DIY PCB plated thru holes?

[N.E. Johnson]

Kevin,

> Any ideas out there on how to do diy plated through holes?

There are manual kits, but its a bit fiddly.

> I'm working on a super compact design that is going to require a two
> sided pcb but I still want them to be DIY. I really don't want to have
> to solder one side and then the other side.  Any ideas?

Two routes: DY or board shop.

> I only need about 8 boards, each of which has about 200 holes, so I
> think it still makes sense for me to do them diy rather than go to a
> board shop.

If you want a compact design and PTH then, even for the small number of
boards you want, I would still go through a board shop.  I have done
double-sided boards myself and always avoided needing PTH.  There are
tricks one can use for avoiding the need.

However, there are other problems which make producing double-sided boards
very tricky, the main one being registration of the top and bottom photo
masks.  I print mine out onto transparent film in my laser printer, and I
need two foils for each side to ensure adequate opaqueness.  Add to that
the variability of the printing process, and you soon run out of
resolution on your track width/separation (as in, make the tracks too thin
and they disappear, put them too close together and they merge into one
big track :-(

So, the upshot of this is: given your requirements, go to a board
shop.  They will produce a very nice board, with all the extras you get
when done professionally (optional solder mask, optional silkscreen,
tinned, machined, etc) that you wouldn't get with home-made.

Enjoy!

Neil

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Neil Johnson :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Computer Laboratory
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