I have recently been tinkering with photo-etching pcbs. I know some of you guys have done this a couple - 300 times yourselves, so I was wondering what boards (available in the US and A) you were using to get the best results. So far I have found places selling Injectorall, MG Chemicals and Kinsten.
Thanks,
Ben
Kinsten has been pretty reliable (as in zero scratches on the photoresist) for me. I expose with a normal tablelamp.
No complaints with the MG chemicals boards.
Here's a tutorial I posted on how to etch boards if you're interested:
http://www.instructables.com/id/...
I just recently submitted my first PCB to a board house (AP circuits). It wasn't too expensive (I don't think they have a shipping option for ground though) and I was pleased with the results.
I'm also interested in this, specifically for applying and baking on your own resist. I've used MG chemicals pre-applied positive resist boards without much complaint. They always work, but I can't get better than 12 mil traces with near 100% reliability. I've seen the sheets of negative resist you can iron on, but don't trust it; not for a good reason, either (I won't go into it). More-so looking for someone with experience etching a common copper board after pouring, spinning, baking, exposing and developing. Would love to see a home recipe (spin time/speed, bake time/temp, exposure setup/time/intensity, developer type/time/agitation).
Here's a tutorial I posted on how to etch boards if you're interested:
I just recently submitted my first PCB to a board house (AP circuits).
I have used board houses as well and the results are great, but it seems like you can either have quick turn-around or cheap, but not both.
In the end it seems like they are never as quick or cheap as etching your own (assuming you consider your own time as free).
I have used board houses as well and the results are great, but it seems like you can either have quick turn-around or cheap, but not both.
In the end it seems like they are never as quick or cheap as etching your own (assuming you consider your own time as free).
Yeah that's true. The problem I have with doing boards myself is doing two layers, I'm not able to get the bottom/top layers to align with enough accuracy. From now on, if the design is single layer I'll build it myself. If it's two layer, I'll send it out to the fab house.
