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

Thanks for answering my message. I didn't expect to get so many
replies so soon!

It sounds like this product I'm looking for is rare or non-existant
because I think one of the people that answered would have heard
something like this. But just for fun, let me elaborate. This is
what I'm looking for:

1) Start with a double sided copper clad pcb for etching.
2) Drill (or punch) holes every .1" horizontally and vertically in a
grid (like perfboard).

A single sided board drilled so would also be useful, because for
those occasional times when you need to send wires over the other
side to cross over other traces, you at least have the holes for the
pads predrilled.

Perceived benefits:

1) No need to drill for through hole components. The only drilling
necessary would be for mounting holes for the PCB or larger
components, and there are usually only a handful of these per project.

2) Toner transfer on this board would be a quicker way to prototype a
project than padded perfboard, wirewrap, breadboarding... Just etch
your board and start soldering.

3) Vias can be done by sending a pad to both sides of a pre-existing
hole. You would still have to solder both sides, using the leads off
your surplus bulk resistor pile, but again, no need to drill.

4) Although rapid, the result is permanent and stable (unlike
wirewrap, breadboard..)

5) If you end up with a design you like, you could just use the
perfboard PCB design on a regular production PCB.

6) The money you save on that CNC mill can be funneled into other
projects :)


Possible problems:

1) Your PCB software would have to know how to route around the pre-
existing holes. I'm not sure if all PCB packages are up to it.

2) Potentially you could still use SMD with your through hole
components, but I don't know if the holes will get in the way.

3) The holes may cause suboptimal packing and routing of your
components and traces.


If there were single sides versions of this copper clad perfboard, I
think it would still be fun to use. Can anyone find a reference for
this?

I was thinking if this wasn't available anywhere I could glue a
couple copper sheets (with guide holes) onto a perfboard to get the
effect I want. Anyone know how hard that would be to do reliably?

The advantage of this home-glued copper perfboard is that I could
then send traces over the holes I don't need for better routing. The
disadvantage is that I need an extra step, and that CNC mill starts
looking pretty good :)

Cheers,
Don