PCB Printing & Etching Manufacturing Service

 

Do you have a PCB design you need prototyping quickly and accurately? Is it a One-off or short run?

 

OR... Do you have a PCB layout you need making into a PCB?

 

I can do this for you using the equipment I bought to make my own boards. This produces a PCB by Dry Film Photoresist, drilling the appropriate holes and cutting out the board outline with a Dremel Precision Workstation. I use ferric chloride solution to melt away the copper to form the traces, leaving areas of copper to form the traces. I can read standard Eagle PCB files / Gerber files or even just hand made jpg files for very simple circuits.

 

I am able to offer this service at a very competitive price, my service is aimed at the amateur/enthusiast or small businesses that doesn't have the space to do it themselves. Having bought all the equipment to do this delicate process I thought I would share my skill to help other enthusiasts without the time or budget. (or perhaps don't want the mess either)

 

I am not competing with the "Big Boys" in this area - I just want to offer a convenient, affordable, UK-based service. If you want fully finished, solder-masked, silk printed boards, there are plenty of Chinese companies who will offer this service (at a significant cost!)

 

I am only offering single sided boards at the moment but can offer a few prices depending on how big your board is and depending on you needing tin plating to finish the board. (Double sided boards will be getting added soon once the equipment has arrived so keep an eye out for new products added soon!)

 

I also offer the board without drill holes for a cheaper price as many people can already drill the board themselves.

 

Through hole plating will be an option soon!!

 

Board sizes are as follows (when ordering please choose the size matches or is larger than the one you require):

 

First 8cm x 5cm x 1.6mm FR4 board £20

Each additional 8cm x 5cm x 1.6mm board £10


First 16cm x 10cm x 1.6mm FR4 board £25

Each additional 100 x 70 x 1.5 mm board £12


First 22cm x 10cm x 1.6mm FR4 board £30

Each additional 100 x 70 x 1.5 mm board £15


Tin Plating Service Add £10 for the first board and £5 for each additional board

 

Postage is FREE to the UK - Overseas shipping is £1.50

 

Production time is approximately 3-5 days from order, every thing is sent out using 1st class Signed For Royal Mail

 

There are a few technical rules that you need to follow for this process to work, they are as follows:

 

  1. You need to provide a file that has been generated by Eagle PCB, the software is free for amateurs and enthusiasts to design boards. If you are after something more complex you can buy a cheap license. (You can also provide Gerber files if you want)
  2. The drill holes need to be specified on your Eagle PCB file. Along with any other special drilling or mounting holes.
  3. Always print out your file and test the hole sizes and spacing with your components before sending be the file, I can't be held responsible for customer errors unfortunately. (If you do make a mistake though and need a re print I will always do it for a discounted rate to help out)
  4. Holes larger than 3mm can be a problem (I don't have precision bits larger than this yet but should have some soon)
  5. I will check your design and if I foresee any problems, I will let you know before I get going. For example, I will check if your chosen drill sizes match the drills I have and I may suggest alternatives. I will optimise your design if I don't think it will etch well e.g. I may thicken tracks/pads if I think there may be problems. I will then run a Design Rule Check (DRC) to make sure tracks and pads are not too close. (Don't worry I will always go over any changes with you first)

 

Some design tips...

* Make sure your pads are as big as possible and tracks as wide as possible.

* Tracks below 0.3mm (12mil) wide don't etch too well. Below 0.2mm they may disappear altogether!

* Very small SMDs can be a problem but amateurs and enthusiasts generally don't use the extremely tiny components you see on some devices.

 

I can produce any shape of board including cut-outs. Please note – the board is cut using a Dremel so the finished cut is always dependant on my hand skills.

 

Currently, I can drill holes 0.5mm, 0.6mm, 0.7mm, 0.8mm, 0.9mm,1.0mm, 1.1mm, 1.2mm, 1.3mm, 1.4mm, 1.5mm, 1.6mm, 1.8mm, 2.0mm, 2.1mm, 2.3mm, 2.5mm, 2.75mm and 3mm diameter. Holes larger than 3mm are best drilled by you when you get the board.

 

Track separation is typically 0.2mm to 0.3mm

 

Board material is standard 1.6mm FR4 type, it has a positive photo resist pre-applied and is MicroTrak branded.

 

The results really are good. Please bear in mind that this is not a multi-million pound machine process and it does have its limitations. For example, very fine tracks and pads can be problematic, so try to design your boards with tracks and pads that are as thick as possible.

 

I hope I have covered everything, if not then please send a question over.


If something you need isn't covered then please send a request and I will reply with a customised quote.