Hi to all. I just used a modified stubby plotter pen to hold a steadler lumocolor pen (sold in maplins as etch resist pen) and I have plotted my first circuit ready for etching. I bought a maplin etch starter kit (tray, ferric chloride, a pen & some pcbs) and gave the plotted circuit a quick etch... It took about 10-20 minutes to etch (swishing cold etchant straight from the bottle in the tray). I will try to upload an image of the etched PCB for everyong to see but sufficed to say the surface finish isn't great (lots'o pitting) but I think this is because of the pen ink slightly dissolving during the etch (On my plot tests, I left the ink on the board overnight and coldklene had problems taking the ink off the day after...ideas anyone?). Anyhow, I checked the board for continuity and it was fine. Under 3x magnification, it looked like terrible. Oh, one problem...I forgot to buy some drill bits (DUH!) Now, some help required: what type of containers can ferric chloride be safely kept in and used for etching...I am looking at using those glass preserve jars with the funny external locking mechanism and the rubber o-ring for holding etchant and boards. Basically, what type of seals (paper, rubber, fibre etc.) are ferric proof? Roger, thanks for the guide to using the photo-resist spray but at 10 quid a can, bit expensive for me at the moment... regards, PK
Message
RE: Plotter PCB
2005-02-02 by onenastyviper
Attachments
- No local attachments were found for this message.