Yaroslav Menshikov. Making high-quality printed circuit boards at home

Unfortunately, the only thing you need is textolite, you can only buy it, you are unlikely to find it at home.
First of all, we recommend that you clean (burn off) the textolite, so that it shines. It is better to do this before cutting out the desired pattern, because then it will be much more difficult to polish the surface according to the pattern.

In places where there will be holes for electronic components, it is necessary to outline holes. To do this, you can take a sharp nail or drill, put the drill at the point of contact and hit it from behind with a hammer (not hard so as not to dull the drill and break it)

If you mark holes, it will be easier for you to drill holes later. The drill fits very tightly into such basting and does not jump off, which allows you to make accurate and beautiful holes. It will also help you redraw the drawing printed on a sheet of paper using anchor points.

Most main stage this is a textolite cutting. Here you need a scalpel or sharp knife(blade). You can strongly pressing the knife to walk along all the edges of the drawn paths. This way you will make shallow cuts, separating the tracks from the unnecessary copper plate. It is necessary to press on the knife with such force that it would cut the surface of the copper plate of the textolite (you should not press hard - you can cut the textolite through).

Next, you can pry the copper plate glued to the textolite with the sharp part of the scalpel in the place where the copper plate should be removed. Do it more boldly, thus separating, say, a centimeter of copper, you can take it with your fingers and simply pull it towards you to separate it from the textolite. The excess copper plate will be separated exactly according to the pattern that you cut with a scalpel.
Do not rush into this jewelry procedure, if you tear off the copper abruptly, you can tear off part of the track and the work will be ruined. Don't worry if you break a track somewhere...you can take a piece of wire and solder it over the ends of the broken track, thus removing the cut.

Having separated the excess textolite, you will have copper tracks left, in fact, you will only have to drill holes, insert electronic components and solder them.

Read about other methods of creating printed circuit boards on our website.
Good luck in your endeavors.

In construction electronic circuits you can use the universal printed circuit board with holes without tracks, but it is more convenient to use a printed circuit board made according to this scheme.

There are different ways to make printed circuit boards, but in this article the photoresistive method will be considered.

This method, of course, is more expensive than LUT, but the result is almost always perfect, the main thing is to “fill your hand”. And in aesthetic terms, the photoresist has all the advantages.

A photoresist is a light-sensitive substance (in our case, a varnish) that changes its properties under the influence of light. The photoresist is superimposed with a photomask and illuminated, after which the illuminated (or unexposed) areas of the photoresist are washed off with a special solvent, which is usually caustic soda (NaOH).

All photoresists are divided into two categories: positive and negative. For positive photoresists, the track on the board corresponds to a black area on the photomask, and for negative ones, accordingly, it is transparent. Many enterprises work with negative photoresists, but we will use the positive one, as it is most widely used in the free market. Let us dwell in more detail on the use of positive photoresists in aerosol packaging.

In the manufacture of printed circuit boards, especially complex ones, the most suitable method is when using a photoresist. Its main advantage is
high-contrast pattern on textolite with a resolution of 0.1mm (0.1mm is ideal, but 0.25mm works great) when made at home. In addition, sometimes when manufacturing a printed circuit board, an important requirement relates to aesthetic design. finished product, especially if the PCB is in the "open" position or packaged in a transparent thermal tube.

Detailed description of PCB manufacturing

Textolite preparation

To make a printed circuit board with minimal material costs, you need to carefully prepare the textolite before applying varnish.

We mean that the textolite is sawn into the approximate size of the future printed circuit board with a margin of 5 mm along the edges on each side. Usually copper grouting is started with special abrasive pastes, but in the absence of one, a mixture of dishwashing gel and detergent cleaning powder will come off. We grout with a metal mesh for washing dishes, thereby removing oxides, dirt from the surface of the textolite, and the mesh, in turn, will scratch the foil, which will further increase the adhesion of the varnish (photoresist) to the surface.

Grouting is carried out depending on the degree of contamination of the surface until
the surface will not have a uniform even hue, in fact golden.

Chemical stains on the textolite can be removed before applying the photoresist by dipping the textolite into a solution of hot ferric chloride, if the foil on the textolite has become uniformly red, then in principle future etching will go without problems, the board after this method should be thoroughly rinsed hot water and re-polish with an abrasive to a golden hue.

Now we wash the cleaned textolite with hot water and try to
do not touch the surface...

Now dry at a temperature of 60-70 ° C for a minute until the surface takes on a slight pinkish tint. If during this process frost has formed on the surface, then it must be removed with a napkin. There should be no fluff on the surface!

For drying, an ordinary hair dryer is suitable ...

Photo template preparation

While the textolite is cooling down, we are preparing a photomask ... In this case, there are several ways to make it, but I strongly recommend using an inkjet printer with a black print resolution of at least 1200 dpi. We will print on a transparent film (at inkjet printers it is with a pile, lasers without a pile have a special thermal film).

Pay attention to typical mistake at the first independent
PCB manufacturing - we usually forget to “mirror” the front side
printed circuit board.

Attention! The front side of the printed circuit board must be mirrored when printing! Reverse is not mirrored!

Thus, after printing, the pattern on the film will be turned upside down from the working side of the film (for inkjet, this is the fleecy side). And when we project the picture onto the textolite, the film will be applied with the working side to it and the projected picture will be correct (no longer mirrored). In order not to make a mistake when printing, I recommend applying, for example, the letters of your initials to the photomask.

I recommend making a couple of copies of photomasks for rational use
film and elimination of errors during the development of photoresist ... Ie. make more than one seal, but for example, two at the same time (if they are not large), then choose the highest quality and etch in ferric chloride.

We check the photomask (positive) printed in this way for transparency, ideally the working pattern (printed conductors) should be absolutely black!

We cut off the photomask from the film and try to make it smoother, the remaining piece of film can be used again (for printing another project).

In my example, I divided the photomask into two, and I will do two at the same time
fees...

Application of photoresist

Since it has cooled during this time, it's time to apply a photosensitive varnish on it. It is recommended to do this in a dark room with low light in order to see what layer of photoresist we have applied.

This process is one of the most important, namely, it should be quickly applied
a uniform layer of varnish with a faint purple tint without bubbles and streaks!

It is recommended, of course, to spray the photoresist on a centrifuge, but in the absence of one, you can do it “with your hand full” as in the photo above. Immediately evaluating approximately the shade by eye, we do following output– whether to proceed to the next phase of the operation or not. The hue should be pale purple, transparent, i.e. copper (scratches on it from metal mesh) must be viewed! Do not be afraid that the photoresist has such a thin layer after application - the main thing is that we isolated copper before etching.

It is usually recommended to dry the photoresist for an hour, but I dry at a relatively high 60-70ºC for 3-5 minutes. Then I leave the textolite to cool until it cools completely. When drying, do not overheat the board, the varnish may peel off, do not cool it sharply either! It is better to wait an extra 5 minutes, but then the result will be excellent ... in this matter, the main thing is not to rush!

Do not forget, of course, that we perform this entire procedure in low light.
(weak energy-saving lamp or Fluorescent Lamp somewhere behind us will not bring much harm).

After drying the photoresist, carefully inspect the surface
of the varnish applied by us, there should not be any sagging on the edges of the board, it is better to just carefully tear them off, it is for this that the textolite is recommended to be cut with a margin of 5 mm along the edges. Usually, sagging is formed on one edge, see the photo above, the board is specially tilted before applying varnish so that the photoresist, or rather its excess, flows down to one of the edges of the board. When spraying on a centrifuge, this option is practically excluded.

Exposure

This process is not complicated and short-term, it consists in preparing a photomask on the surface of the photoresist and then illuminating it with a mercury lamp (ultraviolet spectrum).

I use medical irradiators for disinfection of premises (UFO-1, UFO-2 and the like). UFO-1 contains 100 W mercury quartz lamp paired with an incandescent spiral in quartz tubes (they act as a resistor and are, as it were, infrared lamps with strong heat release). Since the times of the USSR, many have had such emitters in their apartments ... We only need this from this emitter:

If this is not there, a 500 W spotlight for garages, parking lots, etc., for example, from Cosmos, is suitable, I used to illuminate them, I don’t remember the illumination time, I’ll have to select it experimentally, and the illumination distance is at least 30cm ( heat spotlight will damage the photoresist, it will stick to the template).

Quickly on the deposited photoresist lays the photomask with its working side on
film and cover with a piece of thin glass (for example, from a photo frame). And we illuminate the photomask from a distance of at least 25 cm, but not more than 35 cm when using UFO-1 for exactly 2 minutes 15 seconds, if the photoresist has a slightly purple tint:

After illumination, we remove the board in a dark place for 5-8 minutes, such as for
fixing photoresist...

Solution preparation

While we have a photoresist fixed, we prepare a solution for its etching. It is recommended that German and Belgian manufacturers use caustic soda for developing, it is also caustic soda, coarse-grained powder white color, not transparent, and in the truest sense of the word - caustic. That is, it would be necessary to work in rubber gloves.

We interfere with 7 grams of this substance per liter warm water until the powder is completely dissolved, the precipitate can be removed. If mixed in hot water, the precipitate will also dissolve. Let's take a container, for example, Plastic container. We lower our illuminated board into it. (The solution should not be hot, just warm is better!).

Immediately after developing, thoroughly rinse the board with warm water to remove any remaining caustic soda. In my photo, this process took less than a minute, since my solution is not 7 grams per liter of water, but a little more ... Initially, the solution of caustic soda in water is transparent, then it will change color - it will become purple (seen in the photo above), because It has lacquer dissolved in it.

You can use the solution repeatedly, I happened up to five times with a weekly
The photoresist showed at intervals, the solution was already dark purple in color.

Board etching

Well, actually now we poison in a solution of ferric chloride in water in a ratio of 1: 3

Andreev S.

At home, you can make printed circuit boards. in terms of quality almost in no way inferior to factory production. By following a certain procedure, you yourself can repeat this for your homemade products.

First you need to prepare a drawing printed tracks. How to breed a printed circuit board will not be discussed here, suppose that the drawing is already there, taken from a magazine, the Internet, or drawn by you personally or using a special program. The preparation of the pattern depends on how the pattern of printed tracks is supposed to be applied to the workpiece. Three methods are most popular now - manual drawing with an indelible marker, the “ laser iron» and photo exposure on photoresist.

First way

The first method is suitable for simple boards. Here, the end point of the preparation of the drawing should be the image on paper at a scale of 1: 1, viewed from the side of the tracks. It’s good if there is already a 1:1 paper image, for example, in the Radioconstructor magazine, basically all boards are 1:1. But in other publications, and especially on the Internet, everything is not so smooth.

If there is a paper image in a different scale, it must be enlarged or reduced accordingly, for example, by copying on a copier with scaling. Or scan to a computer into a graphic file and in some graphic editor (for example, in Adobe Photoshop) bring the dimensions to 1:1 and print on the printer. The same applies to drawings of boards obtained from the Internet.

So, there is a 1:1 paper drawing from the side of the tracks. We take a blank made of foil fiberglass, sand the foil a little with a “zero”, put a paper pattern on the blank, attach it so that it does not move, for example, with adhesive tape. And with an awl or tap we pierce the paper at the points where there should be holes, and so that a clearly visible, but shallow mark on the foil remains.

The next step is to remove the paper from the workpiece. In the marked places, we drill holes of the required diameter. Then, looking at the track pattern, draw printed tracks and mounting pads with an indelible marker. We start drawing from the mounting pads, and then connect them with lines. Where thick lines are needed, draw a marker several times. Or draw the outline of a thick line, and then densely paint over the inside. Etching will be discussed later.

Second way

Radio amateurs called the second method "laser iron". The method is popular, but very capricious. Required Tools, - a laser printer with a fresh cartridge (a refilled cartridge, in my experience, is generally not suitable for this business), an ordinary household iron, very tricky paper.

So, preparation of the drawing. The drawing must be black (without halftones, colors), on a scale of 1:1, and moreover, it must be in a mirror image. All this can be achieved by processing the picture on a PC in some graphics editor. The above Adobe Photoshop will fit perfectly, although even the simplest program Paint out standard set Windows allows you to do mirroring.

The result of the preparation of the drawing should be a graphic file with an image on a scale of 1: 1, black and white, without halftones and colors, which can be printed on a laser printer.

Another issue, important and subtle, is about paper. The paper should be thick and at the same time thin, the so-called coated paper (usual "for a copier" good results does not give). Where to get it? Here is the main question. On sale, it is only thick - for photographs. And we need thin. Search in mailbox! A lot of advertising booklets are made exactly on such paper - thin, smooth, glossy. Do not pay attention to the presence of color pictures - they will not interfere with us in any way. However, no, if the print is of poor quality, that is, the pictures get your fingers dirty, then such promotional products will not suit us.

Then we print our file on this paper and see what happens. As I said above, the printer must be with a fresh cartridge (and drum, if the drum is separate from the cartridge). In the printer settings, you need to select the print mode with the highest print density, in different printers this mode is called differently, for example, “Brightness”, “Dark”, “Contrast”. And no economical or draft (in the sense, "draft") modes.

All this is necessary because you need a dense and uniform pattern, with tracks depicted by a fairly thick layer of toner without interruptions, light stripes, which may be due to the operation of a worn cartridge drum. Otherwise, the pattern will be uneven in the thickness of the toner, and this will lead to the fact that there will be track interruptions on the finished board in these places.

We print the pattern, cut it out with scissors so that there is a little extra on the edges, apply the pattern to the blank with toner to the foil, and wrap the excess under the board so that these parts are pressed by the board lying on the table and prevent the pattern from moving. We take a regular iron without steaming, heat it up to maximum temperature. Smoothly smooth, avoiding displacement of the pattern.

Do not overdo it, as excessive pressure will smear the toner and some of the tracks will merge. Poorly finished edges on the workpiece will also prevent the toner from being well aligned to the workpiece.

In general, the essence of the process is that the laser printer toner melts and, when melted, sticks to the foil. Now we wait until the workpiece cools down. When it cools down, put it in a bowl for 10-15 minutes. warm water. The coated paper softens and begins to lag behind the board. If the paper does not lag behind, gently try to roll the paper with your fingers under running water.

Coated wiring will be visible on the workpiece thin layer shaggy paper. It is not necessary to try hard to roll up all the paper, since you can also tear off the tuner from the foil with such diligence. It is important that the rags of paper do not hang, and there should not be any paper between the tracks.

Third way

The third method is photo exposure on a photoresist layer. Photoresist is sold in radio parts stores. Usually instructions are included. Following this instruction, you need to apply a photoresist to the workpiece, and when it is ready to expose the layout of the board layout to it. Then process with a special solution - developer. The illuminated areas will be washed away, and a film will remain on the unlit areas.

The drawing should be prepared in the same way as for the "laser iron", but you need to print on a transparent film for the printer. This film is applied to the workpiece treated with photoresist (toner to the workpiece) and exposed according to the instructions. This method complex, requires the presence of a photoresist, a developing solution and strict adherence to the instructions, but it allows you to get wiring of almost factory quality.

In addition, the printer does not have to be a laser printer - an inkjet one is also suitable, provided that you print on a transparent film for inkjet printers. When exposing the film, you always need to put the toner side on the workpiece, press it with glass for even fit. If the fit is loose, or if you put the film on the other side, the image will turn out to be of poor quality, as the tracks will blur due to out-of-focus.

PCB etching

Now about pickling. Despite many alternative ways etching is most effective good old "ferric chloride". It used to be impossible to get it, but now it is sold in jars in almost any radio parts store.

It is necessary to make a solution of ferric chloride, on the jar there is usually an instruction how much the contents of the jar are for how much water. Practically it turns out four teaspoons with a slide of powder per glass of water. Mix well. This can generate a lot of heat and even effervesce on the surface and spatter, so proceed with caution.

It is most convenient to pickle in a bath for photo printing, but it is also possible in an ordinary ceramic plate (in a metal bowl it is impossible in any case!). The board must be located with the tracks down and be in a suspended state. I just put in a plate or bath four small fragments of ordinary building bricks so that the board lies with its corners on them.

Now it remains only to pour the solution into this container and carefully place the board on these supports. Some people prefer to lay the board on the surface of the solution so that it is held by the surface tension of water, but I do not like this method because the board is heavier than water and will sink with even a slight shaking.

Depending on the concentration and temperature of the solution, etching takes from 10 minutes to 1 hour. To speed up the etching process, you can create vibration, for example, put a working electric motor next to the table. And you can heat the solution with an ordinary incandescent lamp (putting a bath under a table lamp).

It should be noted that chalk residues (from coated paper) on the toner react with ferric chloride solution, bubbles are formed that prevent etching. In this case, you need to periodically remove the board and rinse with water.

In addition to the most convenient and effective, in my opinion, method of etching in a solution of ferric chloride, there are other options. For example, etching in nitric acid. Etching occurs very quickly, and with the release of heat. The nitric acid solution should be no more than 20% concentration. After etching, in order to neutralize the acid, it is necessary to wash the board with a solution of baking soda.

The method gives fast etching, but it also has many disadvantages. Firstly, if the workpiece is slightly overexposed, there may be strong undercutting of the tracks. And secondly, and most importantly, the method is very dangerous for health. In addition to the fact that nitric acid itself can cause chemical burns when it comes into contact with the skin, it also releases a poisonous gas, nitric oxide, when etched. So I don't recommend this method.

Another way is etching in a solution of a mixture of copper sulfate and table salt. This method was actively used in the “before perestroika times”, when ferric chloride, like many other things, was not commercially available, but fertilizers for the garden were relatively affordable.

The sequence of preparing the solution is as follows - first pour water into a plastic or glass, ceramic bath. Then pour two tablespoons of table salt into a glass of water. Stir with a non-metallic stick until the salt is completely dissolved, and add blue vitriol at the rate of one tablespoon per glass of water. You stir again. Immerse the board in the solution.

In fact, pickling occurs in common salt, and copper sulfate works as a catalyst. Main disadvantage this method is a very long etching, which can be from several hours to up to a day. You can slightly speed up the process by heating the solution to 60-70 ° C. It often turns out that one serving is not enough for the entire board and the solution has to be poured out and prepared again and again. This method is inferior in all respects to etching in ferric chloride, and it can be recommended only if it is impossible to obtain ferric chloride.

Etching in electrolyte for car batteries. The electrolyte of standard density must be diluted with water one and a half times. Then add 5-6 tablets of hydrogen peroxide. Etching occurs in speed approximately the same as in a solution of ferric chloride, but there are all the same disadvantages as when etching in nitric acid, since the electrolyte is water solution sulfuric acid. Contact with skin causes burns, poisonous gas is released during the etching process.

After etching, the ink, photoresist, or toner must be removed from the surface of the printed tracks. Drawing with a marker is easily removed with almost any solvent for paints, or with alcohol, gasoline, cologne. Photoresist can be removed with white spirit or acetone. But the toner is the most resistant to chemistry material. Just clean it off mechanically. In this case, it is necessary not to damage the tracks themselves.

Cleaned from paint (toner, photoresist), the workpiece must be washed with water, dried and proceed to drilling holes. The diameter of the drill depends on the diameter of the desired hole. Drills - for metal.

It is most convenient for me personally to check with a compact cordless drill-driver. At the same time, I place the board vertically, screwing it with screws to wooden block fixed in a vice. I move the drill horizontally, resting my hand on the table. But on a small drilling machine of course it will be better. Many people use miniature engraving drills, but I do not have such equipment.

By the way, you can also power a drill driver from a laboratory power source, after removing the battery, applying voltage directly to the contacts (“crocodiles”). This is convenient because without a battery, the drill is much lighter, well, plus the battery does not discharge or you can use a tool with a faulty battery.

Well, the board is ready.

Very often, in the process of technical creativity, it is necessary to manufacture printed circuit boards for mounting electronic circuits. And now I will talk about one of the most, in my opinion, advanced methods for manufacturing printed circuit boards using a laser printer and an iron. We live in the 21st century, so we will make our work easier by using a computer.

Step 1. Board design

We will design the printed circuit board in specialized program. For example, in the program sprint Layout 4.

Step 2. Printing the board pattern

After that, we need to print the board drawing. To do this, we will do the following:

1. In the printer settings, turn off all the toner saving options, and if there is an appropriate regulator, set the maximum saturation.
2. Let's take an A4 sheet from some unnecessary magazine. The paper should be coated and preferably a minimum of drawing on it.
3. We will print the printed circuit board pattern on coated paper in a mirror image. It is better to have several copies at once.

Step 3Cleaning the Board

Let's put the printed sheet aside for now and start preparing the board. Foiled getinaks, foiled textolite can serve as the starting material for the board. At long-term storage copper foil is covered with a film of oxides, which can interfere with etching. So let's start preparing the board. petty sandpaper peel off the oxide film from the board. Don't be too zealous, the foil is thin. Ideally, the board after stripping should shine.

Step 4 Degreasing the Board

Wash the board after cleaning running water. After that, you need to degrease the board in order for the toner to stick better. You can degrease with any household detergent, or washing organic solvent(e.g. gasoline or acetone)

Step 5. Transferring the drawing to the board

After that, using an iron, we transfer the drawing from the sheet to the board. We put the printout with a pattern on the board and start ironing it with a hot iron, evenly heating the entire board. The toner will start to melt and stick to the board. The time and effort of warming up is selected experimentally. It is necessary that the toner does not spread, but it is also necessary that it is all welded.

Step 6. Cleaning the board from paper

After the board with the piece of paper stuck to it cools down, we wet it and roll it with our fingers under a stream of water. Wet paper will clump, and adhered toner will remain in place. The toner is quite durable and is difficult to scrape off with a fingernail.

Step 7 Etching the Board

Etching of printed circuit boards is best done in ferric chloride (III) Fe Cl 3. This reagent is sold at any radio parts store and is inexpensive. Immerse the board in the solution and wait. The etching process depends on the freshness of the solution, its concentration, etc. It can take from 10 minutes to an hour or more. The process can be accelerated by shaking the bath with the solution.

The end of the process is determined visually - when all unprotected copper is etched.

The toner is washed off with acetone.

Step 8: Drill holes

Making a printed circuit board at home.

Being in amateur radio for many years I made printed circuit boards different ways. I painted with varnish (remember those times), with a cutter (simple boards), etc. AT recent times method is popular laser printer and iron" for transferring a pattern to foil fiberglass. According to various recommendations and articles on the Internet, I tested almost all the materials that were recommended. Thin glossy paper from magazines, photographic paper, fax paper, substrates from self-adhesive film and even paper for thermal transfer to fabric. I'm lying , I did not test food aluminum foil.

None of the methods satisfied me because the result was not stable (it could have happened the first time only from the third or fifth). The best results were obtained on photographic paper. Worse on fax and on sheets from magazines, and besides, after "rolling" with an iron, it had to be soaked. Strongly it does not bother in time, but still (10 minutes on average). On paper for thermal transfer to fabric, it turned out well, but to remove the substrate, isopropyl alcohol was required, and the temperature of the iron also had to be set very accurately. A little mistake - all marriage. On substrates from a self-adhesive film, the toner fell off the polished surface during printing (I don’t know what filth they are covered with)

All with the introduction is over - let's get started ...

Oddly enough, but let's get back to the substrates from the self-adhesive film (self-adhesive wallpaper). Basically, the technology is largely identical to that previously described in different sources. It's all about the material

What we need:

1. Foil textolite (one-two-sided, as you need)
2.Laser printer (I have HP1020 at home)
3. Iron - any
4.Silit-Banks - for cleaning the surface of the board
5. Ferric chloride for etching the board (I did not check with other compositions such as "copper sulfate-salt", etc.)
6. Thin drill bits for drilling (this is understandable)
7. SELF-ADHESIVE FILM

Let's take a closer look at point 7.
We go to the bazaar or to a store where they sell wallpaper and look for cheap Chinese film. If you look at the substrate on which the film lies, you can see a mesh pattern with letters and numbers (each brand is different). So, we are interested in a film on the substrate of which there are large numbers 333 .WE ARE INTERESTED IN SHE AND ONLY SHE. We have a roll of 10 meters 50 cm wide. It costs 100 rubles. There are also 777, 555, 556, etc. but we don't need it.
Here is a picture of the background

More like always. We cut out (to whom it is more convenient and more convenient) a piece of textolite the right sizes with a margin of 1 cm from each edge. At these places, you can then drill holes to match the two layers (if you are making a double-sided board). We clean the board from dirt. I do not rub with a "null sandpaper", but I use Silit-Banks (see ads on TV). Pour a little Silite on the surface of the board and wait. If the surface is not very dirty and not strongly oxidized, then 1 minute is enough. The board becomes clean and pink before our eyes. If it is very dirty, then we wait longer or repeat the procedure several times. We wash the board with water and carry it to dry. Do not take the board where we will transfer the drawing with our fingers, but if you have taken it, then there is nothing terrible, just wipe it with a swab dipped in acetone before transferring
"Komet" is also good for cleaning (see ads on TV), but in powder.

Here is the finished board

While the board is drying, we print the pattern. I draw and print on SprintLayout 4.0. Everyone has their own preferences. Use what you like best.

We cut out a piece of the film (we do not tear off the film itself yet) of the desired size. Since the liner is very thin after peeling off the film, the printer will chew on it. Trust me - it will. Therefore, we paste it on a sheet of ordinary office paper. It is necessary to glue it so that after removing the film, a polished surface of the substrate remains on top. I use a few drops of Moment glue in the corners of the substrate and in the center of the long sides.

Everything is ready for printing. We tear off the film.
Insert the sandwich into the printer and print. In the printer settings, do not forget to set the maximum toner. Do you understand what I'm talking about.

Printed? Let's see how it is with the drawing. It was on this type of film, or rather the 333 substrate, that the toner stopped falling off for me, it fell on others - dear mother ...

We turn on the iron (if it has not been turned on before) The temperature can be checked like this. We print on ordinary paper, put the toner up on an inverted iron and look. The toner is shiny - everything is fine, the temperature is enough to melt.
I didn’t set it up at all, I just set it to the maximum and that’s it.
We put plywood (10mm) on the table, then we don’t need a book or a newsprint magazine (remember, there were such) on the book board with foil up

We make a tampon from a bandage or a thin clean rag. You can see it in the picture on the right.
We DO NOT PUT a substrate with a pattern - how.
We cover it with a sheet of A4 office paper and put the iron. If the board is larger than the surface of the soleplate of the iron, then iron the board. 30-40 seconds are enough for the board to warm up.

Again cover it with a sheet of A4 office paper and put the iron on and start ironing. There is practically no need to press, we just reheat the board (it has already cooled down a bit). Here already 15-20 seconds is enough, although I held more. We remove a sheet of office paper.

Quickly, for 20-30 seconds, we spread the entire surface with a swab from a rag, especially along the edges of the board. We rub both along and across - the paths are not drawn in one direction. Here you need to press a little, as if rubbing over the surface.
Note: those who are afraid for their fingers can put on gloves of their cotton fabric - the board is hot.
That's all, we wait until the board cools down, so that it can be safely picked up.
We grab the tip of the substrate and gently tear it off the board. She practically leaves on her own.
And here is the drawing translated

We look that everything is wonderful - we rejoice. For the first time, I squealed with delight.!!!
Joke.
I personally repeated it myself 20 times, and nothing has ever fallen off. 100% translation result. (okay persuaded 99%)
Tracks 0.2 turned out to be flying.
Here is the finished board without drilling - I'm already going to bed at night. Tomorrow we will drill

I apologize for the last shot, the camera is not mine and you can see how it shoots shiny surfaces. Believe me, everything is OK.
Then everything is as usual.
We poison. Drilling. Ludim. Cut to desired size. soldering
If everything is prepared (printed circuit board drawing, all materials), the whole process takes me 20-25 minutes along with board etching
That's all

PS. I wrote the article the day I tried it for the first time, the pictures are 2 days later, when I made the next Altera Byte Blastera board from the site www.site And once again everything turned out just super, which is what I wish you all.
Questions, criticism, swearing, rave reviews are accepted on [email protected]

Sincerely, Andrey Doinikov. 03/27/2006