Copper Chloride Pcb Etching

If you have been following our how to design a pcb using eagle series in issue 34 and issue 35 you would have designed a square wave generator circuit board that you could send off to a circuit board manufacturer this tutorial uses the same square wave generator circuit board.

Copper chloride pcb etching.

Again if using our contactetch it might be a bit dumb to buy that much etchant when you use so little per etch. Of the several types of etchant chemistries the hobbyist can choose acid cupric chloride also called acid copper ii chloride or just cupric chloride is one of the more interesting types since it has the ability to be regenerated or replenished without having to throw away the solution this is the reason why cupric chloride is one of two main etchants widely used by pcb fabricators. Cucl2 cu 2 cucl. In doing this the.

The etching process is known as biting see also spit. Eventually you etch so much that you convert all the cucl2 into cucl which doesn t dissolve copper and is a yucky brown color. Do a simple google search for pcb etchant part number. The normal ferric chloride solution works well but can be expensive and leaves permanent stains.

In the mechanical etching a special cutter and a machine tool are used to get rid of a narrow strip of copper from the boundary of each pad and trace. When exhausted it can be revived by adding hydrogen peroxide or by bubbling air through it. Etching your own circuit boards is tons of fun but etching requires strong chemicals to dissolve the copper plating on blank circuit boards. Cuppric chloride cucl2 h2o 2 is another pcb etchant that is actually made by etching copper in a mixture of hcl and h2o2.

According to the real elliot s instructable titled stop using ferric chloride etchant. That s the end etchant. This company sells direct. 1 4 copper etching pcb.

Luckily we can whip up our own etchant at home with everyday chemicals. To get rid of undesired copper from copper clad substrates to form electronic circuits two methods are discussed. The strength of the acid determines the speed of the etching process. A better etching solution cupric chloride hydrochloric acid is an excellent pcb printed circuit board etching solution according to adam seychell s etching with air regenerated acid cupric chloride more copper ii ions enhance etching speed the purpose of this instructable is to show how to.

A number of stages are involved in proper pcb fabrications which include designing layout routing etching troubleshooting. In this issue we show you how to etch a pcb at home using the toner transfer method and ferric chloride etchant. During it s first phase it gives off chlorine gas in quantities that coulld be dangerous in small spaces ventilate well. Pcb is an acronym that stands for printed circuit board that helps to connect active passive electronic components with pads tracks and lines incorporated on a laminated copper sheet.

Typical solutions are 1 part fecl 3 to 1 part water and 1 part nitric to 3 parts water. Better yet our new etchant will turn an eerie green color rather than the dull. They sell a pint for 6 a quart for 10 and a gallon for 35.