@1787dude if you're stuck with this method we recommend making sure you have a very hot iron with no water in, also you need to get the right kind of paper (thin gloss paper for colour laser printers). If you are still stuck, there's a very detailed 7 part tutorial from our friends at hacking[dot]majenko[dot]co[dot]uk
Thanks @CodfishCatfish I love making the circuits, there's something liberating about being able to produce something useful for yourself and others. I think we're going to see more women getting into it in the future, with the younger generations growing up at a time where technology is so integral to their lives. Well I hope we see it anyway! I use Seno Immerse Tin Crystals for tinning my PCBs, it's always worked well for me. Thanks again for checking out the video!
@1787dude yup :D we did spend a lot of time trying to make them a nicer colour other than the mustard yellow they start out like. The new colouring method is much better tho, and it's a lot faster!
@sonodrome i think ill color mine purple too lol, i saw the other one where you used a marker,I thought that was really awesome.i watched alot of videos on this and liked this one the best.
Great tutorial! Thanks for the upload. I haven't done any PCB design/fabrication work since college (about 10 years ago!) and videos like this will be a huge help in starting up again. Out of curiosity, is there any particular tinning solution you would recommend?
Hi @BulletMagnet83 thanks for your comments. I must say I haven't tried a lot of different tin solutions as the first one I used did the job really well, so I just stuck with it. I get mine from Rapid, it's by Mega Electronics and is just called Seno Immerse Tin Crystals. Hope that helps!
Great video......that has been missing from my PBC manufacturing....."Tinning"....I wish I had done that (just conformal coating does not seem to be enough to keep copper fresh underneath). BTW, check out using Photo-resist transfer.....I did the heat transfer, but wasn't having the best yield ...with Photo-resist, I get winner everytime....send you the video.
@UnderseaCaveman thanks for the comment! Yeah the photo resist method works really well and it's very repeatable- definitely a winner. Tinning with tin solution is really good too, the powder solution stuff works brilliantly- but it does smell pretty strongly of eggs :) @ Sonodrome we've made 100s of PCBs using the heat toner transfer method and it works great, initially it was difficult to get the method down, but once we found the right paper and worked out the timing a bit better, it was fine
@sonodrome BTW, is there a technical reason for dying boards (in this example, purple...otherwise usually green) or just aesthetics?? I didn't do that with my boards, maybe I should do that as well (if there's a technical reason).
@UnderseaCaveman No particular reason, we're just trying to inject a bit of creativity into circuit design, we mostly just use indelible markers to colour them in now, the dying is a bit messy and time consuming. One of our other videos has a really nice bright red one done with magic markers, it looks great!
@UnderseaCaveman I am in Seattle Washington. I have tried about 15 different papers. I found magazine paper works best. 3rd best I've found is the MPJA electronics catalog, second is some Pentacostal magazine a neighbor dropped off at the doorstep, and the best is a local DJ magazine called "D-LIST" that is printed on semi glossy recycled paper. Heat XFer. Drop it in a bucket, ready to tin! :D
I must say, Great videos! I have a question and hopefully you could answer it. I am going to try to etch my own board soon but I don't have a laser printer. I saw a Samsung black and white printer for around $20. Have you had any bad experiences with cheap printers? And regarding the dying? Would the dye corrode the board?
@LauxHawk Thx, a cheap b&w laser printer should be fine, the resolution is the main concern, a DPI of 600 or more is cool. There's also the price of cartridges to consider - printers that are extremely cheap, work out not so cheap when you consider the cost of toner, sometimes forking out a bit more on the actual printer can save you money in the long run. We also have a better method for colouring the PCBs now -> See our video entitled - Staining PCBs with Kat from Sonodrome
@TheDirectorET Yeah, we've had similar problems in the past, had to do a little experimenting to find the best paper for the job, generally the more expensive paper is too thick or has plastic in it. Buy cheap gloss paper for colour laser printers to get the best results, own brand Walmart in USA or Staples in Europe works good for us, thx
Great video, but bear in mind, Ferric chloride won't do any harm to your or your hands, so apart from getting brown fingers, it won't hurt you. On the other side, the tinning soloution is some nasty stuff and should only be handled with gloves on!
@zaprodk - thanks for the tips, you're right - gloves should be used when handling tinning solution, as for ferric chloride - it's highly corrosive, it will damage your clothes, workbench and WILL BURN YOUR SKIN you must always wear protective gloves, brown fingers are the least of your worries, chemical burns are not fun.
@ptdecker sorry had some tech. difficulties - same as above I guess, this stuff really stinks but it's brilliant, it can be re-used, lasts for a good few weeks - it should be available from most good electronics or if you need it in bulk like me then getting it online could be easier.
@kathveg Thank you, Kat! I will be picking some up. Your techniques really put the "finish" on homemade boards. Very professional! Thank you for sharing.
@ptdecker No problem! We love to see what other people are making so feel free to pop over to the forum and share your work, the link's in the 'more info' part of the vid description. Cheers! Kat
@technoetc I have a new technique now which is much faster and produces more brightly coloured boards, I'm gonna make a new video about it soon but if you want to see the results there's some pics of my PCBs over in the forum (link in the 'more info' part of the vid description). Cheers! Kat
@technoetc Hiya, my new video's up so I thought I'd let you know as I know you were curious... I can't post the link here but if you visit my channel the video's called 'Staining PCBs with Kat from Sonodrome"
Sonodrome will be at the UK Maker Faire in Newcastle on March 13th-14th 2010 - come along to say hi and to play with or build a Posc or Straight Edge Distortion Unit
It's the Straight Edge Distortion Pedal... working on schematics and tutorial for the website so people can have a go at making their own - it's a nice little distortion unit, sounds good :)
I tried this and couldn't get the paper to stick to the board when ironing. I have no idea what I'm going wrong.
1787dude 1 month ago
@1787dude if you're stuck with this method we recommend making sure you have a very hot iron with no water in, also you need to get the right kind of paper (thin gloss paper for colour laser printers). If you are still stuck, there's a very detailed 7 part tutorial from our friends at hacking[dot]majenko[dot]co[dot]uk
sonodrome 1 month ago
@sonodrome thin gloss paper? hotter iron. it could work. thanks!
1787dude 1 month ago
Agreed and thanks for the response. Subscribed.!
CodfishCatfish 2 months ago
Are you using Stannous Chloride in the tinning method? Awesome video BTW. Good to see more females getting into a generally male dominated hobby.
CodfishCatfish 2 months ago
Thanks @CodfishCatfish I love making the circuits, there's something liberating about being able to produce something useful for yourself and others. I think we're going to see more women getting into it in the future, with the younger generations growing up at a time where technology is so integral to their lives. Well I hope we see it anyway! I use Seno Immerse Tin Crystals for tinning my PCBs, it's always worked well for me. Thanks again for checking out the video!
sonodrome 2 months ago in playlist Uploaded videos
i like how half of this is about making your pcb purple lol
1787dude 4 months ago
@1787dude yup :D we did spend a lot of time trying to make them a nicer colour other than the mustard yellow they start out like. The new colouring method is much better tho, and it's a lot faster!
sonodrome 4 months ago
@sonodrome i think ill color mine purple too lol, i saw the other one where you used a marker,I thought that was really awesome.i watched alot of videos on this and liked this one the best.
1787dude 4 months ago
@1787dude thanks man, feedback is always awesome :)
sonodrome 4 months ago
Great tutorial! Thanks for the upload. I haven't done any PCB design/fabrication work since college (about 10 years ago!) and videos like this will be a huge help in starting up again. Out of curiosity, is there any particular tinning solution you would recommend?
BulletMagnet83 6 months ago
Hi @BulletMagnet83 thanks for your comments. I must say I haven't tried a lot of different tin solutions as the first one I used did the job really well, so I just stuck with it. I get mine from Rapid, it's by Mega Electronics and is just called Seno Immerse Tin Crystals. Hope that helps!
sonodrome 6 months ago
Great video......that has been missing from my PBC manufacturing....."Tinning"....I wish I had done that (just conformal coating does not seem to be enough to keep copper fresh underneath). BTW, check out using Photo-resist transfer.....I did the heat transfer, but wasn't having the best yield ...with Photo-resist, I get winner everytime....send you the video.
UnderseaCaveman 9 months ago
@UnderseaCaveman thanks for the comment! Yeah the photo resist method works really well and it's very repeatable- definitely a winner. Tinning with tin solution is really good too, the powder solution stuff works brilliantly- but it does smell pretty strongly of eggs :) @ Sonodrome we've made 100s of PCBs using the heat toner transfer method and it works great, initially it was difficult to get the method down, but once we found the right paper and worked out the timing a bit better, it was fine
sonodrome 9 months ago
@sonodrome BTW, is there a technical reason for dying boards (in this example, purple...otherwise usually green) or just aesthetics?? I didn't do that with my boards, maybe I should do that as well (if there's a technical reason).
UnderseaCaveman 9 months ago
@UnderseaCaveman No particular reason, we're just trying to inject a bit of creativity into circuit design, we mostly just use indelible markers to colour them in now, the dying is a bit messy and time consuming. One of our other videos has a really nice bright red one done with magic markers, it looks great!
sonodrome 9 months ago
@UnderseaCaveman I am in Seattle Washington. I have tried about 15 different papers. I found magazine paper works best. 3rd best I've found is the MPJA electronics catalog, second is some Pentacostal magazine a neighbor dropped off at the doorstep, and the best is a local DJ magazine called "D-LIST" that is printed on semi glossy recycled paper. Heat XFer. Drop it in a bucket, ready to tin! :D
daviddanielgraham 6 months ago
I must say, Great videos! I have a question and hopefully you could answer it. I am going to try to etch my own board soon but I don't have a laser printer. I saw a Samsung black and white printer for around $20. Have you had any bad experiences with cheap printers? And regarding the dying? Would the dye corrode the board?
LauxHawk 1 year ago
@LauxHawk Thx, a cheap b&w laser printer should be fine, the resolution is the main concern, a DPI of 600 or more is cool. There's also the price of cartridges to consider - printers that are extremely cheap, work out not so cheap when you consider the cost of toner, sometimes forking out a bit more on the actual printer can save you money in the long run. We also have a better method for colouring the PCBs now -> See our video entitled - Staining PCBs with Kat from Sonodrome
sonodrome 1 year ago
@sonodrome Yeah I watched that, but I was just curious about dying them actually. Thanks.
LauxHawk 1 year ago
Hi Sonodrome,
I am following your video tutorial very closely. Clean my board with isopropyl alcohol (70%) and ironing as long as 20mins.
But my circuit doesn't transfer well onto the copper clad board. Could it be due to the laser printer toner or paper quality used?
Have u encountered such issue?
TheDirectorET 1 year ago
@TheDirectorET Yeah, we've had similar problems in the past, had to do a little experimenting to find the best paper for the job, generally the more expensive paper is too thick or has plastic in it. Buy cheap gloss paper for colour laser printers to get the best results, own brand Walmart in USA or Staples in Europe works good for us, thx
sonodrome 1 year ago
@sonodrome Thank u so much for your advice. I am hopping down to Staples to get the photo paper. Hope to tell u good news soon!
Oh, I saw your tutorial on dying your boards. The PCB becomes opaque. I wonder have u try to dye the PCB yet the PCB remains translucent?
TheDirectorET 1 year ago
@TheDirectorET you could simply use cheap magazine paper from old magazines, i tried that and it is very good looking!!!!!
keithosmarferrer 1 year ago
shes so cool Remember that a newbie could read your comment so please just agree its a good idea for anybody who handles it should wear gloves
adrianmouse666 1 year ago
Great video, but bear in mind, Ferric chloride won't do any harm to your or your hands, so apart from getting brown fingers, it won't hurt you. On the other side, the tinning soloution is some nasty stuff and should only be handled with gloves on!
zaprodk 1 year ago
@zaprodk - thanks for the tips, you're right - gloves should be used when handling tinning solution, as for ferric chloride - it's highly corrosive, it will damage your clothes, workbench and WILL BURN YOUR SKIN you must always wear protective gloves, brown fingers are the least of your worries, chemical burns are not fun.
sonodrome 1 year ago
Nicely done! Results look very pro.
madbeanpedals 1 year ago
Thanks for the heads up, looking forward to seeing the next tutorial!
technoetc 1 year ago
Sorry, we can't post any URLs - Youtube is broken - normally we would just send a link to the tin crystals but that's proving impossible.
sonodrome 1 year ago
Sorry for the lack of replies, youtube is playing about with my Sonodrome account. I'll respond asap!
kathveg 1 year ago
What kind of tinning agent did you use?
vghost 1 year ago
@vghost Immerse Tin Crystals/Powder from Rapid Electronics. It lasts for a few weeks so can be re-used. Cheers! Kat
kathveg 1 year ago
Hello! What are you using for tinning solution?
ptdecker 1 year ago
@ptdecker sorry had some tech. difficulties - same as above I guess, this stuff really stinks but it's brilliant, it can be re-used, lasts for a good few weeks - it should be available from most good electronics or if you need it in bulk like me then getting it online could be easier.
kathveg 1 year ago
@kathveg Thank you, Kat! I will be picking some up. Your techniques really put the "finish" on homemade boards. Very professional! Thank you for sharing.
ptdecker 1 year ago
@ptdecker No problem! We love to see what other people are making so feel free to pop over to the forum and share your work, the link's in the 'more info' part of the vid description. Cheers! Kat
sonodrome 1 year ago
Cool, never thought to dye a pcb!
technoetc 1 year ago
@technoetc I have a new technique now which is much faster and produces more brightly coloured boards, I'm gonna make a new video about it soon but if you want to see the results there's some pics of my PCBs over in the forum (link in the 'more info' part of the vid description). Cheers! Kat
sonodrome 1 year ago
@technoetc Hiya, my new video's up so I thought I'd let you know as I know you were curious... I can't post the link here but if you visit my channel the video's called 'Staining PCBs with Kat from Sonodrome"
Cheers, Kat =)
sonodrome 1 year ago
fantastic tutorial. thanks for taking the time to do this! cleared up a lot of questions for me :)
uglyguitarguy 2 years ago
@uglyguitarguy no problem - glad you like! Having a new cam delivered today so stay tuned for some more tutorials!
sonodrome 2 years ago
This is great.
jeriellsworth 2 years ago
Sonodrome will be at the UK Maker Faire in Newcastle on March 13th-14th 2010 - come along to say hi and to play with or build a Posc or Straight Edge Distortion Unit
sonodrome 2 years ago
Mintness.
AgentDPS 2 years ago
It's the Straight Edge Distortion Pedal... working on schematics and tutorial for the website so people can have a go at making their own - it's a nice little distortion unit, sounds good :)
sonodrome 2 years ago
very interesting - what a cool board!
J
jonsar1 2 years ago