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| PCB or point to point? |
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| Connecteur:
For simple circuits without a large number of components, it it really worth the sacrifices of making a printed circuit board? It's easy to bend the leads and solder them together. The resulting shape can be bent to fit into a larger number of enclosures if needed. |
| daqq:
Depends completely on the situation, quantity of devices, quality expected (hobby one off prototype or thousands of pcs...) and a host of other factors. But given the price of professional PCBs these days and the simplicity of designing one... why not? |
| ogden:
You shall define what "simple circuit" and "large number of components" mean to you. Yes indeed PCB is not always needed. Soldering few components together can do the job, also using perfborad is very popular for DIY circuits. Important rule: always make sure your circuits mechanically hold together well. |
| bob91343:
PCB is good for appearance and ruggedness. However there are pitfalls, particularly when currents are large, say over 100 mA or so. The old style terminal strips are still good in my opinion. Dead bug style is okay for testing but not for a permanent build. |
| Technomaniac:
About the time I went off the grid and had to make up a batch of charging regulators, I wasn't in the mood for photo-etching and I started making PC boards with my Dremel. The components are all on the foil side and the copper removal is done with a spherical tip. The result is rough looking, but can be done in record time. I would have done about 30 boards to date. Not so good when using chips as things get a bit close, but I DO have some with chips. Tracks can be scored with a miniature chisel-scraper but I haven't been doing that. Just a side note, I've noticed that the last batch of blank copper clad board I bought on eBay from China is thinner and so is the foil. I've made some very nice and very tiny boards with a CAD draughting program, you have to find one that allows you to change the thickness of the lines (tracks) to suit your requirements. I have a couple that do not and one that does. Then I print a positive film on an old HP laser printer with the knob turned up to print a heavier toner layer than normal. Exposure is done with a portaflood lamp at about a foot away, everything held firm in a hinged sandwich of glass and lid from an old photocopier. |
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