Sourcing copper clad
- Thread starter Sonodrome
- Start date
Good question - I've never seen it available to hobbyists, but my professionally made boards use it...
...as well as a green solder mask
I assume you really want green board as opposed to trying to replicate the look of professional boards that are (normally/traditionally) coated in a green solder mask (other colours normally available from pro PCB fabb'ing facilities)
Googling "FR4 green" finds a few hits (and the same question
)
PS Welcome to the forum - we're happy to answer PICAXE-related queries as well
...as well as a green solder mask
I assume you really want green board as opposed to trying to replicate the look of professional boards that are (normally/traditionally) coated in a green solder mask (other colours normally available from pro PCB fabb'ing facilities)
Googling "FR4 green" finds a few hits (and the same question
)PS Welcome to the forum - we're happy to answer PICAXE-related queries as well
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All electronics shops sell blank copper clad PCB, either single or dual sided. But it only comes in one colour, and that is copper colour. The green ones are professional ones and the green is actually a solder mask applied after the boards are made. It also stops the copper oxidising. Are you going to be making your own boards and if so, by what method?
Colored Clad
Yep, I'm looking for copper clad with colored FR4 fiberglass (backboard)...I've seen electronics kits for sale at my local electronics store with bright blue and red fiberglass, but I can't seem to find the board for sale seperately. I am etching them with ferric chloride, using gloss paper in a laser printer to make an iron on transfer, after that I normally put them in a tin solution to coat the tracks. They look pretty cool, but I really want a colored background, plus I don't have the facilities to do solder masking.
Cheers for the replies
Yep, I'm looking for copper clad with colored FR4 fiberglass (backboard)...I've seen electronics kits for sale at my local electronics store with bright blue and red fiberglass, but I can't seem to find the board for sale seperately. I am etching them with ferric chloride, using gloss paper in a laser printer to make an iron on transfer, after that I normally put them in a tin solution to coat the tracks. They look pretty cool, but I really want a colored background, plus I don't have the facilities to do solder masking.
Cheers for the replies
Mycroft2152
Senior Member
Check eBay. Occaisionally colored copper clad will be offered. A few years ago, I picked up some nice royal blue.
But as Doc A. said, the color is usually from the solder mask which is silk screened on. It is do-able for the hobbyist, but difficult and messy.
Some people do use Testors Apple Green spray paint, and solder through the paint. It sorta look like solder mask.
You can always spray pint the top of the board before driliing to give it some color. Krylon spray paint works best.
But as Doc A. said, the color is usually from the solder mask which is silk screened on. It is do-able for the hobbyist, but difficult and messy.
Some people do use Testors Apple Green spray paint, and solder through the paint. It sorta look like solder mask.
You can always spray pint the top of the board before driliing to give it some color. Krylon spray paint works best.
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Ah you mean the actual fibreglass colour? I've noticed a bit of a trend with some boards to do a "fill" with the copper and so tracks end up being tracks with just narrow lines around them. The fill may be a ground plane, and it is a simple thing to do on PCB programs. So the fibreglass colour becomes less important in a way. Another advantage of doing a fill is that you only etch a tiny amount of copper away with each board, which means the etchant lasts a lot longer.
But on the other hand, if you are tinplating you will use more tinplate...
Premelec's suggestion sounds good - maybe try some offcuts?
But on the other hand, if you are tinplating you will use more tinplate...
Premelec's suggestion sounds good - maybe try some offcuts?
I think it's a bit more than a trend...it's like the normal pro way of doing a PCB design. I can't see any reason for homemade PCBs to be any different really - OK, you might want to increase your clearance between the fill and the tracks to 50-75 mil if you're doing paper transfer etching (compared with more like 10 mil for a pro fab), but it will save a huge amount on chemicals..and waste that has to be disposed of