Vinyl cutter to make PCBs
2004-03-29 by Steve
I just made another board using my vinyl cutter.
No way to make the center holes, and I did not want to take the time
to drill, so I am doing this the surfacemount DIP way. In other words,
no holes, components on copper side as if SMT but they are full size
with the leads clipped slightly longer than flush and soldered down.
Last time I used some very old "junk" sign vinyl. It was hard to weed,
and very difficult to remove requiring lots of Goo Gone.
This time I used some from a brand new roll. It weeded very easily,
laid down beautifully, and came off with my fingernails and rubbing
with my fingers. Weeding does still take a bit of time.
The boards don't even have to be very clean. I just gave them a quick
scrub with a bit of a non-lanolin soap and a scrubby pad. The only
issue is that of any resist, that of undercutting. Well, and make sure
there is -no- dust or hair on the board or it'll etch under the vinyl.
I doubt this would work well for SMT, and definitely can't do traces
between IC pins, but for simple single sided DIP boards, it is pretty
easy. I'll amend that: SMT up to 4 pins could probably be done, but I
doubt an 8 pin IC could be done this way. Although since the vinyl
cost me about $2 for a yard x 18 inches, I can spare a 2 inch long
piece to try. ;')
I am scanning the board and uploading it.
Next I plan on connecting my HP flatbed plotter up and trying the
Scratch And Etch.
Steve
No way to make the center holes, and I did not want to take the time
to drill, so I am doing this the surfacemount DIP way. In other words,
no holes, components on copper side as if SMT but they are full size
with the leads clipped slightly longer than flush and soldered down.
Last time I used some very old "junk" sign vinyl. It was hard to weed,
and very difficult to remove requiring lots of Goo Gone.
This time I used some from a brand new roll. It weeded very easily,
laid down beautifully, and came off with my fingernails and rubbing
with my fingers. Weeding does still take a bit of time.
The boards don't even have to be very clean. I just gave them a quick
scrub with a bit of a non-lanolin soap and a scrubby pad. The only
issue is that of any resist, that of undercutting. Well, and make sure
there is -no- dust or hair on the board or it'll etch under the vinyl.
I doubt this would work well for SMT, and definitely can't do traces
between IC pins, but for simple single sided DIP boards, it is pretty
easy. I'll amend that: SMT up to 4 pins could probably be done, but I
doubt an 8 pin IC could be done this way. Although since the vinyl
cost me about $2 for a yard x 18 inches, I can spare a 2 inch long
piece to try. ;')
I am scanning the board and uploading it.
Next I plan on connecting my HP flatbed plotter up and trying the
Scratch And Etch.
Steve