Make your own PCB with a sharpie!

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Make your own PCB with a sharpie!
You do not need a fancy milling machine, laser etcher or to send of your CAD designs to the far east. Yes you! YOU! Can make your own PCBs with the aid of a sharpie! (and a few more bits - like ferric chloride and a drill!). But that's it, no fancy CAD, just a steady hand.
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Thanks you lovely people, and keep on tinkering!
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0:00 Introduction

КОМЕНТАРІ: 61

@brianterry8512 Рік тому

Now here is a man not afraid to make a mistake. Actually kind of refreshing to watch. Not in the sense of getting joy from other people's mistakes, but just the honesty and the "no f's given" attitude. This was my first video to watch from this channel, but I will be back. It'll give me somebody to watch beside that big-handed bloke out on the Isle of Man.

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Thanks so much for the comment Brian. Honestly, I think anyone afraid to make a mistake is someone who isn't going to learn 😂

@schneidp20 24 дні тому

Thanks for not reshooting to make it perfect. We all benefited more from seeing the mistakes. I'm sure the mirror image problem has bitten a few people. You made this look so simple that I now HAVE to do it on my next project. Thanks!

@backofficeshow 24 дні тому

That's awesome! You definitely need to do it!

@minecraftbssshorts4893 8 місяців тому

16:10, I learnt it a difficult way. Once when I was carrying ferric chloride in my back pack, it spell all over and stained me books, my dress and everything in my bag.

@backofficeshow 8 місяців тому

Oh no!

@sjm4306 Рік тому

Used to do this ages ago but it's been quite a few years since I broke out the home etch box. Not particularly useful for most of what I do nowadays though with how small and tightly packed components have gotten, but still have good memories of drawing and etching my own boards at home.

@BSOE3058 Рік тому

Fancy seeing ya here!

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Yeah, I guess it's more of a novelty as you progress, but hopefully it's useful for people coming into it. I think it can all seem a bit mysterious at first. I quite like the idea of still using this technique to make buses or DIY flexible circuits. I do have some copper tape somewhere.

@sjm4306 Рік тому

@@backofficeshow now that's an interesting idea, copper tape and kapton to make your own flex pcbs!

@ianmorris8534 Рік тому

I used this technique to make a cube like the one from the "Hellraiser" film, but yeah, wouldn't fancy my chances with a board for smd components!

@backofficeshow Рік тому

I think with plotter assistance you have a chance for sure, with I've of those super fine pens but you definitely need a super clean PCB.

@Musicmaddnes Рік тому

That's more than a sharpie! I've been bamboozled.

@pileofstuff Рік тому

It's been a while. Back in the day I went through a couple of Radio Shack PCB kits. They had a felt tip pen, but I preferred to use the dry transfers that came in the kit - pre-drawn IC footprints and nice smooth radius curved traces.

@JayJay-ki4mi 11 місяців тому

Use a calliper and a ruler and you will get very neat finishes. Get different size tipped markers too. Use a Dremel to drill holes (a cheaper dremel will do, or make one with a motor). Apply UV solder mask to finish. I've had to do this to create breakouts and converters for some expensive PCB's that used exotic connectors impossible to find anywhere. Sometimes you have to do these things to save the customer from spending thousands on a new PCB.

@agnelomascarenhas8990 Рік тому

Long long ago I used electrical insulation tape (soft plastic and adhesive) and cut thin strips with surgical blade and ruler. Ferric chloride is a nasty chemical. The junction of tapes would be eroded away. It was fun, frustration and lot of learning.

@juanmacias5922 Рік тому

This was so cool, had no idea you could hand make a PCB like that!

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Absolutely! and there are a fair few more electronic board technologies to be around even before PCBs 👍

@RoySATX Рік тому

Yeah, back in the 70s almost every PCB I remember seeing were hand drawn. Granted I didn't see a whole lot of them. Occasionally even today I find one every now and then, a bike light I bought last year came with a hand drawn PCB.

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Maybe they should start offering artisinal electronics, hand crafted phones with hands drawn PCBs 🤣

@imnotbeluga007 Рік тому

Literally what we just did in our electronics class.

@ot4kon Рік тому

i done that, with simple circuits, I did a DOD250 Preamp guitar pedal.

@FloatingFatMan Рік тому

Back in college we used to kinda do it this way, but we had a Wyse workstation running some CAD software, a plotter to print directly to the PCB sheets, and a proper tank for the chemical bath...

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Hells yeah! Just like in my CDT days at school 😂 I still have my Roland plotter in the loft. It's probably wrecked now, I really should fetch it. Never had a bubble etch tank, they are not really up to the task these days with tiny QFN surface mount 😂

@FloatingFatMan Рік тому

@@backofficeshow You could probably build one with a plastic tub, a fish tank bubbler, and some 3d printing for board mounts... Sounds like another project for the channel! :p

@backofficeshow Рік тому

I might get the t8 mill out again and do a circuit with that 😂

@davidtams1218 Рік тому

As I don't have a laser printer or a UV light this might be the way for me to go. I've got the printed circuit so I'm now thinking of making a stencil from it. This is to be an ignition circuit for a model engine I've made.

@backofficeshow Рік тому

It's definitely worth a try!

@jobbydude 9 місяців тому

Same with me, making a stencil is a good idea never thought of it..

@the_runofff 4 місяці тому

awesome video! I'm about to start making my first pcbs and this was really helpful

@backofficeshow 4 місяці тому

Good luck!!

@adeleyeayodeji1032 10 місяців тому

Thanks for educating us, please let us know the name of the marker and other things you use. How does the cooper plate you draw the lines turn to Ferroboard

@philipboggs3372 Рік тому

Awesome video! Glad to see I'm not the only one that makes mistakes on the plugs though. I wired up a 7800 controller a week or so ago and had it wired completely backwards at first since I was looking at the pinout wrong.

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Its not the first time I have made the mistake on a plug, and 100% not going to be the last time. Some of the simplest ones as well have been known to get me. For example a DE9 or DE25 serial port. You only really need 3 pins, but get the whole gender wrong or confuse the pinout and you are done for 😀

@philipboggs3372 Рік тому

On the bright side, getting the 7800 backwards didn't seem to hurt anything. Would have been a shame to kill it after finding it full of water and resurrecting it.

@MrDarchangelomni Рік тому

you could have just cut traces and demonstrated bodge wire fixing of mistakes for prototypes and first releases in the pcb revision process ;)

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Always leaving them wanting more.... I am the master of a disappointing conclusion

@nynexman4464 Рік тому

This is cool, didn't think just a sharpie would be enough to resist the etching. I imagine with a sharpie ultra fine you could have gotten all the tracks without jumpers. What did you use to cut the board itself?

@backofficeshow Рік тому

I just used some aviation shears and a bit of sandpaper to chomp it

@xxbongobazookaxx7170 28 днів тому

Neat, feel like rigging the plotting process onto a 3d printer could make this a bit more effective. Call me a wuss but I think I might reach for some gloves for the chems and clamps + sacrificial blocks for the drilling before trying this, I don't trust myself that much

@backofficeshow 28 днів тому

I still have a Roland XY plotter and The loft that I used to use that was the equivalent of the 3D printer part in its day. However, I wouldn't really think it's an amazingly effective way to make a PCB compared to the alternative methods available these days, But for a bit of fun, it's worth a go!

@inhisnameislay3401 Рік тому

I really really like your video I thought it was a perfect demonstration of how it works and I like your personality so thank you so much

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Thats very kind of you, I am glad it was useful!

@6581punk Рік тому

One way I heard for doing PCBs was to print onto glossy magazine paper with a laser printer then iron it onto the PCB. Seems to be documented online.

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Unfortunately I just traded in my laser printer for an inkjet. I might regret this as I used the laser for silk screen stuff 🤦

@6581punk Рік тому

@@backofficeshow I still have a cheap Brother laser I bought around 2007/2008. Still on the original toner cartridge. No idea if it still works.

@backofficeshow Рік тому

I binned a few recently. Unfortunately just not using them seemed to kill them whereas the inkjet printers we have are chugging along. I guess more to go wrong in a laser

@custardo Рік тому

Well as long as all the LEDs do light up in the end, down? (sorry, right)

@backofficeshow Рік тому

I had to Chuck this in the box of despair. I'm going to give it to you next time we meet up. It hurts my brain 😂

@AndrewHelgeCox Рік тому

Sharpie do fine tip pens and pens with fine and thick ends.

@MrDarchangelomni Рік тому

@13:05 I was reminded that I had Taco Salad 6 hours ago, and have not went to the bathroom yet...

@backofficeshow Рік тому

You are not wrong 😂 it does look very suspicious!

@urbansnipertn 9 місяців тому

Hello, what is the brand of the marker you used?

@imnotbeluga007 3 місяці тому

Sharpie? It doesn't matter, though. As long as the marker is water resistant or permanent (acetone or isopropyl alcohol gets it off), it shouldn't lift off while etching.

@ingog.8424 Рік тому

The most confusing test device in the world. 😂️

@backofficeshow Рік тому

I have a migraine right now and I solely blame it on making and operating that thing this morning, by brain just couldn't take it.

@Ratchet_effect Рік тому

This video is sponsored by B.O.S Wayyyyy old school PCB design, create, make & test 😁 I don't have the shed to store the chemicals any-more so no home made for me sadly.

@backofficeshow Рік тому

Yeah! Move over big brand far east PCB companies (who all have tried to sponsor me in the past 😂)! Keeping it real over here! TBOS branded Sharpies for the win!