Homebrew PCBs

On Sat, 19 May 2007 17:45:08 +0200, Roland F. Harriston  
<rolohar@...> wrote:

> I really don't see a lot of cast-off microwave ovens in my neck of the
> woods.
> Not many junk shops here or thrift stores, etc. And I don't think I'd
> want to
> spend time schlepping around old microwave ovens just to heat up ferric
> chloride! There better methods that are less "brute force".


There is no real difference between heating FeCl in a microwave and with  
other means. The heat can be exactly controlled in a microwave because the  
heating power is constant. It's just operator preference as i see it.

I bet it would last all your life (or at least not fail from fume induced  
corrosion) even if FeCl is heated every now and then.

That's not to say that i would like to do it, moving around etchant in  
some container is not the best way IMO.
It ought to stay in a permanent etching tank that is placed in a safe  
location and ready to use. Much less hassle.
Heating can be achieved with an immersion heater (aquarium), or possibly a  
heating foil stuck to the side, or possibly a hose with hot water  
circulated through it immersed in the etchant. But then, i wouldn't want  
to use FeCl myself anyway, and CuCl doesn't really need heating because  
only a very small increase in temperature is reasonable which doesn't make  
much difference.

ST