Homebrew PCBs

Greetings,

Save the ferric chloride in a plastic container with a good seal for future 
circuit boards and / or etching projects.

The ferric chloride can be used over and over again many times until it 
becomes highly saturated with copper.

Do not discard the ferric chloride in a drain as this is illegal in most areas.

The smallest sized crock pots or slow cookers make a suitable etcher for 
the standard 16 ounce bottles of ferric chloride available from Radio 
Shack, Jameco, etc.

The ferric chloride should be heated between 50°C (122°F) and 65° (149°F) 
or the etching time and the undercutting of traces will be excessive.

Do not heat the ferric chloride in a microwave oven, in a gas oven nor with 
open flame.

The ferric chloride should only be used in a well ventilated area.

Ferric chloride is also useful for etching copper and brass thin sheet 
metal parts.

Railroad model hobbyist etch out very detailed and intricate railroad car 
shells from thin sheets of brass. After etching, the brass sheets are 
folded up and brazed to create the body of the model railroad cars. The 
detail down to the individual rivets is amazing.

We have used ferric chloride to etch out precision shim washers that were 
1mm in thickness for the laser optics industry. We resorted to ferric 
chloride etching when die punch efforts failed.

Temperature controlled ferric chloride provides reliable, repeatable 
results with less toxicity than the alternatives. Ammonium persulfate is a 
suitable and reasonable alternative to ferric chloride.

Thanks, Ned





Ned Seith
Nedtronics
1716 lodi Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-473-0200 x111
FAX 650-473-0357
nedtron@...

I'm new at this and I want to do my first pcb. I have a cad software,
copper board, ferric chloride, drills, ect, ect. By doing a lot of
reading I think I have a god idea on how to do it. However, of all
the webpages and articles I found on how to make a pcb non of them
talk about what to do with the left over feric chloride. I don't
think my sewage piping would like me dumping the stuff down the
toilet and neither would the enviromentalist. So, my question is,
what am I suposed to do with the feric chloride once I make my first
pcb? Do I have to take it to a collectionn falicility? Is there a way
to neutralise it so I can dump it in the drain and is so, is this
legal or good to do?