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Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-21 by Leon Heller

I've just bought one of the ET-20 Velleman etching tanks from Rapid 
Electronics, it seemed good value at £34.95 + VAT. I've only tried it 
with a small scrap of PCB material with a pattern scribbled on it 
with a marker pen, but it seems to work very well, taking under 5 
minutes to etch it using FeCl3. The tank includes an air pump and 
heater. The bubbler is built-in to the base of the tank, and has the 
orifices angled, so that the bubbles take a sort of circular path 
rather than going straight up, which should help achieve even 
etching. I managed to drop the board, clip and support wire into the 
tank, but it was quite easy to fish it out with a long piece of 
plastic.

It's a lot easier than the technique I've been using for years - 
manual agitation of a plastic food container in a larger container 
filled with hot water.

Here are the details:

<http://www.rapidonline.com/productinfo.aspx?tier1=Tools%
2c+Fasteners+%
26+Production+Equipment&tier2=PCB+Equipment&tier3=Etching&tier4=Etchin
g+tank+with+agitator+%26+heater&moduleno=77727>

Leon

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-21 by Norm Carlberg

Bad link

Try http://www.rapidonline.com/products.aspx?tier1=Tools%2c+Fasteners+%26+Production+Equipment&tier2=PCB+Equipment&tier3=Etching

Select  Etching tank with agitator & heater

Norm
Show quoted textHide quoted text
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Leon Heller 
  To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 7:55 AM
  Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20


  I've just bought one of the ET-20 Velleman etching tanks from Rapid 
  Electronics, it seemed good value at £34.95 + VAT. I've only tried it 
  with a small scrap of PCB material with a pattern scribbled on it 
  with a marker pen, but it seems to work very well, taking under 5 
  minutes to etch it using FeCl3. The tank includes an air pump and 
  heater. The bubbler is built-in to the base of the tank, and has the 
  orifices angled, so that the bubbles take a sort of circular path 
  rather than going straight up, which should help achieve even 
  etching. I managed to drop the board, clip and support wire into the 
  tank, but it was quite easy to fish it out with a long piece of 
  plastic.

  It's a lot easier than the technique I've been using for years - 
  manual agitation of a plastic food container in a larger container 
  filled with hot water.

  Here are the details:

  <http://www.rapidonline.com/productinfo.aspx?tier1=Tools%
  2c+Fasteners+%
  26+Production+Equipment&tier2=PCB+Equipment&tier3=Etching&tier4=Etchin
  g+tank+with+agitator+%26+heater&moduleno=77727>

  Leon



   

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-22 by Leon Heller

I've just etched a small board (ARM JTAG interface) using the new tank 
and it looks very nice. The instructions suggest two minutes to warm 
the solution after switching the heater on; I used about five minutes, 
and at least 20 minutes is probably about right. Because of the low 
temperature etching took about 15 minutes.

I used my usual photo-etch technique with artwork produced on an HP 
DeskJet 5940 inkjet printer using Premium JetStar film. The text on 
this board had the default 5 mils line width, and came out perfectly. 
Narrowest track size was 12 mils, though.

Here is a photo of the PCB:

http://www.leonheller.com/pcb.jpg

Leon

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-23 by Ronald Ausloos

Didn't you have any problems to fix that heating element in the tank? Here in Belgium , the heater is supplied with 2 big suckers. They even don't fit in that tank! So , I had to fix the heater with some rope .... Time to etch a pcb is the same like yours.
   
  Ron

Leon Heller <leon355@...> wrote:
          I've just etched a small board (ARM JTAG interface) using the new tank 
and it looks very nice. The instructions suggest two minutes to warm 
the solution after switching the heater on; I used about five minutes, 
and at least 20 minutes is probably about right. Because of the low 
temperature etching took about 15 minutes.

I used my usual photo-etch technique with artwork produced on an HP 
DeskJet 5940 inkjet printer using Premium JetStar film. The text on 
this board had the default 5 mils line width, and came out perfectly. 
Narrowest track size was 12 mils, though.

Here is a photo of the PCB:

http://www.leonheller.com/pcb.jpg

Leon



         

 
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-23 by Bryan Pope

Leon Heller wrote:
> I've just etched a small board (ARM JTAG interface) using the new tank 
> and it looks very nice. The instructions suggest two minutes to warm 
> the solution after switching the heater on; I used about five minutes, 
> and at least 20 minutes is probably about right. Because of the low 
> temperature etching took about 15 minutes.
>
> I used my usual photo-etch technique with artwork produced on an HP 
> DeskJet 5940 inkjet printer using Premium JetStar film. The text on 
> this board had the default 5 mils line width, and came out perfectly. 
> Narrowest track size was 12 mils, though.
>
> Here is a photo of the PCB:
>
> http://www.leonheller.com/pcb.jpg
>
>   
That looks *really* good!  What process do you use for the photo-etch 
technique?  I searched the web and found that UV is the conventional way 
to develop the resist but was looking through my Jameco catalog 
yesterday and they offer a positive photo-etch package from Datak that 
is supposed to only need a 100-watt incandescent to develop the 
resist..  Has anyone used this product before and if so, what were your 
results? 

Cheers,

Bryan

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-23 by Leon

----- Original Message -----
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: "Bryan Pope" <bryan.pope@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 2:50 PM
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20


> Leon Heller wrote:
>> I've just etched a small board (ARM JTAG interface) using the new tank
>> and it looks very nice. The instructions suggest two minutes to warm
>> the solution after switching the heater on; I used about five minutes,
>> and at least 20 minutes is probably about right. Because of the low
>> temperature etching took about 15 minutes.
>>
>> I used my usual photo-etch technique with artwork produced on an HP
>> DeskJet 5940 inkjet printer using Premium JetStar film. The text on
>> this board had the default 5 mils line width, and came out perfectly.
>> Narrowest track size was 12 mils, though.
>>
>> Here is a photo of the PCB:
>>
>> http://www.leonheller.com/pcb.jpg
>>
>>
> That looks *really* good!  What process do you use for the photo-etch
> technique?  I searched the web and found that UV is the conventional way
> to develop the resist but was looking through my Jameco catalog
> yesterday and they offer a positive photo-etch package from Datak that
> is supposed to only need a 100-watt incandescent to develop the
> resist..  Has anyone used this product before and if so, what were your
> results?

As I said in my earlier post, I use an HP 5940 printer and JetStar Premium 
film to create the transparency. I then expose the PCB (precoated positive 
resist) in a home-made UV unit, and develop in sodium hydroxide solution.

Leon

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-23 by Leon

----- Original Message -----
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: "Ronald Ausloos" <ronald_ausloos@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 5:27 AM
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20


> Didn't you have any problems to fix that heating element in the tank? Here 
> in Belgium , the heater is supplied with 2 big suckers. They even don't 
> fit in that tank! So , I had to fix the heater with some rope .... Time to 
> etch a pcb is the same like yours.

The heater hangs straight down in mine, the top assembly with the thermostat 
control is a bit wider than the tank.

The suckers must be for an aquarium. I broke one of mine pushing it onto the 
heater, I should have slid it on from the end. I don't need them, anyway.

Leon

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-23 by Frederic Garbrecht

> yesterday and they offer a positive photo-etch package from Datak that
> is supposed to only need a 100-watt incandescent to develop the
> resist..  Has anyone used this product before and if so, what were your
> results?

I have a little experiance with the Datak positive photoresist boards.  I
followed the enclosed instructions to the letter (I also invested in an
exposure frame), used a standard incandescent bulb for a short exposure (couple
of minutes), and voila, very nice board.  I've done a few; one was flawed by
overetching, but I wasn't paying enough attention...
Cheers
Fred

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-24 by qamar islam

Leon <leon355@...> wrote:          ----- Original Message -----
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: "Ronald Ausloos" <ronald_ausloos@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 5:27 AM
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

> Didn't you have any problems to fix that heating element in the tank? Here 
> in Belgium , the heater is supplied with 2 big suckers. They even don't 
> fit in that tank! So , I had to fix the heater with some rope .... Time to 
> etch a pcb is the same like yours.

The heater hangs straight down in mine, the top assembly with the thermostat 
control is a bit wider than the tank.

The suckers must be for an aquarium. I broke one of mine pushing it onto the 
heater, I should have slid it on from the end. I don't need them, anyway.

Leon



         

 
---------------------------------
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 Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20

2007-03-24 by Dale J. Chatham

I made a tank some time ago.  I cut a hole in the side slightly larger 
than an aquarium heater, then put the heather through the hole and 
sealed it with RTV (silicone sealant).   I got a small aquarium water 
pump and submerged it in the tank in the bottom.  It worked as well as 
any I've seen.


qamar islam wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> Leon <leon355@...> wrote:          ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ronald Ausloos" <ronald_ausloos@...>
> To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 5:27 AM
> Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Velleman PCB Etching Tank ET-20
>
>   
>> Didn't you have any problems to fix that heating element in the tank? Here 
>> in Belgium , the heater is supplied with 2 big suckers. They even don't 
>> fit in that tank! So , I had to fix the heater with some rope .... Time to 
>> etch a pcb is the same like yours.
>>     
>
> The heater hangs straight down in mine, the top assembly with the thermostat 
> control is a bit wider than the tank.
>
> The suckers must be for an aquarium. I broke one of mine pushing it onto the 
> heater, I should have slid it on from the end. I don't need them, anyway.
>
> Leon
>
>
>
>          
>
>  
> ---------------------------------
> The fish are biting.
>  Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and Photos:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs
>
> If Files or Photos are running short of space, post them here:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs_Archives/ 
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
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