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Sunday, December 16, 2018

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Without Etching

This procedure for making copper trace of Printed Circuit Board uses only cutter and soldering iron. Cheap, easy and fast, this procedure is suitable for simple electronic circuit. The sample PCB prototype in this article will be used for brake lights flashing circuit with adjustable frequency.


Draw the copper conductor paths on the PCB. In this procedure, the conductor that covered in ink will be removed. The finished PCB copper traces are wide and can transmit big current, it cools the circuit, and conductor is not easily damaged if soldered too often or too hot. Therefore this PCB is suitable for simple circuits with high power and current.

Whereas in the chemical dyeing procedure (etching), the copper part covered in ink will be used as a conductor. And the part that is not covered with ink will disappear because it dissolves in a chemical solution.

This procedure can also be seen on the following YouTube videos:


The first video above shows the process: drawing, punching, drilling, and scratching or cutting the conductor. Note that only copper conductors are cut. The non conductor layer (substrate) of PCB is not cut.



The second video shows the process: widen the gap between conductors, test adjacent conductors, cut the PCB.



Mark points that will be drilled with punch, you can also use nail. Those punch marks will ensure drill bit does not slip, when it first hits the PCB.


Drill all component holes with diameter drill as needed, usually 1 mm diameter drill bit.



Cut copper according to the line drawn. Note that only the copper conductor is cut. While the non conductor layer (substrate) is not cut. For this reason, the cutter knife should not be pressed too hard, and must be scratched several times. It will feel lighter when scratching if the copper has been cut. The shape of  conductor will be quadrilateral-like, because this shape is easily made with a knife scratch.



Then the gap is formed between copper, it is widened by heating with soldering iron. Make sure the solder tip is pointed and clean of lead and dirt, to make it easier and the results are neat. The video shows that copper debris is released when heated and pushed by soldering iron, and the gap widens.



Check conductivity with ohm meter. If between two adjacent conductors is still connected (short circuit), then scratch the knife again, and expand the gap again with soldering iron.



If there is nothing conductor short circuit. Then the PCB can be cut. Cutting is the last thing to do, to make it easier to hold the PCB during the process. If the PCB is too small, it is difficult to hold it. If cutting using a cutter it must be scratched several times.



The cutter knife must also scratch the back of the PCB also, or the non conductor layer (substrate).

Cutting can also be done with a hacksaw or a plywood saw.

5 comments:

  1. There are pretty much no contemporary competitors. You still see a few hand wired breadboards, but even prototypes are often made directly to PCB because of their superior characteristics. Know more about pcb layout.

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  2. You should pick up a soldering iron with at least 30 watts of power. Soldering irons with low wattage take longer to heat up and are not consistent holding the temperature. Details here: https://solderingironguide.com/reviews/wall-lenk-soldering-irons

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your visit. Those yellow Wall Lenk soldering irons on your site, they look good.👍👍👍

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  3. The best soldering station helps you avoid these accidents because you can position it at any height. It also has the latest safety features such as automatic shut off and auto start-up, which help you achieve a better quality weld. This also makes it easier to weld thinner and flexible parts such as thin boards and cables.

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  4. It often does not make sense to invest in expensive production equipment if you just want to spin a few prototypes and instead outsource your PCB assembly and prototype manufacturing to a reliable vendor. I will give some tips as to what to watch out for when looking for a contract manufacturer. PCBA

    ReplyDelete

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