How to Make Your Own PCB

Well you might be asking what is the use of making your own PCBs when you get readymade circuits in the market? The obvious answer would be to save a few bucks, but no, there is more. Making PCBs yourself lets you understand the internal workings of the circuit in a way that no teacher or self learner can match. And yes you can save as much as 50% of the cost! You make lots of stuff and attach it to some circuitry, then you won't take out the part till something breaks. You cant go out and keep on buying those expensive premade circuits every time you need one, it's just impractical. So what you do? You make PCBs at home at half the cost, all the while learning the working of that particular circuit and still having fun! And that's exactly what i'm gonna show you today.

Parts List

Copper Clad Fibre Glass board (Ask for PCB board). You will usually get this in your local electronics store.
An Abrasive Pack
Black Laser Printer ( Dont worry if you don't have it, you can print your PCB design on any paper and get it photocopied)
Glossy Magazine Paper, or press and peel paper
Acetone
An Iron Box
Etchant like FeCl3 solution or a mixture of Muriatic acid and Hydrogen Peroxide
Etchant Container - Any plastic or glass container. Do NOT use a metal container, the etchant will eat through it.
Rubber Gloves. You don't want to burn your hands, now do you?
Drill. Preferably a drill press, but a hand drill will do, though it will reduce the accuracy (you may end up drilling just out of the designated circle and render the whole PCB useless.
Micro Drill bits for drilling the micro holes.
Paper Napkins

Now that you have the parts laid out, we dwelve into the actual designing of the circuit. Before the copper board can be etched, we have to have a functioning design. There are many open-source programs that let you design the circuits, but the best I could find and the one I would recommend is the Eagle PCB designer from CADsoft. It can be found at the CADsoft Website and has versions for Windows, Linux, and Mac users. The functionality of the freeware version is only limited by the size it lets you design ( 4 X 3.2 inches )

an enormous number of useful circuits can be built using that size only.

The Procedure

So now you have got the reference design? Good!

Start by printing a design on a glossy paper or a press and peel paper with a laser printer.
Put the paper on the board and set the position.
Put the centre part of the iron on the paper and hold still, strictly no rubbing.
After 5 mins, lift the iron and put another piece of paper between the iron and the paper on the board. Keep the iron on it, hold it from one corner and slowly move the iron all over the board.
Let the board cool for 10 minutes and then dip it in warm water, add some soap. Keep it in for 15 mins.
Take the board out lightly rub the board (do NOT scratch) to remove the paper completely.
You should have the design on the board. If there are any places where the toner did not transfer completely, manually fill them in with a permanent marker pen. But if there are any major defects, then you might have to repeat the whole process again. (You can scratch the toner off and reuse the copper clad board.
Now take the etchant you have and pour it in a container. ( If you have muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide mix them in the ratio of 1:2). And be sure to wear your rubber gloves.
Dip the copper clad into the etchant and keep agitating it with a glass rod or a plastic use and throw spoon.
After 2-3 minutes, take the PCB out and see whether the copper without the toner has gone or not. If not, then dip the PCB in for some more time.
After you are done with the etching, pour the etchant into a large bucket of water and pour the water into the drain. It is very important that you use a large bucket of water. Keep your face away while pouring and pour a thin stream of the etchant, not the whole container at once.
Now give your attention to the PCB. Soak a little acetone in the paper towel, and gently rub the PCB to remove the toner.
The PCB is now ready!

I will keep posting the schematics for a variety of useful circuits. For a starter take these sch and brd files for making the BJT H-bridge. You can find out the parts list from the schematic view and view the board design from brd file.