Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

My next project is probably going to require a solder paste stencil.
So, I've been pondering what to do. I could buy one, but that's
expensive, adds delays, and isn't as much fun as doing it myself ;-)

I've tried drilling a transparency sheet (plastic) but the holes were
very rough. Plus, I don't have drills small enough for the SMD pads
I'll be using (11 mils wide). So I thought of etched brass, since the
toner transfer kits say they can be used for that.

After a little research and some thought, there seem to be two
common techniques:

1. TT on one side, paint the other side, etch in FeCl or H2O2, clean.

2. TT on both sides for faster etching and cleaner edges.

But I thought of a third, based on how pcb-pool makes PCBs. I have no
idea if this would work, but it goes like this:

∗ TT on both sides, with toner ∗only∗ where you want paste.
I.e. little dots of toner all over the place.

∗ Electroplate some tin or other metal onto the sheet.

∗ Remove the toner, leaving exposed brass where the paste goes.

∗ Etch.

Not sure if this has any practical advantages over original option #2,
though, and it's probably a lot more work to set up correctly.

But anyway, has anyone had success etching their own paste stencils?

DJ