PCB Making
The homebuilt PCB process grew from a practical need to design a circuit, make the board, solder the parts, test the machine, and revise it quickly. These boards powered robots, tools, programmers, and early electronics experiments.
The workflow
Toner transfer
Printed artwork was transferred to copper-clad board to create a resist mask for etching.
Etching tanks
Controlled etching turned blank copper board into usable circuits, using a practical home-lab process.
Drilling and finishing
Small drill bits, careful alignment, and custom fixtures made through-hole parts possible at home.
Reflow soldering
SMD parts could be soldered with temperature-controlled reflow experiments, including toaster-oven approaches.
Eagle designs
Schematics and board layouts were refined in Eagle before being turned into physical circuits.