Etching PCBs without Ferric Chloride

Jonathan Lamothe — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 04:31:13 +0000

I came across this tutorial a while ago detailing how to etch PCBs using common household chemicals instead of ferric chloride. Being a lazy person who doesn’t want to drive out to Sayal (in Cambridge) to get ferric chloride, I decided to give it a shot and take pictures documenting the attempt. Here’s the result:

Pouring muriatic acid into the etchant (add the peroxide first)

The design printed onto magazine paper (for toner transfer)

Loaded into the heat press

Using the press to transfer the toner onto the board

Cooling the board down before removing the paper

Paper carefully removed from the board to keep the toner intact

The other side

Freshly made etchant starts to turn green as it absorbs copper from the board

Starting to etch the copper off the board

The front of the (almost) finished board

The reverse side of the (almost) finished board

As can be seen from the last picture, I left the board in the etchant a little too long (it was more active than I expected). Apparently, after a few uses it becomes a little slower acting, although I’ve considered using this effect to somehow watermark my boards.

KwartzLab Makerspace » muriatic acid

Etching PCBs without Ferric Chloride