How to Make a Printed Circuit Board

Circuit boards are common in most electronic gadgets today, but inventors and home hobbyists often strive to create something new. Because they need particular circuits that they can't buy in any store, they make their own circuit boards. Printed circuit boards keep the circuits clean and organized, and they are easy to troubleshoot. Read on to learn how to make a printed circuit board.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Circuit board
• Transparency
• Etchant

1. Make a prototype of the circuitry you plan to use. This larger version of your printed circuit board is called a breadboard and provides opportunities to see what will and won't work before you go to the trouble of etching and soldering a circuit board.

2. Create the circuit pattern for your circuit board based on your breadboard. You can draw it by hand or on the computer to determine the dimensions needed for the electronics.

3. Cut your circuit board to size for your design. Remember that one side will be used to install components and one side will be used for soldering. The side used for soldering has a copper surface. Sometimes the copper is tinned to give it a silvery appearance.

4. Expose the solder side of the circuit board to light to develop the pattern. Protect the "wires" on the solder side by overlaying the board with a transparency.

5. Etch the pattern onto the board with an etchant solution. This will remove all of the unwanted copper from the solder side of the board.

6. Rinse the board with water.

Tips & Warnings

• Troubleshoot problems with a probe from your voltmeter or ohm meter to determine which circuit failed.
• An alternative to designing your own board is to look at electronic magazines. Occasionally you can order kits based upon articles in the magazines.
• Look for printed circuit board layouts in magazines. You can then create the board at home.