler is much more practical, but such a holder justifies all the efforts spent on its manufacture.

A couple of years ago I made just such a bath for etching printed circuit boards. The idea sat in my head for a long time, but everything rested on a vessel, and on the Internet on the site hardlock.org.ua I saw the implementation of such a bath and the most important thing was that the vessel was glued on an aquarium glass sealant. And there was also an excellent thermostat circuit on the site, so I didn't have to waste time inventing my own circuit. I ordered a dish from a person who makes custom-made aquariums, it cost 200 rubles. In an aquarium store I bought the cheapest compressor for 150 rubles + a tube and all sorts of suction cups for about 100 rubles. The most expensive of all purchases was a heater, I don't remember exactly, well, something about 400-500 rubles. Parts for the thermostat cost about 150 rubles. For more stability, I made a stand out of chipboard on which I fixed the vessel and the thermostat (see photo). I gathered everything together, tested it, and was completely delighted. The first board was etched in 3 minutes !!! On a fresh solution of ferric chloride, the process is very fast, and on a two-year-old solution for about 20 minutes :-). Moreover, in this solution, I etched about 30-40 boards different sizes... And he would still have worked, but at the bottom there was already 15mm thick sediment. which began to clog the air outlet pipe. I decided to replace the solution, and at the same time take a photo.

Thermostat, baby nipple housing 🙂

There is no air diffuser in the photo, as I made a homemade one from a plastic tube in which I drilled a dozen holes with a diameter of 1 mm., But due to deposits it clogged up and I threw it out, I will make a new one. Here's something like this ... Or can you tell me how to make a comfortable lid?

Introduction. I don’t think I’ll reveal a big secret if I say that several main factors affect the speed and quality when etching PCBs. For example: if the etching process takes place in a solution of ferric chloride at room temperature, then it usually lasts from 40 minutes. up to 2.5 hours (depending on the saturation of the solution). If the solution is heated, then the etching process itself can be reduced in time by one and a half times. And in general, ideally, the solution itself should be periodically mixed, in this case the process is even faster. These factors directly affect the etching rate. If we talk about the quality of the boards, then this concerns, first of all, those radio amateurs who transfer the pattern to the textolite using the “laser printer and iron” method. Despite the fact that the toner adheres to the foil quite tightly, if the etching process takes a long time, then ferric chloride still gets under the toner. In this case, the tracks are “porous”, which in turn degrades the quality of the board itself and the device as a whole.

Technically, the process of mixing the solution can be carried out in several ways (it all depends on the ingenuity and "sharpening" of the hands), but the most optimal, in my opinion, is the "microbubble bath" method. This is how factory boards are made. The essence of the method is quite simple, but very effective. At the bottom of the ferric chloride tank there is a plastic tube in which holes are punched at regular intervals. The tube is plugged at one end, the other is fed compressed air... As a result, air bubbles rising from the bottom of the tank naturally mix the ferric chloride solution, thereby accelerating the etching process. True, the solution is not heated, but since the etching process occurs rather quickly (5 - 10 minutes), this option, in principle, does not make sense, the solution is simply preheated and poured into the tank already warm. So, on this introduction, you can complete and proceed directly to the implementation of the plan.

Storage tank. As a reservoir for this design, of course, you can use any convenient container, but I came across cuvettes for developing photographs. They look like this:

A tube... You can also use any convenient tube, but it seemed to me the most optimal to use a tube from an ordinary medical dropper, you can buy it at the pharmacy for only 15 rubles. It is glued to the usual glue "Moment crystal". The holes are made with a sewing needle, in increments of about 1 cm:

Naturally, on one side, the tube is muffled in advance, on the other side, the tip from the same dropper is fixed, for a more convenient connection to the air source (more on that later):

At this stage, it is still necessary to check the operation of the device itself by simply pouring water into the container. The fact is that it all depends on the pressure of the compressor, the diameter and pitch of the holes directly dance from it, so you may have to experiment:

Net... Maybe this item will seem superfluous to someone. The fact is that it will focus on a grid stretched at a distance of about 1.5 centimeters from the bottom of the tank (the gap between the tube and the blanks of the boards is still necessary). It is not at all necessary to make a grid; to provide the necessary gap, you can simply insert 4-6 matches into the holes of the boards (best of all in those that are intended for fixing the board in the device) so that they form racks. There are, again, several ways to make a mesh. My method is as follows: from plastic about 1 mm thick, strips about 1.5 centimeters wide and a length slightly less than each side of the tank are cut. The result is two long and two short stripes:

On each strip, cuts are made to half the thickness of the plastic, in increments of one centimeter:

Moreover, they are glued in such a way that the cuts are facing the side of the tank wall, and a thin line passes through this cut:

Then between the short ones:

The result should be a net like the one stretched on a tennis racket:

Lid... Actually, this could have ended, but when testing this unit with water, one not entirely pleasant feature was revealed. The fact is that the operating unit sprinkles very small drops in different directions. Perhaps for someone this will not be a problem, but personally I had a desire to make a cover. According to the dimensions of the cuvette, a blank was cut out of plastic, in which holes were drilled sufficient for ventilation, but insufficient for contamination of the surrounding space:

The cuts on the lid are made due to the fact that a tube comes out on one side, and on the other there is a drain (by the way, it has become much more convenient to drain the solution with the lid closed, it is less likely to spill). The lid is ready, it remains to make fasteners for it on the tank. It is made not quite standard: clips are glued to the cuvette for attaching a coaxial cable:

There are six of them in total ...

... two on each side as guides for the lid ...

... and two more as a stopper when the lid is fully closed:

Compressor. Now you can talk about the air source. The most common is a plastic bottle with a valve, into which air is pumped with a pump. An option with a car camera is also possible. In my case, a conventional microcompressor for the AEN-3 aquarium is used as an air source, which was slightly modified for greater performance:

Actually, the revision was reduced to the most optimal location of the magnet in the coil field (who at least once disassembled similar devices, will understand what in question). Through such simple manipulations, it was possible to increase the compressor performance by about two times, which turned out to be quite enough.

I don’t think I’ll reveal a big secret if I say that several main factors affect the speed and quality when etching PCBs. For example: if the etching process takes place in a solution of ferric chloride at room temperature, then it usually lasts from 40 minutes. up to 2.5 hours (depending on the saturation of the solution). If the solution is heated, then the etching process itself can be reduced in time by one and a half times. And in general, ideally, the solution itself should be periodically mixed, in this case the process is even faster. These factors directly affect the etching rate. If we talk about the quality of the boards, then this concerns, first of all, those radio amateurs who transfer the pattern to the textolite using the “laser printer and iron” method. Despite the fact that the toner adheres to the foil quite tightly, if the etching process takes a long time, then ferric chloride still gets under the toner. In this case, the tracks are “porous”, which in turn degrades the quality of the board itself and the device as a whole.

Technically, the process of mixing the solution can be carried out in several ways (it all depends on the ingenuity and "sharpening" of the hands), but the most optimal, in my opinion, is the "microbubble bath" method. This is how factory boards are made. The essence of the method is quite simple, but very effective. At the bottom of the ferric chloride tank there is a plastic tube in which holes are punched at regular intervals. The tube is plugged at one end, and compressed air is supplied at the other. As a result, air bubbles rising from the bottom of the tank naturally mix the ferric chloride solution, thereby accelerating the etching process. True, the solution is not heated, but since the etching process occurs rather quickly (5 - 10 minutes), this option, in principle, does not make sense, the solution is simply preheated and poured into the tank already warm. So, on this introduction, you can complete and proceed directly to the implementation of the plan.

Storage tank. As a reservoir for this design, of course, you can use any convenient container, but I came across cuvettes for developing photographs. They look like this:

A tube... You can also use any convenient tube, but it seemed to me the most optimal to use a tube from an ordinary medical dropper, you can buy it at the pharmacy for only 15 rubles. It is glued to the usual glue "Moment crystal". The holes are made with a sewing needle, in increments of about 1 cm:

Naturally, on one side, the tube is muffled in advance, on the other side, the tip from the same dropper is fixed, for a more convenient connection to the air source (more on that later):

At this stage, it is still necessary to check the operation of the device itself by simply pouring water into the container. The fact is that it all depends on the pressure of the compressor, the diameter and pitch of the holes directly dance from it, so you may have to experiment:

Net... Maybe this item will seem superfluous to someone. The fact is that it will focus on a grid stretched at a distance of about 1.5 centimeters from the bottom of the tank (the gap between the tube and the blanks of the boards is still necessary). It is not at all necessary to make a grid; to provide the necessary gap, you can simply insert 4-6 matches into the holes of the boards (best of all in those that are intended for fixing the board in the device) so that they form racks. There are, again, several ways to make a mesh. My method is as follows: from plastic about 1 mm thick, strips about 1.5 centimeters wide and a length slightly less than each side of the tank are cut. The result is two long and two short stripes:

On each strip, cuts are made to half the thickness of the plastic, in increments of one centimeter:

Moreover, they are glued in such a way that the cuts are facing the side of the tank wall, and a thin line passes through this cut:

Then between the short ones:

The result should be a net like the one stretched on a tennis racket:

Lid... Actually, this could have ended, but when testing this unit with water, one not entirely pleasant feature was revealed. The fact is that the operating unit sprinkles very small drops in different directions. Perhaps for someone this will not be a problem, but personally I had a desire to make a cover. According to the dimensions of the cuvette, a blank was cut out of plastic, in which holes were drilled sufficient for ventilation, but insufficient for contamination of the surrounding space:

The cuts on the lid are made due to the fact that a tube comes out on one side, and on the other there is a drain (by the way, it has become much more convenient to drain the solution with the lid closed, it is less likely to spill). The lid is ready, it remains to make fasteners for it on the tank. It is made not quite standard: clips are glued to the cuvette for attaching a coaxial cable:

There are six of them in total ...

... two on each side as guides for the lid ...

... and two more as a stopper when the lid is fully closed:

Compressor. Now you can talk about the air source. The most common is a plastic bottle with a valve, into which air is pumped with a pump. An option with a car camera is also possible. In my case, a conventional microcompressor for the AEN-3 aquarium is used as an air source, which was slightly modified for greater performance:

Actually, the revision was reduced to the most optimal location of the magnet in the coil field (whoever disassembled such devices at least once will understand what is at stake). Through such simple manipulations, it was possible to increase the compressor performance by about two times, which turned out to be quite enough.

In this way, as a result of all the labors, an uncomplicated unit appeared ...

... which, nevertheless, increased the quality and speed of the manufactured devices several times over.

P.S. Perhaps, to someone, a lot in this design will seem superfluous, because instead of a grid you can use matches, instead of a lid - a piece of plywood or an old magazine (just not on electronics, this is already a matter of principle), and instead of a compressor, your own lungs are quite suitable, that's just all the above will not add comfort when working for sure. However, this is just my purely personal opinion, and if all of the above is useful to someone, then I can say with full confidence that I have fulfilled my goal one hundred percent.

Best regards, Electronic Affairs Master