Did you ever want to upgrade your bread-boarded circuits to something more permanent? Or maybe you’ve got a hankering to make your own metal Jelwery? Today Sylvia will show you how you can do both with super simple copper etching. More info: http://wp.me/p1CIX9-tbq
2 thoughts on “Super Simple Copper Etching — Sylvia’s Mini Maker Show”
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From the Shed: New Arrivals
By Super Awesome Sylvia and her dad, James
Did you ever want to upgrade your bread-boarded circuits to something more permanent? Or maybe you’ve got a hankering to make your own metal jewelry? Today we’ll show you how you can do both. With super simple copper etching. Lets go!
Subscribe to Sylvia’s Mini Maker Show Podcast in iTunes, download the m4v video directly, or watch it on YouTube and Vimeo.
For this coppertastic build, we’ll need:
- Eye protection and gloves (rubber/latex/nitrile, any kind will do)
- Ferric chloride etchant (Found at some electronics stores, or online)
- Regular printer paper
- Printable plastic film or really thin glossy magazine pages, and access to a laser printer or copier
- A clothes iron
- Some fine steel wool
- and finally, some paper towels (it gets messy!)
For making jewelry, we’ll also need:
- Some solid pieces of copper or brass (found at fancy art stores)
- and a plastic or glass container than can fit your piece to be etched
For circuit boards, instead we’ll need:
- A copper clad PC board
- A brand new kitchen sponge (for the Sponge etch method pioneered by our friend Jim from TechShop!)
First things first, we need an image. What are we putting on our copper? If you’ve got a circuit design ready in your cad software, export a high resolution monochrome image of just the traces you want, or a high contrast piece of art for your jewelry, carefully print your design out on plastic or magazine paper.
Continue reading “Super Simple Copper Etching – Sylvia’s Mini Maker Show”
17 thoughts on “Super Simple Copper Etching – Sylvia’s Mini Maker Show”
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Chad Lovelace says:
Like this !!
but im looking for a simple program to create the traces and will be able to print out the design — free windows software would be great!!
thanks -
> “looking for a simple program to create the traces…”
I have not used it myself, but I believe “Fritzing” can do PCB design: http://fritzing.org/
It is a free download, runs on Windows, and is probably easier to use than the bigger PCB tools such as KiCad (which is also free, but has more of a learning curve), or CadSoft Eagle (limited free version available). -
Actually, there is quite a list of possible PCB design/layout tools here: http://fritzing.org/about/comparison/ and I think most/all of them run under Windows.
http://www.freepcb.com/ is another good one to try. -
I just have to say Douglas Adams was one of my favorite writers loved the DON’T PANIC! slipped in there.
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This episode made it to radioham.info so now Sylvia is advising hams on how to create their own circuit boards. Way to go!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK1SG2O7WDk
Check out my 5 year old with a soldering iron…. -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK1SG2O7WDk
Check out my 5 year old with a soldering iron…. -
Scott Tovey says:
Mom and Dad need to get to getter with Sylvia and do some 30 minute maker shows and air on Make TV and PBS.
These little maker shows Sylvia does would be great motivations to other children her age as well as encourage other mom’s and dad’s to help their young ones pursue DIY maker projects.
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Wayne says:
I etch toner transfer method boards using the immerse & rock method. It’s less likely to remove any of the toner that isn’t strongly adhered to the board. Originally, I tried immersing, rocking and some rubbing with a sponge brush, but the brush removed a small amount of the toner, making copper traces thinner. I also warm the ferric chloride in a pot of hot water before etching. At about 150 deg F the etching goes much faster, and speedy etching reduces the chances of etch working under the edges of the toner resist (“under cutting”). –Wayne
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