Transfer a design

[sammy004]

Hi guys I been on and off here for quite some time I always wanted to build my own circuit board but never got to it. I have played with a lot of easy stuff like LEDs and relays and stuff but never really put them on a board. So I am here today to ask for help on how to take a schematic design and transfer it to a circuit board design. Can someone please help me it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Sammy

 

[canadaelk]

There are a number of free design tools available. Eagle has a mini tool to get you started. For anything sophisticated you need to spend $. You also need someone to make the board(s) for you. Messy if you try it yourself, and there also is minimum quantity for a pcb house.
GC Electronics sells all the stuff needed to make your own pcb. They also have "how-to" info on their site. I used to hand-paint the traces onto the copper-clad, etch them with saltpetre. Do not do that (inside!)!
Cheers, E

 

[Birdman Adam]

IMO having PCBs manufactured takes for ever, and can be expensive. It could take a month for you to get your board!

I highly recommend learning how to do the 'toner method'. Someone here has their own tutorial on it... Pretty much you would make your design in Eagle, print it out, apply to copper board, then submerge in special solution. (It's a possibly dangerous acid). It will remove copper and make your traces. Then theres the drilling holes for your components. Of course if you do SMD, no drilling! Finally, populate your beautiful board!

You can even color it! (Red looks cool) Search hackaday for that article...

Hey! Sparkfun has a tutorial on making schematics in Eagle, then creating a board layout with it:

Lecture 8 - Eagle: Schematics


Lecture 9 - Eagle: PCB Layout


Here's the link to Eagle:

 

[sammy004]

Hi guys, I got the idea of how to etch the board I did some messing aroung and made some funkky pictures and transfered them to the board. I used the laser printer method and iron it on the copper clad board turned out pretty cool. I used Ferric Chloride to etch the designs but I also heard you can use muriatic acid which is used in pools and combine it with hydrogen peroxcide. So I can do all that my only problem is taking a schematic and turning it to a design for the PCB like for example the design below how can I take this and turn it into a pcb design, also I never drilled one before as well.

**broken link removed**

Thank you
Sammy

 

[sammy004]

IMO having PCBs manufactured takes for ever, and can be expensive. It could take a month for you to get your board!

I highly recommend learning how to do the 'toner method'. Someone here has their own tutorial on it... Pretty much you would make your design in Eagle, print it out, apply to copper board, then submerge in special solution. (It's a possibly dangerous acid). It will remove copper and make your traces. Then theres the drilling holes for your components. Of course if you do SMD, no drilling! Finally, populate your beautiful board!

You can even color it! (Red looks cool) Search hackaday for that article...

Hey! Sparkfun has a tutorial on making schematics in Eagle, then creating a board layout with it:

Lecture 8 - Eagle: Schematics


Lecture 9 - Eagle: PCB Layout


Here's the link to Eagle:

WOW thats a cool tut. I love the way it auto-routes the traces I like that part and that migh of solved my problem maybe but hard to learn i think.

 

[Hero999]

Did you use any special kind of paper to transfer the design?

I use magazine paper and even normal printer paper will work. Some people swear by expensive proprietary papers but I don't see the point when magazine paper works fine for me and is free.

 

[sammy004]

Did you use any special kind of paper to transfer the design?

I use magazine paper and even normal printer paper will work. Some people swear by expensive proprietary papers but I don't see the point when magazine paper works fine for me and is free.

Yeah mag paper and I also used photo paper.

 

[danrogers]

ive tryed mag paper but couldnt get it to transfer fully for some reason. tryed photo paper and the toner didnt even stick lol. using press and peal for lack of hastle at the mo.

by the way eagle is good, i havent been using it long but finding it very comprehensive and user friendly

 

[Hero999]

Which works best for you?

To be honest, I haven't tried photo paper, I used magazine paper the fisrt time and it worked perfectly.

 

[MrDEB]

Express PCB is easier to learn and use.
Looking at your schematic, It looks like the sequential LED circuit.
Don't forget to tie the unused inputs of the gate to logic high or low.

 

[sammy004]

ive tryed mag paper but couldnt get it to transfer fully for some reason. tryed photo paper and the toner didnt even stick lol. using press and peal for lack of hastle at the mo.

by the way eagle is good, i havent been using it long but finding it very comprehensive and user friendly

Are you using a laser printer and are you using the iron to transfer?

 

[sammy004]

Express PCB is easier to learn and use.
Looking at your schematic, It looks like the sequential LED circuit.
Don't forget to tie the unused inputs of the gate to logic high or low.

Will express PCB do an auto trace route thing like eagle?

 

[MrDEB]

No but the auto trace, as I understand it has problems sometimes. Nothing is perfect.
Several questions?
Why not use a 555 timer chip?
Do you want the LEDs to go back and forth (Knight Rider)?
What would you think of perhaps adding some pazz- a 7 key "organ" that the LEDs are in sync with. The flashing back N forth changes with the notes from the audible organ?

 

[sammy004]

No but the auto trace, as I understand it has problems sometimes. Nothing is perfect.
Several questions?
Why not use a 555 timer chip?
Do you want the LEDs to go back and forth (Knight Rider)?
What would you think of perhaps adding some pazz- a 7 key "organ" that the LEDs are in sync with. The flashing back N forth changes with the notes from the audible organ?

Yeah thats what I am kinda after the knight rider effect but I got the schematic from this arron cake website I don't know anything ablut what component goes where. I really want to learn but due to chemotherapy and agressive medications I am reaaly week so I have no time to sit and learn about elecrtonics I am just hoping I can take a design like that and turn it into a circuit board so I can etch it, I have some practice in etching.

Thank you
Sammy

 

[MrDEB]

Knight Rider circuit and PCboard

Here is a Knight Rider circuit with a 555 timer. Depending on how fast you want it to run, the resistor, capacitor values may need to be changed.
**broken link removed**
this board is about 3.25" x 2"
We don't need no auto routing.
If you download express pcb (free down load) ten I can send you the files or you can learn from the files.
NOTE the board can afford some more tweeking and add filled planes to save on etching time etc.
As for etching, I prefer the muratic acid/hydrogen peroxide method.

 

[sammy004]

Here is a Knight Rider circuit with a 555 timer. Depending on how fast you want it to run, the resistor, capacitor values may need to be changed.
**broken link removed**
this board is about 3.25" x 2"
We don't need no auto routing.
If you download express pcb (free down load) ten I can send you the files or you can learn from the files.
NOTE the board can afford some more tweeking and add filled planes to save on etching time etc.
As for etching, I prefer the muratic acid/hydrogen peroxide method.

Oh that would be greatly appreciated is there a way you can get more LED like double that (12). That circuit looks easier then the one I found, thank you so much.

 

[danrogers]

Are you using a laser printer and are you using the iron to transfer?

yes im using laser toner and an iron

 

[MrDEB]

You can add another 4017 or more then you will have more LEDs. If you added more to the one 4017 then you would need a transistor per LED as the 4017 would not be able to handle more than 20ma per output.
Its easy to add additional 4017's
all of about 5 minutes of copy n paste.

 

[MrDEB]

Do you feel confident in etching a double sided board. Much easier to lay out.

 

[sammy004]

Do you feel confident in etching a double sided board. Much easier to lay out.

Actually I never did a double sided board. I just messed around with the single sided ones. Well putting the design together and laying it out will be kind of a challenge cause I don't know anything about 4017's and what they do and where they go so for that part I am lost