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How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 3:47 pm
by RAT16F88
Can any one advice me how to etch a PCB
I'm glad to have the information of a our home land expert & also chemicals & etc. Which could be obtained from local market

Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 4:01 pm
by Reginald
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 4:27 pm
by RAT16F88
Thanks Reginald thank u
But i doubt I won't make it down here
Please any Sri Lankan come forward to help me
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 5:17 pm
by Saman
Why not? You can easily do this in Sri Lanka. There are many electronic enthusiasts I know who do this. You can find all the equipments from Pettah 1st cross street.
If you looking for professional quality, then the easiest way is to design it yourself using a software like Altium, Eagle, EasyPCB, OrCad, etc... and hand over it to
TRONIC.LK for production.
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 5:50 pm
by RAT16F88
thank you a lot saman, but how i suppose to have a UV exposure box & the copper board is a bit expensive too.
Can any one explain me how to do it with copper clad board & ferric chloride
regards,
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:18 pm
by Saman
In the cheapest way, you can use a permanent marker pen to draw the lines, then put the whole board in to a ferric chloride solution and keep it for about 2-3 hours until the non-marked areas are disappeared. We did this in school (I think in grade 10 or 11

) but this may be not good for professional work you do with micros.
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:12 pm
by RAT16F88
Saman Please can you detail what u said above please say me where to bye & how to mix the solution(proportions)
& all of it please you can assume I'm a 9th grade one
please.
Regards,
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:33 pm
by Saman
I have added some more methods. See
Methods to make a PCB at home.
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:39 pm
by RAT16F88
thank you Saman your are a good guy
Re: How to etch a PCB?
Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:42 pm
by Saman
Saman Please can you detail what u said above please say me where to bye & how to mix the solution(proportions)
See
http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-Hand-Drawn-PCB./
thank you Saman your are a good guy
You are welcome!!!