|
I was thinking of:
cat litter tray £1
Etchant £2.50
Developer £3
sheets of tracing paper 10p
plus the board
so you do not have to waste time looking for any old kit, it cheap enough to buy and dispose of what you do not use. None of the above have a significant limitation on shelf life.
Does your boardhouse not allow multiple designs? TBH I think maybe a boardhouse is probably the best route for you.
cost wise....... maybe just bite the bullet.
STTH
..
|
Ive got the stuff you mentioned but you didnt put acid on the list. Thats expensive to keep replacing everytime i make PCBs (which isnt that often at the moment).
My first idea was to get a company to make them but they are all way to expensive for low volume.
|
Etchant is ferric chloride which will dissolve the copper from the board
250g from rapid ~£2.50
What is the acid to which you refer?
...
|
I realize you want "cheap", but what are you willing to pay?
I could get 50 boards/15 types/9.3"x1/2" for $492, 2-day turnaround. That's $9.84 each.
No mask, no silkscreen, no routing.
That would be good enough for me ... what's your target?
Is it even worthwhile for someone to do it for you.
DT
|
duncan303: Which acid is that your looking at? I paid way more before. Maybe i didnt even have the right type and thats why they didnt work out so good.
DT: Is that really considered cheap? Thats more than some companies have been quoting me. It seems like the PCBs cost more than the components that go on them :S
Looks like i really have no choice but to make my own
Last edited by The Master; - 28th July 2009 at 20:12. Reason: Updated silly mistake :P
|
I took the highest quote from SunStone, which still seemed "cheap" to me for QTY=50.Originally Posted by The Master
If you wanted 10,000 of them, they're 10 cents a piece.
The costs of development... or the pain of making them yourself ...
DT
|
60
I think one of the problems in europe is that we generally work to a standard size called the "eurocard" 100mm x 160 mm or double 233mm x 160mm at 228mm ish you are going to be very very tight. Most boardhouses require a minimum border.
you will get best prices for a standard eurocard can you adapt your designs to this size?
could you get all your designs to fit onto a single double size?
FR4 is just like real estate in Mayfair, make a design as small as your ability to hand populate.
I still think you should give a bash again at making the boards yourself, just think you will not need a separate picture frame if you just tape your pcb to the side of a fish tank
Dave is absolutely right you need to press the image as close as possible and evenly to the photoresist, it is fairly critical. you could even press the whole caboodle against a south facing window. The advantage of the sun is that UV quanta is, to all intents and purposes, parallel and in addition you will not have the problem of inquisitive little stationary fish.
if a little fish has the intlelligence to be inquisitive
as I remember you are a rapid lad
http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Fas...447/kw/etchant
This is the adjunct on the forum where theory should become practice........ a painfull transition
STTH
..
|
Yes i do like rapid. The stuff i got before came as a powder. Ive had a look on there but the only similar thing i can find is still a lot cheaper than what i got before. My tank is 5L so ill need the 2.5KG bucket at £14.25. Ive been told that the "normal" acid lasts a lot longer than the powder stuff i got before
|
an aquarium bulb also works well during an eclipse.Oh and the sun shine for UV source, if you are lucky.
I will ad to duncan's list a cheap picture frame for the thin piece of glass to hold the transparency on the board while it is in the sun.
Do a couple of test to get the hang of it and see how easy it is.
Nothing like rolling you own.
Dave
Always wear safety glasses while programming.
Members who have read this thread : 0You do not have permission to view the list of names.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks