Circuit Boards: Difference between revisions
Adamcolton (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Adamcolton (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
For any technique, double check all connections. It's easy for traces to be connected that should not be. | For any technique, double check all connections. It's easy for traces to be connected that should not be. | ||
=== Laser Printing === | === Laser Printing === | ||
Laser toner is resistant to ferric chloride. For this I need a mini drill press and an iron. I have a toaster oven, I'd like to try sandwiching the board and paper between two sheets of metal held together with screws and throw the whole thing in the toaster oven. Probably 450-500F for 20 minutes. | Laser toner is resistant to ferric chloride. For this I need a mini drill press and an iron. I have a toaster oven, I'd like to try sandwiching the board and paper between two sheets of metal held together with screws and throw the whole thing in the toaster oven. Probably 450-500F for 20 minutes. | ||
==== KiCAD ==== | |||
Use ground planes, they save on etchant. Use wide traces, I started at 1mm. Gaps between traces should also be wide. When printing, don't mirror because the mirroring of the toner transfer matches the mirror of the reverse side of the board. I haven't done it yet, but I've already started experimenting with a silkscreen layer. | |||
Traces can be routed under resistors. | |||
=== Milled === | === Milled === | ||
Revision as of 12:27, 16 October 2018
For permanent prototypes, I need to make circuit boards.
I need to get comfortable with KiCAD. This should help with both perf and laser printed boards.
Perfboards
Pretty simple, but can be logistically complex for larger projects
Copper Clad Boards
Slightly cheaper and can handle more complex circuits. But I have to hand drill the holes and print the circuits. For now, I need to rig up a basic drill press, eventually I need a real one.
For any technique, double check all connections. It's easy for traces to be connected that should not be.
Laser Printing
Laser toner is resistant to ferric chloride. For this I need a mini drill press and an iron. I have a toaster oven, I'd like to try sandwiching the board and paper between two sheets of metal held together with screws and throw the whole thing in the toaster oven. Probably 450-500F for 20 minutes.
KiCAD
Use ground planes, they save on etchant. Use wide traces, I started at 1mm. Gaps between traces should also be wide. When printing, don't mirror because the mirroring of the toner transfer matches the mirror of the reverse side of the board. I haven't done it yet, but I've already started experimenting with a silkscreen layer.
Traces can be routed under resistors.
Milled
Modify a 3d printer to mill a board. It looks like people have had mixed success with this one.