How to Make Printed Circuit Boards

Instructor: Paul Kerchen

Date: Thursday, May 12, 2011. Time: 7pm-10pm

Class Size Limit: 15

Class Fee: $10 suggested donation

Materials Fee: $10 (optional--see description)

You DO NOT need to print your ticket to bring to the class.

For simple to moderately complex circuits, making your own printed circuit board (PCB) can be a more economical and faster alternative to sending your circuit board layout to a professional PCB manufacturing service.  In this class, attendees will learn how to turn a blank, single-sided PCB into a circuit board ready for drilling and soldering.  

Covered topics will include:

* Overview of the entire process of going from an electrical schematic to a working circuit board; introduction to important terms and concepts related to PCB creation; safety warnings and precautions.

* Discussion of how to create circuit board layouts from electrical schematics.

* Discussion of common techniques of transferring circuit board layouts to blank copper boards, including heat transfer lamination, photomask, laser resist ablation, CNC milling, and silkscreen printing.

* Live demonstration of the photomask transfer technique and etching process.

* (Optional) Attendees who pay the materials fee will be given a blank, pre-sensitized PCB, a circuit layout transparency, and all the electrical components necessary for a simple "dark detector" circuit.  Using these materials and the equipment available in the class, attendees will be able to transfer the layout to the blank board using the photomask technique and etch the resulting board to create a printed circuit board.  This PCB can then be drilled to accept the supplied components.  Depending on how long the class and attendee participation takes, there may not be sufficient time for drilling and PCB soldering and assembly.

Important note: Because this class will involve caustic chemicals (ferric chloride), attendees will be required to wear protective eye glasses and gloves (both of which will be supplied) during the demonstration and hands-on portions of the class.  Also, attendees must wear protective clothing (long-sleeve shirt, full-length pants, close-toed shoes); a lab coat or apron is recommended but not required (these will *not* be supplied).  Since ferric chloride leaves permanent stains on most fabrics and surfaces, attendees should choose their attire accordingly.