PCB Etching fun

I spent some time over the weekend getting a PCB created for the Gen 7 Electronics.

This was my first time etching a PCB and it was definitely a learning experience. I pretty much followed this guide to the letter:

How to make PCBs at home

Here are the results:

This was actually my third attempt. The first two did not come out well. When I removed the magazine paper on this final attempt there were some issues with the toner pulling off as well. However, I was able to go over all of the places where the toner pulled up with a fine point Sharpie and that worked as a great etch resist.

I had to modify the PCB layout a bit as my power supply is ATX 24 pin and the original board is only setup for ATX 20 pin. These were minor changes.

One other interesting thing I learned is that this stuff works incredibly well for removing the toner after the etching is complete:

I bought this a while ago from my local Auto Parts chain.

The toner literally will just wipe right off (or if enough is used, be blasted right off) after spraying with this stuff.

Be warned though, this stuff is pretty volatile. I did the spraying outside just to be safe.

So there it is. I have my PCB drill bits on the way and will be having a blast drilling the 300+ holes in this board :P