Simple PCB Agitator Gets The Job Done

These days, PCB fab houses are just about everywhere, and you can’t go buy a taco without walking past eight of them. Still, some out there still like to etch their PCBs at home. If that soun…

The Best DIY PCB Method?

Now before you start asking yourself “best for what purpose?”, just have a look at the quality of the DIY PCB in the image above. [ForOurGood] is getting higher resolution on the silkscreen than we…

In Memory of Mary Farl Powers, 1948–1992 - Irish Repertory Theatre

Mary Farl Powers was an artist, working mostly in print, but also in cast paper and paper sculpture. She was born in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, USA, in 1948, the second of five children. Her parents, J.F. Powers and Betty Wahl Powers, were both...

Up Close And Personal With A MEMS Microphone

If you’ve ever wondered what lies beneath the barely visible hole in the can of a MEMS microphone, you’re in luck, because [Zach Tong] has a $10 pair of earbuds to sacrifice for the cau…

Etchings - Garden

William Blake Was Etching Copper In 1790

You may know William Blake as a poet, or even as #38 in the BBC’s 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. But did you know that Blake was also an artist and print maker who made illuminated (f…

Testing Oxide Etchants For The Home Semiconductor Fab

Building circuits on a silicon chip is a bit like a game of Tetris — you have to lay down layer after layer of different materials while lining up holes in the existing layers with blocks of …

Homebrew Probe Tip Etcher Makes Amazingly Sharp Needles

There’s a simple reason why high-tech gadgets like PCs, TVs and smartphones are so cheap: they’re mass-produced. By spreading out huge engineering costs over equally huge production vol…

Copper Be Gone: The Chemistry Behind PCB Etching

For a lot of reasons, home etching of PCBs is somewhat of a dying art. The main reason is the rise of quick-turn PCB fabrication services, of course; when you can send your Gerbers off and receive …

Different Etching Strokes For Different PCBs, Folks

[Sebastian] probably didn’t think he was wading into controversial waters when he posted on his experimental method for etching PCBs (in German). It’s not like etching with hydrochloric…

Shake Your PCB Etching, With An Old Optical Drive

Easy PCB fabrication in China has revolutionised electronic construction at our level, but there are still times when it makes sense to etch your own boards. It’s a messy business that can al…