How hard is it to make diy PCBs if you’re a Noob ?

[Lee Roberts]

I really like DipTrace.

.Me

[Swarfing]

Check out visolate which is quite good, the page has a lot of other useful stuff to.

http://reprap.org/wiki/PCB_Milling#g...cb_-.3E_G-code

[HankMcSpank]

wrt to pcb milling, I thought visolate would be by saviour...(I spent way too long trying to master it) ...it turns out it was my curse.

Using voronoi regions sounds like an excellent way of cutting down on track cutting (track isolation) time...turns out it's also an even better way if increasing the stray capacitance on your final pcbs (not by a little...by a *massive* amount)

[Swarfing]

I would agree with you on that Hank. To have a go at routing pcb's though is a good way to practice with software wise though.

[dsc]

I'd say designing PCBs is not massively complicated if it's for simple circuits, where placements of elements is not that crucial. I've used EagleCAD before and got my head around it pretty quickly.

As far as cutting goes, I would've loved to have a CNC simply to cut the acid etched PCB down to the right size, especially when doing round shapes. Then again, if you can auto generate the g-code, I guess there's no quicker way. Just for laughs and to show acid etching works not so badly, here's a PIC based timer board I've done a long time ago:



this is the round PCB which could've used a CNC.

Regards,
dsc.

[Fivetide]

Wow thanks guys .. loads of advice there and ideas :) .. what do think of this and dont start with "Fuckin Maplins are crap" lol but they have a starter kit half price its looks like print iron and disolve.. thinks its wortha tenner punt to havea go ?

[dsc]

I'd say Maplins are crap, but it's where I got sodium persulphate which I couldn't get anywhere else. To make your board you need that, an iron, a blank PCB and ink printer. As always google is your friend.

That kit says etchant material, although doesn't specify what it is. Then again for a tenner, might be worth a try.

Regards,
dsc.