Electronics > Beginners
Newbie wanting to build boards
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greencardigan:
I didn’t really watch any tutorial videos other than Dave’s one where he built the LED ring.

However, I subscribe to Louis Rossmann’s youtube channel so I’ve watched him do plenty of rework.

I think having good lighting, good eyesight, and a reasonably steady hand would help a lot. I’ve done another board with a few 0402 caps and it was definitely a challenge in the placement stage with my slightly unsteady hands.
tggzzz:

--- Quote from: greencardigan on February 21, 2018, 03:13:28 am ---I’ve not done any SMD parts or boards before but have reasonable soldering iron skills.

--- End quote ---

SMD isn't as difficult as you might think, but it helps to have minimal equipment: head-mounted visor to see things, tweezers, solder paste, and a saucepan.

For my experiences, see: https://entertaininghacks.wordpress.com/category/homebrew-pcbs/
Jwillis:
The backing for adhesive vinyl like Endura or Oracal works really well for transferring toner to your copper clad.I get it free from a local sign maker .I found some photo paper won't transfer at all .The cheap stuff works best .I found that these methods don't work well with very fine detail.

Another idea is Negative Dry Film Photoresist .You can get kits or Get a roll of Dry Film and use off the shelf sodium carbonate for developing and sodium hydroxide for stripping after etching.You can use sunlight or florescent light but a good UV(Black light) works faster.The whole process should only take around 20 minutes.
james_s:
I hand solder stuff like that all the time, it's pretty trivial. If you wanted to build 10 of them I'd say get a stencil and use a hotplate or reflow oven, but if you just one one or two? Just solder them by hand with a temperature controlled iron with a chisel tip. Tack one corner pin of the IC, adjust it as needed to get it perfectly straight then double check it's not flipped around backwards. Then solder the rest of the pins, piece of cake.
jmelson:

--- Quote from: Jwillis on July 30, 2018, 05:24:29 pm ---
Another idea is Negative Dry Film Photoresist .

--- End quote ---
I currently buy my dry film from Think N Tinker in the US.  I highly recommend dry film resist, it is very durable and provides excellent etching.  I built my own exposure setup with a box with 4 each 24" black light bulbs with ballasts and starters, and crumpled aluminum foil as a reflector.  One minute exposure per side is all it takes.  I  have an old Kepro spray etcher, and it usually etches completely in less than 2 minutes.

The dry film has to be applied with a heated roll laminator.  I roughen the copper first with fine sandpaper, and then water wash and acetone wipe before laminating.

Jon
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