Parts in Mumbai (India)

I do know screen printing , and also the stores selling the goods. but what i have seen and experienced is . that the chemical used as photo resist is water soluble so it wont stay on pcb for developing. Second even the lith film is water soluble, and third the ink for pcb tracks, has to be purchase seperately , not available with screen printers.Just calculate the cost involved.Regular inks will not stand etching and will be dissolved.

Screen 8*10 Rs 150/-
Photo sensitive chemical Rs 100/-
Squezee Rs 150/-
Lith film A4 sheet Rs 20/-
Negative or positive Rs 50/-
Screen Cleaner Rs 50/-
Total Rs 520/-

The photo resist film is very different from photo sensitive sheet. it is specially for pcb exposing, developing . And can be used with laser print for exposing.

I have tried all the ways like toner transfer, Screen printing But photo resist film gives best and professional results, Just see the pcb photo i posted earlier, I etched them at home and got extremely sharp and perfect tracks.
 
Toner transfer

For years I struggled to make my own PCB as like most of you. In a post
in this thread I gave the details of the chromo paper I finally found
in a shop in Flora Fountain area for toner transfer. Believe me I have
made at least 30 PCB of fine quality by this method. Two examples are
attached. Some of them are for SMD parts and most of them are double
sided. It takes only 20 minutes for a PCB if you uses hot ferric chloride
solution. This is to show and encourage you to another fruitful method.
One drawback as pointed out earlier about getting good laser print.
But in south Mumbai I got very good print out in a cyber cafe. May be
look around little bit more.

I promise to give you the address of the shop in Flora Fountain
in a few days. The chromo paper costs 400 sheets Rs 120/- only
two years back.

I hope you find it useful and saves your time...

N.B. Sorry, I do not have the picture of the pcb of the first board but it is
exactly as you see in the eagle design.

Roushon
 

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You have really got very good quality transfers, very nice. Not everybody has not been as lucky as you.

dont use ferric chloride for etching , very bad chemical and you need to keep it hot.
instead try hydrochloric acid 2 parts + with hydrogen peroxide 1 part, very clean etching, You can use it many times, does not stain,And is pretty fast, is clear so you can see how much has been etched. No heating required.and you can easily dispose it.
 
About getting parts from Digikey.
All the needed components are available at lamington rd, just needs few km s of walking through lanes. Only problem is quantity. Those who have really good quality components don't sell them in ones or two pcs. they demand quantity

And comparing rates Digikey and other such companies have very high rates. And Digikey has presence in India there is no need to import or pay high importing fees.
 
And comparing rates Digikey and other such companies have very high rates. And Digikey has presence in India there is no need to import or pay high importing fees.

Where in India is it ? I just procured WM61 mics from digikey.

I just chatted with an agent @ digikey. here it is.

Your request is being processed. A representative will be with you momentarily.
Your Digi-Key representative for this Live-Help session is Kassandra ext 2619.
Aucosticraft: Hi,
Kassandra ext 2619: Welcome to Digi-Key Live-Help. How may I assist you?
Kassandra ext 2619: hi
Aucosticraft: I just learnt that Digikey has presence in india.
Kassandra ext 2619: we ship to India, but we are located in the US
Aucosticraft: ooh..
Aucosticraft: ok..
Aucosticraft: ie..so no office in India?
Kassandra ext 2619: no
Aucosticraft: ok.. Thanks for the information.
Kassandra ext 2619: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Aucosticraft: no that is all thanks and bye
Kassandra ext 2619: Thank you for visiting. Please feel free to contact us at anytime.
 
You have really got very good quality transfers, very nice. Not everybody has not been as lucky as you.

dont use ferric chloride for etching , very bad chemical and you need to keep it hot.
instead try hydrochloric acid 2 parts + with hydrogen peroxide 1 part, very clean etching, You can use it many times, does not stain,And is pretty fast, is clear so you can see how much has been etched. No heating required.and you can easily dispose it.

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I knew about it but never tried. Will use in
my next project. Yeah, the heating part was tricky. I had to make a special
arrangement with a small water heater to do the job.

Regards
Roushon.
 
Yes, it looks professional. I did not believe it myself
when I first made these pcbs. The special arrangement
is too simple and embarassing to give a photo. Next time
when I make a pcb I will take several photos and upload.
Let me describe how I make the pcbs in detail with the
above chromo paper.

1. First take a dark enough laser print out of the
design on the glossy side of the paper. Do NOT touch
the design by hand at all and cover it immediately after
taking the print out so that no dust falls on it.

2. Cut the clad board in proper size and then rub/wash it
with vimbar soap and a scotch brite very hard. Do NOT
use steel wool or anything metalic to clean (can use a
file to smooth the sides after cutting). You will get a
very clear glaring coper side. Do not touch the copper
side any more after the wash. Dry it very well under fan or
a hair dryer.

3. Place the print of design on the copper side and
wrap the extended paper around the lower side of the
paper so that it does not slips out of the surface.

4. Iron it (cotton heating slection) first slowly and then
press hard for about 3-4 minutes uniformly. Somtime
tilt the iron a little and press by the edge of
the iron, this is very useful. This needs practice.

5. Drop the board on a bowl of water. Careful it is
extremely hot. Do NOT lift it holding one of the paper
corner. Rather iron it placing on a piece of cloth and
then lift the cloth and drop the board in the water. Leave it
for about 10 minutes. Then slowly lift the paper under
running water (take the help of the force of the water to
peel the paper). NO too much force. The paper will come
out clean without any trace of the toner. Still do NOT
touch the board. If you want to do some forgotten work
(like writing names) or small correction you can do it with
permanent marker pen. Once this is done then your work
is 90 percent successful.

6. In a bowl of ferric chloride solution place a deep plastic
cup filled with clean water and put a small water
heater into the cup and heat and move around the
cup once in a while to distribute the heat. 50 to 60 degree
centigrade is good enough. Heating is needed only to
make the process faster. If you do not heat it will take
longer time that's all.

7. Drop the board and shake it once in a while and
monitor it, do NOT go away to do some other work. It
takes 5-10 minute depending on the heat and the
density of the ferric chloride.

8. Take out the board when the extra copper desolved.
Do NOT keep it longer as it will start eating up little
of copper below the toner.

9. Once again bring back the scotch brite and vimbar and
give a very hard cleaning, you do not need any chemical
to remove the toner. Then dry it and drill it and again
clean it.

10. Finally spray it (or tin it) with the pcb coating which is available
in the Lamington road (Visha Electronic). A big spray bottle is
around Rs 300/- if I remember.

11. Happy soldering......

You can make pcb with very very thin line. I am unable to say
about how much mil but as long as you get good print out and good
steps 4 and 5 anything is possible.

Roushon.
 
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Guys, Try Salzer Or Miracle For toroidals, I have heard from fellow diyers that they are very responsive , quick and willing to help diyers, and prices are competitive,

Above all salzer is May be sister company or group co of piltron the famous transformer manufacturer. But one thing is Sure You get absolute Quality and professional work ,You can order by mail and they post it to you.

There is a transformer manufacturer nearby to place whwre i live, He makes regular transformers on largescale, But said he will make toroidals on requirement.
he used to work for a very big transformer manufacturer co which suppliied to big names in audio industry. He started his own setup after the co he was working shut down.
 
Roushon Very nice explanation,

But Think what would happen of a new diyer if he were to read this to make his 1st pcb.
The very first time i went through such things reading forums, i used to scrah my head thinking if it was some big technology.

Another thing have you had any experience with photo resist film for pcb, I want to get some more and am thinking of group buy. Lets see
 
For heater you can use water pumps used in small house hold fountains, You can get some which just throw hot air. I have seen it some where on other forum but dont seem to remember.

But if u use hcl+ Hydrogen peroxide =No heating Very clean and clear solution ,very fast etching. You can allways have a peek on haow much has been etched. And best of all it environmental friendly. While for ferric chloride you have to think where to dispose it
 
".......ferric chloride solution ....."
A really disgusting solution. Stains and eats away anything like clothes flooring etc. Did a lot of damage around my house over the years.

You can use Hydrogen Peroxide and Hydrochloric acid which is easily available.
Hydrogen peroxide can be bought at any pharmacy and the HCl is avaiable as ( acid) floor cleaning liquid at any supermarket or even the small corner store.

Two parts Hydrogen Peroxide to 1 part HCL. Just be careful of the HCl fumes, they are corrosive. So do it in a well ventillated place and away from any exposed metal parts that might corrode. Etching is VERY fast. Probably under 2 minutes if its fresh and the chemicals are good.
Google it for more information.

Note : Both the HCl and the Hydrogen Peroxide ( bought at the pharmacy) are already dilute solutions. So you do not need to dilute them more.
 
Thanks!

Thanks! Viki and Ashok for suggesting use of Hcl plus
H2O2. I know these are available in lohar chawl area in
Mumbai. I will definitely switch to this option. Ferric Chloride is really bad.

But you said two different proportions:

Viki: Hcl:H2O2=2:1
Ashok: Hcl:H2O2=1:2

Which one is correct?

Regarding Toroidal I gave two manufacturer addresses
in post no 3 of this thread. Both are in Lamington road
and quite responsible and good. Could be slow
but we do not have to pay postal charge. Have got
few toroidal done by them. Very good.

Viki, I will be interested in photo resist film and would like
to try. But I have now mastered the toner transfer
method and make pcb quite fast. The explanation
is long but once someone does once or twice
then it is pretty routine like any other thing.

Regards
Roushon.
 
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"......Friends, Pls no hard feelings. but I would request you all if we can start dedicated thread on pcb making....."


There are enough threads on this topic already. Do a search on this forum and if you want , do one on Google also. Plenty of information already there.
 
There are enough threads on this topic already. Do a search on this forum and if you want , do one on Google also. Plenty of information already there.

Yes Ashok Ji, I know, All I was saying is, keep discussions connected to topic. that would be good for all of us and finding the required parts and dealers easily. I really appreciate the efforts put by Roushon and other members.
 
Thanks Aucosticraft! I also would like to maintain this thread to give
information and address of sources of parts related to electronics.
This is the reason I started this
thread. We are maintaining the rule even when we described pcb making.
We gave some addresses of sources of materials related to pcb making. Next
I will put the details address of the chromo paper dealer in a few days and
also the details of how to obtain it. PCB is an integral part of this hobby.

I am still waiting for the post with the address where I can find silver solder.
Also I need silver wire. If any of you know.

N.B. I know I went little bit far in describing the pcb making by toner transfer (this
was done in a flow) , but I hope that will encourage some new comers with this
handy method and sources of materials which are available here.

Regards
Roushon.
 
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